Our governance
The non-executive board of the Charity Commission.
The board
Whilst day-to-day and operational management is delegated to our Chief Executive, our board is ultimately responsible for all that we do. This includes:
- our purpose and strategy
- our overall performance
- our values, integrity and reputation
- how we meet our statutory objectives and use our legal powers
- our business direction and strategy
- our management team’s performance, governance standards and delivery against plans
Our board pays particular attention to:
- maximising our impact and effectiveness
- identifying and managing risks
- maintaining our independence from government and the sector we regulate
- making sure we use public funds prudently
- making sure we act fairly, responsibly, transparently, proportionately and ethically
Members
- David Holdsworth (Chief Executive)
- Orlando Fraser KC (Chair)
- Pippa Britton OBE
- Rory Brooks CBE
- Shrenik Davda
- Will Lifford
- Ann Phillips
- Mark Simms OBE
Register of Board Members’ Interests 2024
David Holdsworth, Chief Executive
| Current work | Chief Executive Officer, Charity Commission |
| Current unpaid work | N/A |
| Recent former paid work | CEO, Animal Plant Health Agency |
| Current trusteeships | None |
| Former trusteeships | Council of Deans of Health (ceased June 2024) |
| Other | N/A |
Orlando Fraser, Chair
| Current work | Barrister/KC - Lincoln’s Inn |
| Current unpaid work | None |
| Recent former paid work | None |
| Current trusteeships | None |
| Former trusteeships | None |
| Other (current) | N/A |
Pippa Britton OBE
| Current work | • Vice Chair, British Paralympic Association • Chair, Public Health Wales |
| Current unpaid work | None |
| Recent former paid work | •Vice Chair, UK Anti-Doping (ceased Oct 2022) •Vice Chair, Sport Wales (ceased Oct 2023) • Vice Chair, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ceased November 2024) • Welsh Government Healthy Weight Ambassador (ceased November 2024) |
| Other (current) | N/A |
| Current trusteeships | Board Member, British Paralympic Association Trust |
| Former trusteeships | • Disability Sport Wales (ceased 2017) • UWC Atlantic College (ceased 03 March 2023) • Sport Wales Trust (ceased Oct 2023) |
Rory Brooks CBE
| Current work | None – retired |
| Current unpaid work | None |
| Recent former paid work | Founder/Chair, MML Capital Partners (ceased Jan 2023) |
| Current trusteeships | Rory & Elizabeth Brooks Foundation |
| Former trusteeships | • IntoUniversity (ceased Feb 2024) • Quintessentially Foundation (ceased Feb 2024) • Centre for Social Justice Foundation (ceased Jun 2023) |
| Other (current) | Manchester University: 3 Advisory Boards |
Shrenik Davda
| Current work | • Partner, NECP LLP • Board Lay Member, IPSO • Vice Chair of Supervisory Board, NLB dd (Slovenia) |
| Current unpaid work | None |
| Recent former paid work | None |
| Current trusteeships | None |
| Former trusteeships | • Trustee, TMT Education Trust (Kenya) • Trustee, The Welfare Association (UK) • Trustee, The Mango Tree Orphan Support Programme (UK) |
| Other (current) | N/A |
William Lifford
| Current work | Board Member, Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority |
| Current unpaid work | None |
| Recent former paid work | • Board Member, Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (ceased Mar 2020) • Chair, Yorkshire Housing (ceased Sep 2021) |
| Current trusteeships | Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust |
| Former trusteeships | St Gemma’s Hospice (ceased 26 Jan 2023) |
| Other (current) | N/A |
Ann Phillips
| Current work | Part-time Consultant, Stone King LLP |
| Current unpaid work | None |
| Recent former paid work | Partner, Stone King LLP (ceased Apr 2020) |
| Current trusteeships | Trustee, Highfields Trust CIO |
| Former trusteeships | • Creativity, Culture and Education (ceased Sep 2018) • The Poetry Society (ceased Nov 2023) |
| Other (current) | N/A |
Mark Simms OBE
| Current work | CEO, P3 Charity Group |
| Current unpaid work | • Board Member, Big Issue Changing Lives CIC • Board Member, New Leaf CIC |
| Recent former paid work | None |
| Current trusteeships | None |
| Former trusteeships | • Board Member, Big Issue Invest (ceased Sept 2023) • Trustee, HomelessLink (ceased Sept 2023) |
| Other (current) | None |
2018 Governance framework
The commission’s governance framework sets out the roles, responsibilities and procedures for the effective and efficient conduct of its business.
Read the Commission’s governance framework.
Charity Commission Strategy 2024 to 2029
Our ambition is to be the expert Charity Commission that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive.
Five priorities describe the Commission’s key areas of focus, as well as the steps it will take to fulfil these ambitions:
- We will be fair and proportionate in our work and clear about our role.
- We will support charities to get it right but take robust action where we see wrongdoing and harm.
- We will speak with authority and credibility, free from the influence of others.
- We will embrace technological innovation and strengthen how we use our data.
- We will be the expert Commission - where our people are empowered and enabled to deliver excellence in regulation.
Read the Charity Commission Strategy 2024 to 2029 for more information.