Transparency data

Appendix 2: Registration and declaration of interests

Updated 25 October 2023

Applies to England and Wales

1. Principles

1.1 In common with other public bodies, the Commission has arrangements under which potential conflicts of interest can be recognised and managed.

1.2 On appointment, in order to preserve their complete independence on all charity matters, the chair and chief executive will relinquish all trusteeships in charities.

1.3 On appointment, board members are normally asked to stand down from chairship of charities, unless the chair and appointing ministers are content that such a role can be managed alongside the member’s Commission-related responsibilities and the overall balance of board membership is not dominated by those - real or perceived - sector interests. It is normal, however, for them to retain existing trusteeships or other roles, and for those whose livelihood involves professional involvement with charities, to continue with it, provided that it is transparent and is not inconsistent with the Commission’s regulatory role. The considerations for deciding if holding office in a charity is acceptable for a new or existing board member are set out under 1.4.

1.4 Following appointment, board members will seek advice from the chair (and in the case of the chair from the chief executive) before taking on any new role(s) in a charity or other body in which there might be a real or perceived conflict of interest.

Considerations that apply when deciding whether a new or existing board member can retain/take up office in a charity:

• the chair, having sought the advice of the chief executive, judges that the risks of a board member retaining/taking up a chairship or other office are both manageable and outweighed by the benefits to the Commission from having that person on its board
• a minimum of 4 board members (including the Chair and Chief Executive) not holding any trusteeship is imposed to avoid perceptions of regulatory ‘capture’
• the holding of any office in a regulated body must be unremunerated and clearly part-time in nature
• to protect issues of quorum, legally-qualified members should not take up office in a regulated body, unless they are in the final months of their Commission tenure and the other tests set out here are met
• the holding of any office in a sector or related umbrella body/’lobby’ group by any board member and the chief executive is prohibited
• approval for a board member to seek office within a charity must be sought from the chair, prior to interview stage, unless the board member intends to stand down from the Commission when taking up such an appointment

1.5 The above considerations do not affect the requirements of paragraph 1.2.

1.6 Where a board member’s circumstances involve, or might appear to involve, clear potential for a material conflict of interest in his or her official role, he or she will declare them in the register, and, where appropriate, withdraw from related Commission business and discussions.

1.7 All personal or business interests which may, or may be perceived, to influence their judgement, should be declared.

1.8 Board members will declare on the register interests of the following kinds:

• trusteeship of a registered or unregistered charity
• within the past year:
  • any direct pecuniary benefit from a charity or related body to self or an immediate family member (spouse, partner, dependent children and any other dependent person resident in the same household)
  • any significant and material non-pecuniary benefit from a charity or related body to self or an immediate family member
• any pecuniary or other material interest in a company or organisation which is, or is likely to become, involved in a commercial relationship with the Commission
• any matter not previously specified which a reasonable third party would consider of clear and material relevance, actual or potential, to the board member’s official role

1.9 Board members will also routinely register the following:

• office or employment held in related bodies (public or private) other than the Commission
• membership of any Masonic organisation
• the term ‘pecuniary interests’ includes both interests which arise as a charity beneficiary and those which arise from a business relationship; the term ‘related body’ includes non-charitable subsidiaries of charities, fundraising organisations and any other organisation with significant commercial, pecuniary or comparable interests involving charities

2. Registration and declaration

2.1 It would be impracticable and unnecessary to register all personal involvement of a less direct or more minor kind with charities and related bodies, given the very wide part that charities play in daily life. Board members declare interests which are relevant, but not sufficiently material to merit inclusion in the register, as and when they come up in the course of Commission business. The criterion for declaration is whether a reasonable third party might consider that the objectivity of the views of a board member might be affected. This includes any material interest that is not captured by the criteria for formal registration of the interest but arises through the happenstance of a board member’s professional activities with a charity - whether direct or through his or her firm or employer (eg where a charity is a client of the board member/board member’s firm or employer).

The chair will remind board members at the start of a board meeting regarding the need to declare any such interests. While declaration will in itself usually be sufficient to manage interests of this kind, the board member, advised by the chief legal adviser and board secretary, will consider whether it would be appropriate also to withdraw.

2.2 A record of interests declared in this way, and what action has been taken to manage them, will be recorded by the board secretary.

2.3 Interests suitable to be managed in this way include the following:

• being a member or ‘friend’ of a charity
• significant personal donations (ie above £1,000 in a year)
• involvement in routine activities organised or provided by a charity where no degree of personal benefit to the board member or a close family member; such activities include (but are not confined to) volunteering (formally or informally) at events, provision of pro-bono advice/assistance generally, fundraising activities and so on

3. Procedures

3.1 The register is maintained by the board secretary and published on the GOV.UK website. Each member amends his or her entry to reflect developments as they occur and formally reviews his or her entry annually at the start of each financial year.

3.2 Board members are advised by the chair on matters connected with the register, including this guidance. The chair is advised as necessary by the chief executive and board secretary on these matters generally, and if necessary on registration and declaration of his or her own interests.