Orlando Fraser's speech to the Annual Public Meeting
The Chair of the Charity Commission speaks to his priorities at the regulator's Annual Public Meeting for 2023
Good morning. It’s a pleasure to welcome you to our Annual Public Meeting and to see so many trustees and charity representatives joining us in person and online.
I am delighted to be here in Liverpool, a city that holds a particular significance to the Charity Commission. It was in 1970 – the year The Beatles split up – that the Commission opened its first offices here in Liverpool. And today, over 50 years later, The Beatles are back at the top of the charts and our Liverpool office is still going strong – in fact, it is the beating heart of the Commission and home to the majority of our operations.
I’m delighted too that we are holding our public meeting here at The Florrie, a fantastic charity which, among other things, makes this wonderful Victorian building work so well for the benefit of the local community. I had the opportunity yesterday to see their work and am delighted they were able to accommodate our meeting here today.
Fair, balanced and independent Commission
It is now 18 months since I began my term as Chair of the Commission, during which time I’ve had the opportunity to visit an extraordinary range of charities – from a community garden in Birmingham to a veterans’ hub in Barry; from bereavement support in Stafford to museums in Bath.
So this is a useful moment now to reflect back on how we are delivering on the priorities I set out when I was appointed.
I said then that we would be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced and independent. I am pleased to say that these values have been embedded in everything that the Commission does – and they will be a core part of our new five-year strategy, due to be launched in January.
The new strategy will re-commit us to supporting charities to get it right, but taking robust action where we see wrongdoing and harm, to protect charities from abuse and maintain public trust and confidence in the sector. In doing so we will always act in a proportionate way and be understanding of trustees who make honest, reasonable mistakes. And trustees should always feel able to come to us when they need advice and to make use of our guidance.
Saluting trustees
I have also made it a priority over the past 18 months to celebrate our volunteer trustees, and their chairs, numbering in excess of 700,000, who are the lynchpin of the charity system, and without whom so much good would not happen. I salute you.
I also say to existing trustees, please think actively about encouraging others from diverse backgrounds and experiences to help shoulder the burden of your work. And to potential trustees, I say please follow the superb example of our current trustees and sacrifice some of your own time to help charitable causes in this important way – joining existing boards, or setting up charities of your own. As President Kennedy once said, think not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
Prudence
I also made clear last year that it was important, during these difficult financial times of the pandemic, and now the cost of living crisis, that trustees remember at all times that they are stewards of other people’s money, charged with delivering their charity’s purposes with them.
This means that trustees are bound to act prudently in the discharge of their functions, and be sure to spend carefully and only on their charity’s purposes. I am pleased to say that throughout my visits I have seen at first-hand how our trustees are observing this message of prudence and care – not least as they know that, during times of financial stringency, it is more important than ever to the public to see every penny of a charity’s funds spent on its charitable purposes.
Political activity and campaigning
It was at our APM last year in Cardiff that we launched the newest edition of our bitesize 5-minute guides – on political activity and campaigning. That began a useful dialogue with the sector which has continued to this day.
A year on, we are now approaching a general election which will undoubtedly shine a spotlight on charities’ campaigning activities. And, as I have made clear before, when charities politically campaign, they normally do so with the law on their side. So long as campaigning supports their charitable purposes, charities are free to campaign and engage in political activity – indeed, this can be a vital way to advance their cause.
In doing so, trustees must however ensure that campaigning is in their charity’s best interest and, crucially, that they are not drawn into issues or activities that are outside their purposes. And charity leaders must remember that it is not their political opinions that matter but the cause they represent.
When charities do get involved in this area, I believe they have a responsibility to do so with respect and tolerance, and yes, consideration for others or kindness. They need to avoid inflammatory rhetoric that may undermine public trust in the sector, and instead model a better kind of discourse.
That does not mean they should be meek or avoid controversial subjects. But in doing so, in the cut and thrust of this political debate, charities won’t be immune from criticism if they take an alternative view in a contentious and contested area. They are after all entering charged spaces, even if doing so consistently with their charitable purposes, and they don’t have a monopoly on being ‘right’. So charities must campaign with their eyes open in these areas.
Disappointing though it may be, as the pre-election temperature heats up further, so may the intemperate language from our politicians. This would never justify a charity responding in kind, as charities are in a different and more privileged space than politicians, and the law expects different and better standards from charities. So remember, in the words of Michelle Obama, ‘they go low, we go high’.
One tool that I hope will help charities to navigate this area is our new social media guidance, which was published earlier this year following consultation with the sector. The guidance makes clear that social media can be a highly effective way for a charity to engage its audiences – but that there are risks involved, for which trustees should plan.
I encourage all charities – and particularly those who wish to engage in campaigning activity online – to note our guidance and implement a social media policy if they do not already have one.
International aid
When I became Chair, I also said that I would commit to listening to the sector and, where appropriate, be prepared to stand up for charities where they have unfairly come under attack.
One area where I particularly wanted to defend the work of the sector is in the field of international aid, where the efforts of charities have too often been criticised by those who are sceptical of their work and the impact they have.
So earlier this year I visited Romania to see at first-hand the work being done by English and Welsh registered charities to support those displaced by the war in Ukraine, funded by the remarkable generosity of the British public. I saw the work of a range of charities providing vital accommodation and support to families fleeing that brutal war.
I didn’t go there simply to observe them, but also to demonstrate my support for their work – and to say clearly to those who might criticise the international aid sector that we should be proud of these charities. They are fantastic ambassadors for the British people, nurturing goodwill, friendship and mutual respect.
Events in the Middle East
Recent awful events in the Middle East have reminded us again of the unique role of charities in rising to meet the humanitarian needs of the suffering.
Charities are currently working to supply aid to support those affected by the conflict, some in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. At the same time, we have seen many charities here in the UK step up their efforts to promote cohesion and combat extremism at a time when, sadly, reports of antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes have been increasing. I have met several Jewish and Islamic charities recently to discuss their work and will continue to do so.
At a time of heightened tensions, people expect charities to lead the way in bringing people together, not stoking division. Unfortunately, however, the Commission is aware of a significant number of serious concerns regarding activities linked to some charities in relation to this conflict. These include charities representing communities across the religious divide, although they largely concern allegations of anti-semitic or hate speech. Where concerns have been reported to or identified by us, we are assessing these to establish the facts and are in contact with a number of charities. If we find that there has been wrongdoing, we will take action to address this.
And let me be clear – charities must not allow their premises or events to become forums for hate speech or unlawful extremism. The Commission will always deal robustly with those who intentionally or recklessly abuse their charities, and we will not hesitate to take action in accordance with the law to protect the reputation of the sector as a whole.
Philanthropy
Finally, I would like to mention another issue that is a priority of mine: philanthropy.
Britain is an incredibly generous nation when it comes to charitable giving. One recent study put the UK third in world rankings of giving, with 71 percent of people regularly donating money to charitable causes.
But more is needed – especially at a time when many charities are struggling financially in the face of rising costs and increased pressure on their services.
And it appears that more is especially needed from the top 1 percent, as there is some recent evidence that they do not give as much to charity as their counterparts in comparable societies; and that giving among the very wealthy is not keeping pace with their increasing income – which, if correct, would undermine the ancient understanding that with greater rewards come greater responsibilities.
For this reason I have committed the Commission to the promotion of philanthropy. Last week I set out in detail how we do that, including by developing a new programme to promote our data on charity funding and impact to help philanthropists see how their donations are having an effect.
We will also publish updated guidance on Accepting or Refusing Donations which will make clear to trustees that the law generally expects charities to accept monies where they are available, and not to refuse or return them without very good reason – and, while we will always treat trustees’ decision-making in this difficult area with respect and understanding, it is our important statutory role to explain and enforce the law.
I will therefore continue to do all I can to promote philanthropy and encourage those who are best-off to rise to the occasion and reflect the generosity of the wider British public.
Conclusion
One of the reasons that people can give with confidence in this country is that we have a well-regulated charity sector.
No other country on earth can offer a better tradition of good governance and regulatory oversight – 170 years and counting – and I can say with confidence that this tradition is in safe hands with Helen and the rest of the senior leadership team who you will be hearing from during the rest of this morning.