Summary Inquiry Report Statements

The request was successful.

Dear Charity Commission for England and Wales,

Your website states under Publication Scheme:

Inquiry Report Statements
Description: We report the outcome of formal inquiries carried out in accordance with Section 8 of the Charities Act 1993 by publishing a statement of results on our website.
Availability: Charity Commission Website Link
Notes: This applies to statements completed since 2005. Earlier statements can be requested by contacting Charity Commission Direct.

I understand that the Publication Scheme is a statutory obligation, agreed formally with the Information Commissioner's Office. And your own website material states that this material is available o your website.

Yet these hundreds of inquiry reports (barring four or five) are missing from your website - in contradiction to your statement within your legally-enforceable Publication Scheme that they are available from your website.

Please therefore supply me with all the summary inquiry report statements for the last five years (from 2005 - i.e. the ones you claim are on your website) - which have all already been posted to your website in the past, but which you have subsequently and presumably deliberately removed.

No doubt you will tell me that the material is exempt under FOI requests, because it is included in your Publication Scheme (although you have failed to comply with that statutory Scheme). So I'm also forwarding this information to the new Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, so that he is aware that you have broken your Publication Scheme agreement with his office.

Yours faithfully,

L. Lluva

Web Enquiries, Charity Commission for England and Wales

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Shearing, Victoria, Charity Commission for England and Wales

Dear Mr. Lluva,

Thank you for your recent request for copies of the Commission’s Inquiry
Reports under the Freedom of Information Act. As per the Commission’s
Publication Scheme, reports published within the last six months are
available via a link held upon our website; reports older than this are
archived with those published since 2005 listed on the website by year. A
note within the list of archived reports specifies that this is the case,
but consideration is currently being given to re-word the definition of
our publication scheme on our website, to more accurately reflect our
policy.

The Charity Commission takes the view that once an investigation into a
charity is completed, it is a proportionate approach to have reports
immediately available for just a six month period only, partly to ensure
that the reputation of the affected charity is not unreasonably
compromised. However the reports are still available on request from
Charity Commission Direct on 0845 3000 218 or PO Box 1199, Liverpool, L69
3UT, or through email via our website. As such, it is not necessary to
invoke the Freedom of Information Act in these requests.

I will send a copy of each Statement of the Results of an Inquiry
published since 2005. For completeness I will also attach a copy of all
of the Regulatory Case Reports that the Commission has published. These
are the discretionary reports published by the Commission into
investigations which do not merit the opening of a Statutory Inquiry
(please see for information the Commission’s Risk and Proportionality
framework for compliance work:
[1]http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/inv...).

Owing to the volume of the reports and the limits of email capacity the
reports will need to be sent in maximum batches of 10. This should result
in approximately 25 – 30 emails, thus if you would be kind enough to
provide me with your private email, I will arrange for this to be done. I
will not be able to get these to you before the New Year, but they will
certainly be with you before the middle of January.

I can, however, provide you now with references to the first two annual
reports on the Commission's compliance work - Charities Back on Track
2007-08, and Charities Back on Track 2008-09. These contain case studies
on a number of our cases and may be found here:

[2]http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/inve....

I trust that these reports and the clarification of our position with
regards to the publication of Statements of the Results of an Inquiry are
helpful.

If you are unhappy with our response to your FOI request, have a complaint
or wish to request a review of our FOI decision, you should write to:
Charity Commission Direct, PO Box 1227, LIVERPOOL, L69 3UG. Please state
what it is you are dissatisfied with, which will assist us when we review
our response. If you request a Decision Review you will be notified of our
final decision.

If after this you remain unhappy with the decision, you may apply directly
to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO
cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our complaints
procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The
Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Vicki Shearing,

Outreach and Development,

0151 7031606

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and
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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
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References

Visible links
1. http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/inv...
2. http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/inve...

Dear Shearing, Victoria,

>Thank you for your recent request for copies of the Commission’s Inquiry
>Reports under the Freedom of Information Act. As per the Commission’s
>Publication Scheme, reports published within the last six months are
>available via a link held upon our website; reports older than this are
>archived with those published since 2005 listed on the website by year.
>A note within the list of archived reports specifies that this is the
>case, but consideration is currently being given to re-word the
>definition of our publication scheme on our website, to more accurately
reflect our policy.

Your Publication Scheme with the ICO suggests that these reports are available *from your website*, and they are not. The fact that you say you now wish to change your Publication Scheme, to accord with the facts of your actual publication, supports this view.

>The Charity Commission takes the view that once an investigation into a
>charity is completed, it is a proportionate approach to have reports
>immediately available for just a six month period only, partly to ensure
>that the reputation of the affected charity is not unreasonably
>compromised.

This is the Publication Scheme that you yourselves have agreed with the Information Commissioner, and is legally binding. It is not the purpose of this FOI request to engage in arguments you may have about your own non-compliance with statutory agreements that you have made.

>However the reports are still available on request from
>Charity Commission Direct on 0845 3000 218 or PO Box 1199, Liverpool,
>L69 3UT, or through email via our website. As such, it is not necessary
>to invoke the Freedom of Information Act in these requests.

It seems to be necessary to invoke the FOI Act and the ICO owing to your non-compliance with your own Scheme. These reports are stated in your Scheme as being on your website; were previously available for download on your website; and are now *not* available from your website, so have been deliberately removed by yourselves. You state you no longer wish to publish material in your Scheme in accordance with those scheme details. You will be aware that Scheme material is exempt from FOI, and thus the requester's only option is to request the ICO to require the Scheme to comply with its own Scheme agreement.

>I will send a copy of each Statement of the Results of an Inquiry
>published since 2005. For completeness I will also attach a copy of all
>of the Regulatory Case Reports that the Commission has published. These
>are the discretionary reports published by the Commission into
>investigations which do not merit the opening of a Statutory Inquiry
>(please see for information the Commission’s Risk and Proportionality
>framework for compliance work:
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/inv...).

>Owing to the volume of the reports and the limits of email capacity the
>reports will need to be sent in maximum batches of 10. This should
>result in approximately 25 – 30 emails, thus if you would be kind enough
>to provide me with your private email, I will arrange for this to be
>done. I will not be able to get these to you before the New Year, but
>they will certainly be with you before the middle of January.

There is no limit to capacity at WDTK. This is the correct email address for all your responses, and has already been provided.

"Respondents can upload responses and files directly using the web site, as explained at http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/about... "

Zipping reports together may facilitate uploading at your end, if you have any local constraints.

>I can, however, provide you now with references to the first two annual
>reports on the Commission's compliance work - Charities Back on Track
>2007-08, and Charities Back on Track 2008-09. These contain case
>studies on a number of our cases and may be found here:

These reports are freely available on the internet and do not relate to any particular charity, and consequently are of no relevance to this FOI request.

Yours sincerely,

L. Lluva

Dear Shearing, Victoria,

>Thank you for your recent request for copies of the Commission’s Inquiry
>Reports under the Freedom of Information Act. As per the Commission’s
>Publication Scheme, reports published within the last six months are
>available via a link held upon our website; reports older than this are
>archived with those published since 2005 listed on the website by year.
>A note within the list of archived reports specifies that this is the
>case, but consideration is currently being given to re-word the
>definition of our publication scheme on our website, to more accurately
reflect our policy.

Your Publication Scheme with the ICO suggests that these reports are available *from your website*, and they are not. The fact that you say you now wish to change your Publication Scheme, to accord with the facts of your actual publication, supports this view.

>The Charity Commission takes the view that once an investigation into a
>charity is completed, it is a proportionate approach to have reports
>immediately available for just a six month period only, partly to ensure
>that the reputation of the affected charity is not unreasonably
>compromised.

This is the Publication Scheme that you yourselves have agreed with the Information Commissioner, and is legally binding. It is not the purpose of this FOI request to engage in arguments you may have about your own non-compliance with statutory agreements that you have made.

>However the reports are still available on request from
>Charity Commission Direct on 0845 3000 218 or PO Box 1199, Liverpool,
>L69 3UT, or through email via our website. As such, it is not necessary
>to invoke the Freedom of Information Act in these requests.

It seems to be necessary to invoke the FOI Act and the ICO owing to your non-compliance with your own Scheme. These reports are stated in your Scheme as being on your website; were previously available for download on your website; and are now *not* available from your website, so have been deliberately removed by yourselves. You state you no longer wish to publish material in your Scheme in accordance with those scheme details. You will be aware that Scheme material is exempt from FOI, and thus the requester's only option is to request the ICO to require the Scheme to comply with its own Scheme agreement.

>I will send a copy of each Statement of the Results of an Inquiry
>published since 2005. For completeness I will also attach a copy of all
>of the Regulatory Case Reports that the Commission has published. These
>are the discretionary reports published by the Commission into
>investigations which do not merit the opening of a Statutory Inquiry
>(please see for information the Commission’s Risk and Proportionality
>framework for compliance work:
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/inv...).

>Owing to the volume of the reports and the limits of email capacity the
>reports will need to be sent in maximum batches of 10. This should
>result in approximately 25 – 30 emails, thus if you would be kind enough
>to provide me with your private email, I will arrange for this to be
>done. I will not be able to get these to you before the New Year, but
>they will certainly be with you before the middle of January.

There is no limit to capacity at WDTK. This is the correct email address for all your responses, and has already been provided.

"Respondents can upload responses and files directly using the web site, as explained at http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/about... "

Zipping reports together may facilitate uploading at your end, if you have any local constraints.

>I can, however, provide you now with references to the first two annual
>reports on the Commission's compliance work - Charities Back on Track
>2007-08, and Charities Back on Track 2008-09. These contain case
>studies on a number of our cases and may be found here:

These reports do not relate to any particular charity, and consequently are of no relevance to this FOI request.

Yours sincerely,

L. Lluva

Shearing, Victoria, Charity Commission for England and Wales

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Dear Mr. Lluva,

Please find attached the third set of copies of the Charity Commission's
Statements of the Results of an Inquiry, along with copies of our
Regulatory Case Reports as per my previous email. If you have any
difficulties in opening any of these documents, please let me know and I
will try to assist further.

Your sincerely,

Vicki Shearing,

Outreach and Development,

0151 7031606

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and
delete the original message from your system.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

Shearing, Victoria, Charity Commission for England and Wales

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

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    2.7M Download

Dear Mr. Lluva,

Please find attached the second set of copies of the Charity Commission's
Statements of the Results of an Inquiry, along with copies of our
Regulatory Case Reports as per my previous email. If you have any
difficulties in opening any of these documents, please let me know and I
will try to assist further.

Your sincerely,

Vicki Shearing,

Outreach and Development,

0151 7031606

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and
delete the original message from your system.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

Shearing, Victoria, Charity Commission for England and Wales

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    utf 8 B Q2hhcml0eSBDb21taXNzaW9uIC0gU09SSSAmIFJDUnMuemlwAA.zip

    5.1M Download

Dear Mr. Lluva,

Please find attached the first set of copies of the Charity Commission's
Statements of the Results of an Inquiry, along with copies of our
Regulatory Case Reports as per my previous email. If you have any
difficulties in opening any of these documents, please let me know and I
will try to assist further.

Your sincerely,

Vicki Shearing,

Outreach and Development,

0151 7031606

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and
delete the original message from your system.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

Shearing, Victoria, Charity Commission for England and Wales

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    utf 8 B Q2hhcml0eSBDb21taXNzaW9uIC0gU09SSSAmIFJDUnMuemlwAA.zip

    4.3M Download

Dear Mr. Lluva,

Please find attached the fourth set of copies of the Charity Commission's
Statements of the Results of an Inquiry, along with copies of our
Regulatory Case Reports as per my previous email. If you have any
difficulties in opening any of these documents, please let me know and I
will try to assist further.

Your sincerely,

Vicki Shearing,

Outreach and Development,

0151 7031606

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and
delete the original message from your system.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

Dear Victoria Shearing,

Many thanks for the inquiry report statements you have provided to date.

Please note that my original FOI request asked for:
"all the summary inquiry report statements for the last five years (from 2005 - i.e. the ones you
claim are on your website)."

I note that the statements you have supplied cover a period of 4 yrs 4 months (5 May 2005-14 September 2009), rather than the 5 years requested.

Could you therefore either:
a) confirm that the Charity Commission did not publish any inquiry report statements in the missing period (16 September 2004 to 4 May 2005); or
b) supply the inquiry report statements for the 8 month period to 4/5/2005, to complete the 5 year period.

Yours sincerely,

L. Lluva

Shearing, Victoria, Charity Commission for England and Wales

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Lluva,

Thank you for your further request for copies of the Commission***s
Inquiry reports. May I offer my apologies for the delay in responding.

I can confirm that the Commission published thirteen Inquiry reports
during the period 16 September 2004 *** 4 May 2005. Unfortunately, we
experienced difficulties in identifying the precise publication date of
reports published prior to 2005, partly on account of a major change to
our record keeping systems at that time, from manual to electronic
records. It is this that has caused the delay in sending this response.

To clarify, the reason that reports published prior to 4 May 2005 were not
included in my original response is due to the fact that the Commission
operates on a financial year of April to March and the online list of
archived published reports, commencing 1 April 2005, mirrors this. As it
happens, there were no reports published between 1 April 2005 *** 3 May
2005, hence the reason that May was the first dated report.

Finally, I am a little concerned that you report that the latest date that
you hold a report for is 14 September 2009, as I included all reports
published since 01 April 2005 in my emails. If you look at the first
batch of reports that I sent, you should be able to locate a report for
the Catz Club, published 17 December 2009. This remains the most recent
report that the Charity Commission has published. If this report is not
present, please contact me again, as there may have been a technical error
in the sending of the files, which I will look into.

Thank you for your patience in this matter,

Yours sincerely,

Vicki Shearing

Outreach & Development,

0151 7031606

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and
delete the original message from your system.

show quoted sections

Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.