Dear Department for Communities (Northern Ireland),

On the 23rd January 2017 the Board of the Charity Commission met in camera at 8.45 am, with the main Board meeting commencing at 11.15 am.
Please publish the minutes of the "in camera" meeting and the names of those attending.

Yours faithfully,

Trevor McKee

ProbityaacNI

Dear Department for Communities (Northern Ireland),

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)'s handling of my FOI request 'In Camera'.

Given the statement on the Commissions website reproduced as follows:

"As the regulator of charities, the Commission is concerned with ensuring the practice of good governance within the charitable sector. As such we strive to be as open and transparent as possible about our own governance, and set an example as the sector’s regulatory body".

It seems incredible to me that a regulator that demands exacting standards of Governance from charities would have an unrecorded meeting lasting 2/1/2 hours.

This meeting was recorded as "in camera"
a. impromptu in-camera meetings are usually only called when an important issue arises and
b. no one, other than those permitted to attend, knows what is discussed during the in-camera meetings. This then creates worry within the organisation that there may be a looming issue or crisis. This worry transfers to the sector and charities generally.
I am aware of challenges to the Charity Tribunal and to the High Court which challenges the lawful authority of the Commission. This is an important matter that should be dealt with in public and in the public interest.

Please can you review your answer and seek further clarification from the Commission.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...

Yours faithfully,

Trevor McKee

ProbityaacNI