Request for numbers relating to the waiver process

The request was refused by Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Christopher Stacey LL.B, LL.M

Dear Charity Commission for England and Wales,

Further to data that the Charity Commission provided in February 2019, I would like to know the following information, broken down by each of the last two years (01/02/2018-31/01/2019, and 01/02/2019-31/01/2020).

1. The number of waiver applications received, split between whether they relate to trustee positions, senior management positions or both, the number approved, the number refused and the number outstanding
2. The same breakdown as (1), but specifically in relation to waiver applications that relate to people with unspent convictions for specific offences
3. The same breakdown as (1), but specifically in relation to waiver applications that relate to people on the sex offenders register
4. The average length of time it took to make a waiver decision upon receipt of waiver application
5. The number of refusals relating to unspent convictions appealed through a) internal review and/or b) the First Tier Tribunal (charity)
6. The number of refusals relating to people on the sex offenders register appealed through a) internal review and/or b) the First Tier Tribunal (charity)
7. The type and number of criminal record checks carried out on receipt of each waiver application (for example to confirm that an applicant is in fact disqualified under the rules.)

Yours faithfully,

Christopher Stacey
Co-director, Unlock - for people with convictions

FOI Requests, Charity Commission for England and Wales

Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the
Charity Commission. We will respond within 20 working days.
 
If you have used this email address for a query that is not an FOI
request, we will not reply.
 
Please contact [1]Charity Commission to resubmit general enquiries.
 
This is an automated email. Please do not reply to this email.
 
 
 
______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
For more information please visit http://www.symanteccloud.com
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

RIGA FOI (Queue), Charity Commission for England and Wales

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Stacey

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request. My response is
attached.

Yours sincerely

Miss H Taylor

W: [1]https://www.gov.uk/charity-commission

[2]Twitter Follow us on Twitter | @ChtyCommission
[3]Bar
[4]Logo

show quoted sections

Christopher Stacey LL.B, LL.M

Dear Charity Commission for England and Wales,

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

I am writing to request an internal review of Charity Commission for England and Wales's handling of my FOI request 'Request for numbers relating to the waiver process'.

In question 7, I asked for “the type and number of criminal record checks carried out on receipt of each waiver application (for example to confirm that an applicant is in fact disqualified under the rules.)”

This element of my request was refused. The response was “I can confirm that the Commission holds information relevant to your request. We are unable to communicate this information to you however, as it is considered that the exemption at Section 31 of the Act applies.”

The public interest test that has been applied to this decision is misplaced.

The response states that “It is considered that the disclosure of the information requested would be likely to prejudice these functions. The functions referred to include:

1. Increasing public trust and confidence in charities – it is not clear how knowing about the types of checks the Commission does would impede on increasing public trust – if anything, not releasing this information has the potential to damage public trust and confidence.
2. Promoting compliance by charity trustees with their legal obligations – unless it is the case that the Commission does no formal checks (which I assume is not the case) it is not clear how knowing the types of checks the Commission does can do anything to harm the compliance of trustees – if anything, releasing this information could further help to promote compliance.
3. Identifying and investigating apparent misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of charities and taking appropriate remedial or protective action in connection with misconduct or management therein – it is unclear how these functions relate to the nature of this request and so these should not be factored into the decision relating to this request.

It is argued that “If the details of the Commissions regulatory compliance work is routinely disclosed, charities, and other parties, would be reluctant to co-operate or enter into open and frank discussions with the Commission in the course of its work.” It is unclear how this justification relates to the specific request relating to the types of checks carried out on waiver applicants.

It is also argued that “disclosure would prejudice the consideration and assessment of any regulatory action the Commission might be minded to take. This would adversely affect the Commission's ability to regulate efficiently and effectively.” Again, it is not clear how this relates to the specific request.

In a practical sense, the purpose behind the question was to establish, for example, whether the Commission:
1. Relies on its access to the Police National Computer to carry out checks against what the applicant has disclosed
2. Requires applies to undertake basic criminal record checks
3. Carries out informal checks (such as using internet search engines).

The request was not seeking any personal information about any particular waiver applicant.

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

Yours faithfully,

Christopher Stacey
Co-director, Unlock - for people with convictions

FOI Requests, Charity Commission for England and Wales

Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the
Charity Commission. We will respond within 20 working days.
 
If you have used this email address for a query that is not an FOI
request, we will not reply.
 
Please contact [1]Charity Commission to resubmit general enquiries.
 
This is an automated email. Please do not reply to this email.
 
 
 
______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
For more information please visit http://www.symanteccloud.com
______________________________________________________________________

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

RIGA FOI (Queue), Charity Commission for England and Wales

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Stacey

Please find attached the outcome of the Commission's review of your FOI
request.

Yours sincerely

The Information Rights Team - Charity Commission

 

W: [1]https://www.gov.uk/charity-commission

[2]Twitter Follow us on Twitter | @ChtyCommission
[3]Bar
[4]Logo

show quoted sections