CHARITY COMMISSION COMPLAINT BY EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS AND PERSONAL AGENDAS
We have had many meetings, presentations of documents and sought to constantly reassurances to prominent individuals, external groups, sporting section committees and individual members of our Charity over the last year, as to the reasons why the NMPFA have deliberated, sought guidance, confirmed with members, engaged Charity Solicitors and worked with the Charity Commission over the last five years, on the direction the Charity needs to take, to change the legal structure of the Charity and that is to remove the risk of liability, from the Charity, it’s Trustees, sporting committees and members alike.
Recently an external local group have repeatedly tried to undermine and tarnish the reputation of the NMPFA as both a group and its individual Trustees. This group seem to think they have the authority or crave the authority, to determine the direction of our Charity. Certain individuals within this group have utilised a publicly constituted organisation, engaged with local borough council authorities, to pursue personal agendas against our Charity and its Members. In so doing, they have tried to affect the day-to-day running of the Charity business and influence the democratic decision making of the NMPFA Trustees and the entire Charity Membership.
Ignoring repeated advice presented in Charity documents and in meetings, advice attained from our own specialist Charity Solicitor and the Charity Commission themselves, who oversee Charity Law/Regulation and provide guidance to every single Charity in the UK.
The NMPFA have now received information in the form of a complaint response letter, written by the Charity Commission. We have not been informed as to the grounds of the actual letter of complaint.
For peace of mind to those Members, amongst others, who may have been directly affected by the baseless claims of these certain local external group members; please find the Charity Commission response to the complaint below:
During 2018 the PFA had to let go our previous Junior Football Section due to financial and managerial issues that were at odds with the ethos of the Charity. As a consequence it was discovered a potential for liabilities against both the Charity facilities, representatives and membership.
To protect against such liabilities a number of corporate entity structures were reviewed initially by the PFA. These options were advertised and then presented to the attending membership of the time, all as per our constitution, with the agreed outcome being a vote to move the Charity structure to a more formal one of a Charity Incorporated Organisation (CIO) as this would mitigate against the issues found.
NUNTHORPE AND MARTON PLAYING FIELDS ASSOCIATION : 523396
Thank you for your form dated 12th January.
We understand you are concerned about the charity and appreciate you sending us information. You have raised a concern about the charity converting to a CIO
Our decision
After looking carefully at the information you have sent us, we have concluded that there is no role for the Commission. We appreciate that sometimes decisions made by charities may be unpopular with some interested parties. The Commission will not take forward complaints where other parties disagree with decisions made by the trustees and those decisions have been properly made within the law and the provisions of the charity’s governing document.
We have not identified any evidence that decisions made by the trustees have not been made lawfully and we have not identified any governance concerns. For this reason, we will not be contacting the charity or taking any action.
The charity has converted to a CIO in March 2022 we are assured that they have taken the appropriate steps. Charity overview, NUNTHORPE AND MARTON RECREATION TRUST – 1198313, Register of Charities – The Charity Commission
We understand this may be disappointing to you but would like to reassure you that we will keep your email on the charity’s record, in case there are other concerns in the future.
How we make our decisions
When making our decisions, we consider the issue and look at the risk to anyone who comes into contact with the charity, along with the risk to the charity itself. It’s important that we consider the likely impact of our involvement, so we can make a fair and balanced decision about whether to act. All decisions are made following the principles set out in the Charity Commission Regulatory and Risk Framework.
Thank you for the time you have taken to contact us on this matter.
Yours sincerely
Assessment Team
Charity Commission for England and Wales
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