The government should change the way the chair of the Charity Commission is appointed to avoid ongoing criticism about political patronage, NCVO has proposed in a discussion paper published today.
NCVO announced in October last year that it would investigate the governance of the Charity Commission because it considered that the regulator was continually accused of lacking independence. The discussion paper also considers but rejects changes to the legal form of the Commission itself.
The Commission chair is currently appointed by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, and the process is scrutinised by the Public Administration Select Committee.
NCVO proposed a number of potential alternatives. NCVO has said this process allows political bias, or perceptions of bias, to colour the role of the chair.
The incumbent chair of the Commission, William Shawcross, has faced accusations of political partisanship even before his appointment. He was seen as a Conservative supporter by members of the Public Administration Select Committee, which scrutinises the work of the Commission. Labour members of the PASC voted against his appointment.
The previous chair, Dame Suzi Leather, also faced accusations of political bias.
NCVO proposals included requiring a unanimous vote from the Public Administration Select Committee to ratify the appointment, or giving Parliament, rather than ministers, the power to make the appointment. It also called for the chair to either have a single non-renewable term, or for any re-appointment to be carried out on the same basis as the original appointment.
NCVO also said the Commission would potentially benefit from a change in legal form. The Commission is currently a non-ministerial department, and NCVO’s discussion paper said that it does not feel this is an ideal model. However it said none of the alternative forms were sufficiently better to justify a decision to change.
“Quite a few criticisms of the actions of both the current and previous Charity Commission chairs are overblown,” said Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of NCVO. “But nevertheless, there is a problem with perceptions of the Commission's independence from ministers.
“The Commission is too important to risk being seen as a site of political patronage. We should have a sensible debate about how to avoid this. Our paper outlines a number of constructive proposals which we believe would enhance both the Commission's actual and its perceived independence from government.
“The paper is intended to prompt discussion and we would be grateful for views from the sector and others with an interest in the issues raised.”
Two days after NCVO said it would launch its review, chief executives body Acevo also launched an investigation into the Commission's governance.
