The Charity Commission has opened a compliance case into Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service (LIVES) following reports of bullying at the organisation.
Last month, LIVES filed a serious incident report with the regulator, after the BBC reported that there was a culture of bullying and belittling staff at the emergency care charity.
LIVES’s trustees rejected the allegations, saying that its accusers were pursuing a “vendetta” against the charity.
In January, a critical inspection report by the Care Quality Commission raised concerns about staff turnover, sickness and allegations of bullying from senior management at the charity.
Meanwhile, a petition calling for LIVES’s first-ever chief executive Nikki Cooke to resign due to “inadequate leadership” has now gained more than 500 signatures.
The regulator has now confirmed it has “an ongoing regulatory compliance case into LIVES regarding the charity’s governance and management” and “is continuing to engage with trustees”.
In response, LIVES’s trustees said: “The trustees at LIVES were delighted to receive a visit from the Charity Commission as part of our ongoing communications regarding issues raised by former staff with the Commission and the BBC.
“We don’t recognise the characterisation of the charity portrayed in those claims and welcomed an opportunity to outline the circumstances and evidence to the Commission. We remain confident the charity is moving forward in a very positive way.
“The discussions were very constructive and we await feedback.”
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