The Fundraising Regulator and the Information Commissioner’s Office have completed all regulatory work with 13 major fundraising charities fined for breaching the Data Protection Act.
The ICO initially fined the RSPCA and the British Heart Foundation, and then 11 other charities including Cancer Research UK, Guide Dogs and Macmillan Cancer Support, for misusing donors’ personal data. The fines were levied in December and April, and all were paid in full by May.
Following the ICO fines, the Fundraising Regulator contacted all charities asking for “remedial action plans”.
The action plans were required to include “Ceasing fundraising activities where the necessary consents are not in place; and reviewing fundraising activities and systems to ensure that they are fit for purpose and legally compliant.”
Margaret Moore, vice-chair of the regulator, said last week at an event in London to launch the Fundraising Preference Service that the regulator had received what it needed.
“Our work with the 13 charities which received monetary penalty notices from the ICO is now complete,” she said.
She said the Fundraising Regulator has been told that the ICO now considers its strategic work with the charity sector to be complete.
However it is not clear whether all regulators have finished their scrutiny. The Charity Commission opened compliance cases into all 13 charities, and has not announced the results of those inquiries.
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