William Shawcross has said in an interview with the Financial Times that he does not think all trustees should be paid but that the Charity Commission looks “sympathetically” on requests to do so from charities. 

Last week the charity sector think tank New Philanthropy Capital reignited the debate on trustee payment, arguing that it should be up to charities themselves, not the Commission, to decide if trustees should be paid. Under current arrangements, charities have get permission from the regulator to pay their trustees.

NPC also urged the Commission update its guidance to encourage charities to explore the possibility of paying trustees.  

In the interview published today, Shawcross said: “I don’t think it should be a blanket thing, but we do look at that sympathetically if people ask us.” He cautioned that “it might be seen as going against the spirit of volunteerism”.

Speaking separately, a Commission spokesman added: “Unpaid trusteeship has traditionally been one of the defining characteristics of the charity sector. However, as our guidance states, charities can come to us if they think their trustees should be paid and we will consider the issue on a case by case basis.

“We will authorise payment where trustees can show there will be a clear benefit to the charity that will outweigh the disadvantages, and that paying trustees is in the charity’s best interests. We look forward to discussing the suggestions made in NPC’s paper over the coming weeks with NPC and others in the sector, and we expect the House of Lords Select Committee on charities is also likely to consider these issues.”