When opening she said "at a time of division and uncertainty, charity has a unique potential to bring individuals and communities together". She then referred to the challenges of technological change, uneven economic development, environmental warnings and the growing divisions caused by the EU referendum, before suggesting that charities need to meet public expectations so that the sector can be "a much-needed source of hope, identity and pride".
A clear message of Baroness Stowell's speech was that the trust and support of the public is vital in order for charities to succeed in delivering maximum benefit to beneficiaries and wider society. She positioned the Commission as the voice of the public interest in charity, "so we have set ourselves a new purpose: we must help ensure charity collectively can thrive and inspire trust, so that people can change lives and strengthen society".
This purpose is said to lie at the heart of a new strategy that we are told came into effect in April, which sets out five new strategic priorities for the Commission, under which the Commission will:
These priorities were originally floated in the Commission's Statement of Strategic Intent published in October 2018.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the reaction to Baroness Stowell's speech have centred on her references to the need to promote trust in charities. Important questions have been raised about the extent to which promoting trust in 'charity' in general, as opposed to their own charities, is an appropriate or realistic role for individual trustees, how far generalisations about a gloriously varied sector are helpful, and whether the Charity Commission is well placed to make judgments in this area. See recent blogs by Andrew Purkis and Paul Parker for example.
Many charity leaders will be more interested in Baroness Stowell's acknowledgement that the Charity Commission must be held to account for the quality of its services and that:
"[the Commission's] financial limits don’t give us an excuse not to meet the same standards of operational performance that we demand of those we regulate".
If you are one of them, you may be pleased by the recent announcement that the Commission's helpline is extending its opening hours. No doubt the Commission will continue to reflect on levels of public trust in the sector. However many of our clients would welcome further operational improvements that make it easier for them to seek guidance and support from the commission - and see such operational improvements as more helpful than generalised encouragement to the sector as a whole.