Julia Unwin, who was chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for nine years until 2016, has been named as the government’s preferred candidate to chair the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Unwin, who was made a Dame five years ago for services to civil society, is an “outstanding candidate” for the £62,500 a year role, who “brings a wide range of experience and expertise to the role having worked across both civil society and regulation”.

“This will be a vital, public role to ensure that the Charity Commission’s independent regulation delivers high levels of public trust and confidence in charities,” added Nandy.

Unwin also spent five years as a Charity Commissioner during the 1990s and chaired the 2018 Civil Society Futures Inquiry.

The appointment of the charity regulator’s chair is made by the Culture Secretary with assistance from an advisory assessment panel.

She will appear before MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee for a pre-appointment scrutiny on 25 November.

Also, the Charity Commission has announced that interim chair Mark Simms will remain in post until January next year until Unwin’s recruitment is completed.

Controversial recent history of the role

The role of Charity Commission chair was marred by controversy under the previous Conservative government.

The appointment of the last permanent chair, former Conservative Party candidate Orlando Fraser, was rejected by MPs amid concerns around the selection process.

The DCMS committee was concerned over a lack of diversity in his selection by the Conservative administration, and his political affiliations garnered criticism from the charity sector.

Former Charity Commission legal board member Fraser’s appointment was also criticised for his role in the regulator’s bungled advice on campaigning around the EU Referendum, which had to be withdrawn.

Prior to Fraser’s selection the government had initially selected former banker Martin Thomas.

However, Thomas was forced to resign days before taking office after it emerged he was being investigated for inappropriate behaviour by a charity he had chaired. Charity sector leaders had urged the government to re-run the appointment process but instead ministers selected Fraser from the initial shortlist.

Fraser was the second chair whose appointment by the Conservative government was rejected by MPs.

They were also critical of the suitability of Fraser’s predecessor, former deputy chief of staff to Conservative leader David Cameron and coalition government minister Baroness Stowell, due to concerns around her experience and political associations.

Her tenure was impacted by controversial comments she made while in office. This included incurring the wrath of voluntary sector leaders for urging charities to “leave party politics” and “culture wars” out of their work.

In a newspaper article, Stowell told charities that “there’s more than one way to help those in need, but if you want to improve lives and strengthen communities through charity, you need to leave party politics and the culture wars out of it”.

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