The number of whistleblowing reports made to the Charity Commission by current and former charity staff, volunteers and trustees has dropped by more than a third over the last year.
Between 2020/21 to 2021/22 there was a 35% decline in the number of whistleblowing disclosures, from 431 to 281.
This follows a sharp increase in disclosures amid the Covid pandemic and brings the number of reports in line with pre-pandemic figures.
During the Covid pandemic in 2019/20 there was a 74% increase on the previous year’s tally of 247.
Whistleblowing to the regulator had been steadily increasing prior to the Covid health crisis, from a low of 87 in 2015/16 to 185 in 2018/19.
The Charity Commission said last year’s surge in whistleblowing reports “may have been driven by the uncertainties and financial challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic”.
It adds that the latest decrease in reports “could be as a result of some of the challenges associated with Covid-19 being less pronounced”.
Most reports in 2021/22 were from employees and ex-staffers. Meanwhile, 42 reports were from trustees, 34 from volunteers and 19 by former board members.
Education and training charities were the source of most reports, with 124 disclosures received.
Elsewhere, 51 related to disability charities and the same number involved anti-poverty charities. In addition, there were 43 reports related to conservation and heritage charities.
Governance failures and safeguarding concerns dominated the types of reports received, while 50 were linked to financial harm, compared to 121 last year.
We’ve published our whistleblowing report for 2021/2022. It outlines our approach to whistleblowing and the types of disclosures reported to us.
— Charity Commission (@ChtyCommission) September 29, 2022
The top 3 issues raised were:
➡️ Governance failures
➡️ Safeguarding
➡️ Financial harms
Read the report: https://t.co/44CzWvZHkf pic.twitter.com/CCP5jq7kEA
Of reports received the Charity Commission signposted another regulator in 25 cases, and 57 of the reports resulted in regulatory advice being given.
“Our approach to whistleblowing continues to evolve and it is an important part of how the Commission uncovers wrongdoing and harm in charities,” said the regulator.
It added: “Our policy of offering to speak directly with each whistle-blower on receipt of their disclosure is a key part of our assessment function.
“This is our standard approach and allows us to better identify and investigate wrong-doing and potential misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of charities.”
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