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2 Feb 2010 : Column 311W—continued
We have analysed those charities which were subject to a Statutory Inquiry (investigations opened under Section 8 of the 1993 Charities Act, which deal with cases of significant risk and serious regulatory concern) closed during the years 2005 to the present. The numbers of Statutory Inquiries into charities with educational purposes completed over the past five years were as follows:
| Inquiries into charities with educational purposes | Total inquiries | |
As part of the changes we made in 2006 following a strategic review of the Commission's work, we moved away from the previous practice of treating all investigations as statutory inquiries. Instead, we reserved the opening of statutory inquiries to only those cases of the most serious regulatory concern and that is why the total number of formal inquiries has reduced significantly since 2006.
In the time available I have not been able to analyse the detail behind all of the inquiries involving charities with educational purposes which we have conducted in the past five years. However, looking at the past two years in greater detail, I can tell you that the 16 inquiries falling into this category related to the following charities with educational purposes:
Many of these 16 charities may not meet the definition of educational institutions that you had in mind, which I suspect may include only schools, colleges, universities and other centres of learning. I would be happy to undertake further analysis of this category of organisation should you wish me to do so.
The other type of investigation we conduct is non-statutory, which we call a Regulatory Compliance Case. In these cases the risk is usually more limited and able to be resolved without the need to intervene using our statutory powers.
The causes for concern involved in our investigations into charities are wide and varied. However, the concerns we most commonly examine include alleged financial mismanagement of the charity; trusteeship issues such as the suitability of trustees; management controls; dominant trustees, or their ineligibility to act; conflicts 'of interest; and/or unauthorised trustee benefits; alleged misappropriation of charity funds; or issues involving fundraising irregularities.
Broader analysis of the wider issues of concern arising from our investigations can be found in our annual report on the work of our Compliance function, 'Charities Back on Track'. I will arrange for copes of this report for 2007-8 and 2008-9 to be placed in the Library of the House. In addition our Statutory Inquiry reports for the past six months and a number of Regulatory Case reports are available on the Charity Commission website.
You may be aware that in July 2009 we published public benefit assessments of five charitable fee-charging schools. These were not investigations; they were part of our wider programme to raise awareness of the operation of the public benefit requirement, in line with our statutory objective in this area. They involved gathering information, compiling reports for each individual charity and publishing our emerging findings from the work as a whole in order to provide further guidance for charities about this matter.
I hope this is a helpful response to your question.
Civil Servants: Leave
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many days leave a civil servant had on average in 2008-09; and how many of these were (a) annual leave, (b) bank holidays and (c) privilege days. [315205]
Angela E. Smith: This information is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office. Departments and agencies have authority to determine the terms and conditions relating to hours of work/annual leave of their own staff, subject to the conditions set out in chapter 9 of the Civil Service Management Code.
Civil Servants: Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether staff in (a) the Serious Organised Crime Agency are and (b) the Assets Recovery Agency were included in civil service headcounts. [312178]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Dennis Roberts, dated January 2010:
The Director General for the Office for National Statistics has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning whether staff in (a) the Serious Organised Crime Agency are and (b) the Assets Recovery Agency were included in civil service headcounts. I am replying in his absence. (312178)
Staff in the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) are not included as part of Civil Service headcounts.
Staff in the Assets Recovery Agency were included in Civil Service headcounts up to April 2008.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office in respect of which public bodies staff were included in civil service headcounts in 1996. [312179]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Dennis Roberts, dated January 2010:
The Director General for the Office for National Statistics has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning which public bodies' staff were included in civil service headcounts in 1996.1 am replying in his absence. (312179)
A list of public bodies included in Civil Service headcounts in 1996 is attached at Annex A.
Public bodies included in Civil Service headcounts in 1996
ADAS
Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Army Base Repair Organisation
Army Base Storage and Distribution Agency
Army Individual Training Organisation
Army Technical Support
Building Research Establishment
Cabinet Office (including Office of Public Service)
Cadw-Welsh Historic Monuments
CCTA
Central Science Laboratory
Central Statistical Office
Central Veterinary Laboratory
Charity Commission
Chessington Computer Centre
Civil Service College
Coastguard Agency
Companies House
Court Service
Crown Estate Office
Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal
Crown Prosecution Service
Customs and Excise
Defence Accounts Agency
Defence Analytical Services Agency
Defence Animal Centre
Defence Bills Agency
Defence Clothing and Textiles
Defence Dental Agency
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
Defence Postal and Courier Services
Defence Transport and Movement Executive
Defence, Ministry of
Diplomatic Service
Disposals Sales Agency
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Driving Standards Agency
Duke of York's Royal Military School
Education and Employment, Department for
Education, Department for
Employment Service Agency
Employment, Department of
Environment (including Property Holdings)
Export Credit Guarantee Department
Fire Service College
Flag Officer Naval Training/Reserve
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Forensic Science Service
Friendly Societies, Registry of
General Register Office-Scotland
Government Actuary
Government Property Lawyers
Health and Safety Commission/Executive
Health, Department of
Highways Agency
Historic Royal Palaces Agency
Historic Scotland
HM Prison Service
HM Stationery Office
Home Office
Hydrographic Office
Information, Central Office of
Inland Revenue
Insolvency Service
Intervention Board
Laboratory of the Government Chemist
Land Registry
Legal Secretariat
Logistic Information Systems Agency
Lord Advocate's Department
Lord Chancellor's Department
Maintenance Group
Marine Safety Agency
Meat Hygiene Service
Medical Devices Agency
Medical Supplies Agency
Medicines Control Agency
Meteorological Office
Military Survey
Ministry of Defence Police
National Engineering Laboratory
National Heritage, Department of
National Investment and Loans Office
National Physical Laboratory
National Savings, Department for
National Statistics, Office for
National Weights and Measures Laboratory
Natural Resources Institute
Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation
Naval Recruitment and Training Agency
NHS Estates
NHS Pensions Agency
Northern Ireland Office
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