The Charity Commission, has opened a class statutory inquiry into Future Vision Care and Future Vision Consortium. The inquiry was opened on 24 August 2018.

Future Vision Consortium is a charity whose objects include the relief of poverty, sickness and the advancement of education to the British public as well as Somalia, by providing grants, advocacy, advice and translation services. The charity is connected to Future Vision Care, an unregistered charitable company which provides professional care services to the elderly and needy.

Despite being unregistered, Future Vision Care falls under the Commission’s jurisdiction as it has been set up for exclusively charitable purposes and is subject to the control of the High Court’s charity law jurisdiction.

In October 2017, the registered charity was included in the Commission’s double defaulter class statutory inquiry, which looked into charities that had defaulted on their annual reporting obligations two or more times in the last 5 years. Although the charity has now submitted accounts, they are invalid as they are for Future Vision Care and not Future Vision Consortium. Both charities have the same trustees.

The financial information submitted to the Commission raised serious regulatory concerns about the administration, management and governance of both charities by the trustees. In particular there are concerns that charitable funds are being placed at risk, as not only is it unclear how Future Vision Consortium has applied its funds, but Future Vision Care’s accounts do not provide a clear explanation of how its income is applied in furtherance of its objects for the benefit of the public. Additionally, there are concerns about unauthorised payments to a trustee and whether the charities are being operated separately.

As a result of its ongoing failure to submit valid accounts and the further concerns outlined above, Future Vision Consortium was removed from the double defaulter class inquiry and placed into a separate class inquiry with Future Vision Care.

This new class inquiry will look into:

• The administration, governance and management of the charities, in particular the extent to which the trustees have:

  • Complied with their duties to wind up and request removal from the register of any charity that has ceased to operate and to apply to register any charity that is under their control if required to do so under s30 of the Charities Act 2011
  • Complied with their legal obligations for the preparation and filing of the charities accounts and other information or returns
  • Carried out activities in furtherance of the charities objects and ensured that the charities are operating for the public benefit
  • Complied with previously issued regulatory guidance as issued to the registered charity in October 2017 when it was included in the double defaulter class inquiry
  • Properly authorised and monitored any benefits and/or remuneration to trustees and/or connected parties

• The extent to which any weaknesses in the management and administration of the charities identified by the inquiry were a result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work see the about us page on GOV.UK.
2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
3. Section 30 of the Charities Act 2011 requires trustees to register a charity unless the exceptions set out in Section 30(2) apply which include having a gross income which does not exceed £5,000.
4. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the Commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.

The Geovation Programme has been running for 3 years. So far, it has helped 72 GeoTech and PropTech businesses create 189 new jobs and raise £19.5 million in investment funding.

Businesses joining the start-up accelerator each receive up to £20,000 in funding and a range of resources and services, including access to experienced software developers, geospatial expertise from Ordnance Survey, property expertise from HM Land Registry, and specialist mentoring to assist with business proposals and investor relationships.

The latest group to receive this help and benefits are:

• getGround makes transacting property in the UK buy-to-let market speedier and more cost-effective
• ADVC8 provides innovative software and digital marketing services to law firms wanting to increase business opportunities and grow their client base
• Skyroom partners with major landlords to help them turn their disused rooftops into high-quality, low-cost, eco-friendly homes for key urban workers
• QFlow uses Internet of Things technology to help businesses manage their resources more sustainably on construction and development sites
• RunFriendly takes an Airbnb approach by helping people find run-friendly routes, people and places
• ONIGO provides immersive adventure games in London’s greatest parks
• ProxyAddress uses empty addresses to connect those facing homelessness with the support they need by creating a ‘proxy’ address that can be used to access services and provide identification regardless of location

David Lidington, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said:

This Government is committed to helping put British companies onto the global stage. By supporting and promoting emerging technologies, we are creating more opportunities for businesses both large and small. The Geovation Programme has created nearly 200 jobs and raised £19.5m in investment and is an excellent example of how data and technology can be used to improve lives.

Jenna Brown, CEO and co-founder of Shipamax, one of the first businesses to enter the Geovation Programme, said:

We needed experience and access to people with that geospatial and mapping expertise because our business is fundamentally about how we navigate ships around the world. We visited a lot of start-up offices around town and I think the Geovation Hub is one of the few spaces that actually feels like you can get work done.

We found it really useful having someone always there on the business side of things – advising on fundraising etc, and on the development side – making sure we’re set up to work as a team, and knowing how we can get access to different data sources, which was really important to us. Technologies with that mapping element to it, I think, are going to grow in importance, especially as things get more real-time. There’s a really big place for Geovation in helping start-ups get involved and moving in the right direction.

Orla Shields is the founder of PropTech company GetRentr, which uses artificial intelligence to track UK property licensing regulations and consultations in real-time to ensure property portfolios are compliant. After a successful application, Orla’s company was one of the first PropTech businesses to join the Geovation Programme when it expanded to accepting PropTech businesses as well as GeoTech ones.

In the months that followed, Orla and GetRentr raised over £500,000 in funding and are currently working with letting agents and landlords and have partnerships with Association of Residential Letting Agents and the National Landlord Association.

Orla said:

Geovation has been life-changing. The £20,000 grant has helped us do things we couldn’t have done while we were waiting to secure other investment. Free office space in Clerkenwell is a major benefit for any business – early stage or not. It’s a great environment, with numerous other inspiring start-ups in a similar field.

Geovation’s network and connections with major people in this industry and in government is priceless. The team is very pro-active, and their support and experience was really helpful and always available. One of the best benefits has been the ability to use Ordnance Survey and HM Land Registry data. This gives us the option to reach out to more people who are looking to invest and be strategic with their portfolios. It has also helped us predict where regulations will be implemented. Overall, the culture at Geovation is one of collaboration and support.

The environmental performance of regulated businesses across the country continues to improve, according to latest figures released from the Environment Agency (EA) today.