The Charity Commission, the charity regulator for England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into The Save the Children Fund (registered number 213890) over concerns about the charity’s handling, reporting and response to serious allegations of misconduct and harassment against senior staff members in 2012 and 2015.

The Commission was in regulatory engagement with The Save the Children Fund in 2015-16, after the charity reported a serious incident relating to allegations of misconduct and harassment against a senior staff member; the regulator also received an anonymous complaint about the charity’s response to further allegations against senior staff members. At that time, the Commission met with the Chair and instructed the charity to provide it with the findings of its independent review. It received direct assurance from trustees that all of these recommendations had been accepted and were being urgently acted upon.

The Commission re-engaged with the charity in February 2018 when they were responding to further public scrutiny about the 2015 issues. At this time, the charity announced a new review into workplace culture at the charity, which amongst other things will assess whether recommendations from a previous review have been fully and effectively implemented.

As a result of that more recent engagement with the charity, alongside new information from other sources that has recently come into the regulator’s possession, the Commission is concerned about:

• whether the charity adequately reported the full extent and nature of allegations to the Commission in 2015/16
• how the charity handled various complaints in 2012 and 2015 and, as a result, the extent of any reviews conducted at the time by the trustees into the charity’s response to the allegations
• the charity’s decision making since February 2018 on its public position regarding these allegations

As a result, the Commission opened a statutory inquiry into the charity on 4 April 2018. The new investigation will examine, among other matters, whether trustees have:

• adequately discharged their duties in handling the allegations at the time, and in fulfilling their duty of care towards their employees
• ensured the charity has implemented measures about operating to appropriate standards of work place conduct and staff safeguarding – including testing staffing misconduct allegations, complaints or incidents received by the charity since 1 January 2016
• made decisions around public handling and reputation management on the historic allegations appropriately
• disclosed fully, frankly and accurately, serious incidents relating to staffing matters to the Commission

The inquiry is confined to the issues of safeguarding in the context of misconduct and harassment of the charity’s staff; it is not examining safeguarding in the context of The Save the Children Fund’s programme delivery for beneficiaries.

Michelle Russell, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at the Charity Commission said:

This inquiry centres specifically on how the charity handled complaints in 2012 and 2015 about senior members of staff, and how the charity responded to and managed public and media scrutiny of those events in 2018.

Opening a formal investigation does not necessarily mean that we have concluded that there has been wrongdoing by the trustees of The Save the Children Fund. However, we do have questions that must be answered, and we need to hold the charity formally accountable for providing them in a clear and timely manner.

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.

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 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.
4. The Commission recently announced a new suite of measures on safeguarding including the establishment of a dedicated safeguarding task force.
5. The Commission will not seek to conduct work already commissioned by the charity in March 2018 in an Independent Review of Workplace Culture. The terms of reference of the Workplace Culture Review is wider, focused on understanding the current workplace cultures and levels of trust in the organisation. The Workplace Culture Review is however, looking at the implementation of the 2015 recommendations – considering the effectiveness of the implementation and actions identified in the 2015 review. The inquiry will expect to engage directly with the Independent Review of Workplace Culture on these aspects.

• Minister Andrew will outline the UK Government’s ambition for a low carbon future in a keynote speech at the North Wales and Mersey Dee Energy & Clean Growth Summit.
• The Minister to discuss the vision for North Wales’ nuclear future at Trawsfynydd power station.
• Stuart Andrew will also meet local authority leaders as part of continued engagement to develop proposals for a North Wales Growth Deal.

UK Government Minister Stuart Andrew will highlight North Wales’ potential in developing clean growth solutions to cut the cost of energy and drive economic growth in a speech to energy leaders at the North Wales and Mersey Dee Energy & Clean Growth Summit on Thursday (12 March).

Speaking at the event in Warrington, Minister Andrew will outline how the UK Government is making real progress on its Clean Growth Strategy, which sets out plans to drive growth and continue decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy through the 2020s.

Following a visit to Trawsfynydd nuclear power station in Gwynedd, the Minister is also expected to highlight the value of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to generate growth and create high value jobs across the UK.

After the speech the Minister will visit Rolls-Royce’s Warrington site to hear more about the UK SMR programme which supports the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy to secure homegrown, low cost and low carbon energy.

The UK has enormous potential to become a world leader in developing the next generation of nuclear technologies; an already burgeoning industry that contributed £6.4 billion to the UK economy in 2016.

UK Government Minister Stuart Andrew said:

As a naturally energy rich country, Wales’ landscape and natural resources have meant that we have been at the forefront of energy supply in the UK. Now we have the potential to build on this expertise, exploiting our resources to ensure Wales is at the forefront of the transition to a low carbon economy.

The UK Government has outlined an ambitious Clean Growth Strategy which demonstrates how the whole country can benefit from low carbon opportunities. The Industrial Strategy and the Clean Growth Grand Challenge support these ambitions by better linking up what we are doing in government with what we’d like to see industry doing.

We recognise that the nuclear expertise in North Wales has the potential to revolutionise the economy, developing new opportunities for job creation. That’s why the UK Government has already committed up to £56 million for advanced nuclear technologies.

As part of a two day visit to North Wales, Minister Andrew will also meet local authority leaders from the region on Wednesday to develop proposals for a North Wales Growth Deal, where the energy sector is likely to play an important role.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Stuart Andrew said:

A Growth Deal in North Wales will transform the way the region is governed, bringing powers to a local level and using big ideas to unlock growth and better connect towns and cities, both within Wales and over the border.

“The landscape in North Wales lends itself perfectly to being a key player in the UK’s low-carbon energy future, and I encourage local leaders to consider its potential when formulating proposals for a bespoke deal that works for the whole of the region.

ENDS

Thank you very much Mr President.

This is a sad day for the Security Council. It’s a sad day for the cause of universal norms and standards and it’s a sad day for the non-proliferation regime. But above all it is a very sad day for the people of Douma who now are without the protection that the international system was set up to provide for them. It is the fourth time in six days that the Council has discussed chemical weapons. Yesterday, fourteen members of the Security Council called for an investigation. Several members called on the P5 to assume their responsibilities to uphold the universal prohibition on WMD. As a P5 member, the UK is ready to do that, was ready to do that and was joined by France and the US. Conversely by vetoing, Russia has crossed the line in the international order. And worse, if possible, history is repeating itself one year on from Khan Sheikhoun.

Mr President, Russia helped create the original investigation that attributed Khan Sheikhoun to the Syrian regime, and concluded that sarin, which can only be developed by a state actor, had been used. But last autumn Russia vetoed renewal of this mechanism on not one, but three occasions. The reason is clear. It is because Russia would rather cross the WMD line than risk sanction of its ally Syria. Instead we are asked to believe that the Russian version of this latest attack should be the one that the Security Council believes.

Mr President, Russia is not authorised by the Security Council to carry out an investigation in Syria. Russia says there were no traces of a chemical attack. No traces were found by whom? I repeat Mr President, Russia is not authorised to carry out an investigation on behalf of the Security Council. We need an independent investigative mechanism for that purpose and only that sort of mechanism can have the confidence of the Security Council and the confidence of the membership of the UN and the confidence of the people of Syria.

Sadly, Mr President, reports of chemical weapons attacks in Syria have continued since the original Russian veto in November. It’s become very clear that Russia will do what it takes to protect Syria, whatever the compelling evidence of the crimes committed and to shut down further investigation and discussion of those crimes. And this has come, Mr President, at the cost of Russia’s own obligations and credibility as a permanent member of this Council, as a State Party to the CWC and as a declared, and supposed, supporter of peace in Syria.

The Security Council has been unable to act solely because Russia has abused the power of veto to protect Syria from international scrutiny for the use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people. Even today, Mr President, there are open source investigations which have located a chlorine cylinder, the same kind that the JIM has found that the Syrian regime use, atop a house in Douma full of dead bodies who clearly died from respiratory problems. I frankly doubt, Mr President, that in 48 hours, Russia has verified all similar reports and can conclude that they are all fake. They are not fake, Mr President. They need to be looked at and investigated by a proper independent mechanism such as this Council was prepared today to pass.

Mr President, Russia’s credibility as a member of the Council is now in question. We will not stand idly by and watch Russia continue to undermine the global norms which have ensured all our security, including Russia’s, for decades. As a P5 member, the United Kingdom will stand up for international peace and security. It is our moral duty, Mr President. It is a matter of shame that Russia once again blocked a resolution. The Russian Ambassador mentioned that it was not a question of counting the number of Russian vetoes. I beg to differ, Mr President. To quote Lenin, “quantity has a quality all of its own”. Russia’s actions today are a step against the rules and authority of the Security Council and the wider United Nations. They are a step against international peace and security and non-proliferation. And they are a step against humanity.

Prime Minister Theresa May held a bilateral meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa at Downing Street.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister held a bilateral meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa at Downing Street earlier today.

The Prime Minister said that the UK deeply values our long-standing alliance with Portugal and wanted to maintain and strengthen those ties in future across a range of areas, including science, defence, and trade and investment.

They discussed the recent attacks in Syria and Salisbury and agreed that the international community needed to come together to uphold the worldwide prohibition on the use of chemical weapons.

They also discussed Brexit and the progress of negotiations. The Prime Minister underlined the value she placed on the contribution of the Portuguese community in the UK. Prime Minister Costa also welcomed the contribution of UK nationals in Portugal and expressed his desire to maintain a close relationship with the UK after exit.

The Prime Minister also noted that yesterday marked the centenary of the First World War battle of La Lys where the Portuguese suffered their greatest loss of life, and she paid tribute to the bravery of the Portuguese forces.

Published 10 April 2018

Thank you for your feedback

Thank you very much indeed Mr President.

I wanted to take the floor because we are at an important point in this region, but I also wanted to welcome the SRSG back to the Council, and through him, to thank the UN mission for everything they are doing. It is also extremely helpful to have the update from the Ambassador of Congo.

I would like to start by saying to my good friend, the Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea, that it isn’t a modest contribution that his country makes, it is much more than that.

Mr President, its been five years since the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework was signed. It has proved to be a crucial framework for pursuing peace and stability in the Great Lakes region. But as the SRSG and the Ambassador from Congo have spelt out the DRC has always been at the centre of the framework. The situation in the DRC, the nerve centre, effects the stability of the region. As this Council has discussed in recent days, we are now at a critical juncture. What happens in the DRC over the next few months could be a defining moment in greater regional stability. We have a choice, Mr President, between seeing the situation improve or being overturned.

The United Kingdom, for our part, remains committed to supporting the implementation of the PSCF and we support free, fair and credible elections in DRC in December. We welcome the progress that has been made in the five years since the signing of the framework and I’d like to highlight the increase in the participation of women and a commitment to greater regional and international cooperation in the course of advancing peace and security.

That said Mr President, we are concerned that implementation of key elements has not made progress and this includes the repatriation of foreign combatants. As the Ambassador from Congo highlighted, we welcome efforts to reinvigorate the framework and urge all signatories to implement the framework in full, and we are very supportive of what the SRSG had to say on judicial issues. We are also concerned by the continued proliferation of violence in DRC, particularly in North and South Kivu, Tanganyika, Ituri and the Kasais. The results of this instability has indeed been devastating. 4.5 million Congolese have fled their homes and communities. There are more internally displaced people in DRC than anywhere else in Africa. And over 13.1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. So we support the other calls in the Council, Mr President, for regional players to come together in the interest of stability in the coming months. And I would like to endorse what the French Ambassador said about the importance of that regional cooperation.

Mr President, I’d like to conclude by talking about elections. Credible and constitutional elections are the only way to end the political crisis and achieve stability in DRC and we urge the signatories of the framework to ensure that peaceful and credible elections can take place in December 2018. This means that the electoral calendar needs to be respected and key milestones must be met and the confidence building measures of the 2016 December Agreement need to be implemented in full. This critically includes the freeing of political prisoners and the opening of political space and peaceful demonstrations. It is a region Mr President that is in all our interest and the United Kingdom pledges to work together with partners to achieve progress.

I have some other remarks, Mr President, on some other aspects of the region and framework but I will save those for consultations.

Thank you.