AN INQUIRY has been launched into a Bradford charity over fears of misconduct or mismanagement in its administration

The Charity Commission says Charr Yarr Welfare Foundation Limited has been unable to provide receipts for £27,200 of grants and it has not filed its accounts for the latest financial year.

Charr Yarr were contacted but did not comment by the time the T&A went to press.

The charity funds several medical facilities in Pakistan, and operates a school in Bradford. Its purpose includes the promotion of education and relief of poverty throughout the world.

Its last accounts filed with Companies House said it had an income of £161,000 for the year to August 2017 and reserves of £255,000.

The commission has opened a statutory inquiry “as a result of serious regulatory concerns that there is or has been misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity”.

The regulator said it opened a compliance case into Charr Yarr Welfare Foundation in April 2018 to examine financial concerns, including the charity being unable to provide receipts for £27,200 of grants made to a partner charity based in Pakistan.

The charity’s accounts for the financial years ending August 31, 2016, and August 31, 2017, were also submitted to the commission late.

After two compliance visits the regulator issued regulatory guidance and an action plan to the charity. However it said the trustees again failed to file accounts for the financial year ending August 2018 on time and “continue to be in default of their accounting duties”.

The trustees were put on notice and advised that this was evidence of mismanagement and/or misconduct in the administration of the charity.

The failure of the trustees to comply with this advice and the action plan resulted in the commission issuing an official warning to the charity on January 9. Since then, it said the trustees have failed to submit required outstanding financial information and a report in relation to the progress of the action plan.

The charity also remains in default with Companies House in respect of filing the directors’ reports and accounts. The commission said it was concerned that action commenced by Companies House to ‘strike off’ the charity from the register of companies will place the charity at risk of it losing property.

Despite extensive engagement and attempts to put corrective measures in place, the commission said it continued to have serious concerns about the way the charity is run.

It said it had therefore escalated its engagement to a statutory inquiry on May 19. The inquiry will further examine the trustees’ governance of the charity in light of their failure to comply with the issued action plan and Official Warning. It will also examine the future viability of the charity.

The commission said it may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.

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.

Charr Yarr won planning permission in May from Bradford Council for plans to open a women’s education centre in Bradford – its first school in the UK.

They submitted a change of use planning application for Cavell House on Eldon Terrace, from office use to educational use.

In its application the charity said the building would be used for religious education classes and community events.