The Charity Commission reported last week that it has opened a statutory inquiry into a Parochial Church Council in York.  The inquiry will look into the administration, governance and management of the PCC, and in particular:

• "whether the [PCC] is being managed in accordance with its governing document and has a sufficient number of willing and capable trustees  
• the financial management of the [PCC] including whether the [PCC] has appropriate and robust financial controls in place  
• the management of potential conflicts of interest and connected party transactions, and whether there has been any unauthorised personal benefit   
• whether the [PCC] has suffered a financial loss as a result of any misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees".

The Charity Commission reported that it has had prior engagement with the relevant PCC's members following a failure to file accounts.  This engagement highlighted concerns which will now be reviewed as part of the inquiry.

Not all PCCs are required to register with the Charity Commission.  At present only those PCCs with an income of over £100,000 are required to do so.   For these PCCs, there are additional requirements, for example filing an annual return and trustees' annual report and accounts, as well as providing information about its trustees.

However, this action by the regulator serves as an important reminder that all PCCs are charities, regardless of whether they are registered with the Charity Commission.  PCC members (as charity trustees) must therefore ensure that they act at all times in accordance with charity law and are meeting the regulatory requirements and expectations of the Charity Commission.  

The Charity Commission's policy is to publish a report at the end of the inquiry detailing the issues investigated, action taken (if any) and its outcomes.  It will, I'm sure, make interesting reading and I would encourage all PCC members to review and take note of its findings and any further regulatory action taken by the Charity Commission.