Clause 6
Charities Bill [Lords]
5:45 pm
Andrew Turner (Shadow Minister (Charities), Home Affairs; Isle of Wight, Conservative)
Specifically, but ineffectively, that the commission should be accountable to a Select Committee. That was out of regard for the fact that, as far as I know, there is no Committee responsible for the activities of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, so I did not know where to put that responsibility.
Nevertheless, I have experience of the Education and Skills Committee, to which a similar non-ministerial department, Ofsted, is accountable in practice, if not in law. That is immensely helpful. Ofsted had two hearings a year before the Select Committee; those hearings generated substantial reports that covered a wide range of Ofsted’s activities, including changes to its responsibilities, the implementation of new legislation, value for money, and the means by which Ofsted develops its relationship with schools. I am sure, Mr. Gale, that you can see the analogies with the Charity Commission emerging. It will have to develop its relationship with charities and implement new legislation. It will have an awful lot of money and will, I hope, deliver good value for it.
On the Education and Skills Committee, I was able to question the decisions of Ofsted. For example, I questioned why it defined a particular local education authority as being “satisfactory” when in fact it was deeply unsatisfactory in a number of particulars. I am pleased to say that that local education authority is no longer under Liberal Democrat control, partly, I am sure, as a result of the answers that I got from Ofsted. The point is that the commission needs to be accountable. It is fine—excellent—that it is made clear that the commission is not under the direction of any Minister of the Crown, but it has to be under the direction of someone. In my view, a parliamentary Select Committee is where that accountability would appropriately lie. In line with the suggestion of the Association for Charities and many other organisations, I hope that the Minister will find a way, on Report, to bring us some good news on how the commission will be accountable in future.