Charity Commission not to investigate CAVS

Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services (CAVS) have issued the following statements to say that the Charity Commission are happy with the way they are governed and will not be carrying out an investigation.

This followed the sending of an anonymous letter to the Commission which contained allegations of wrong doing by the Chair, Mair Stephens. It was purported to have been written by a ‘disgruntled staff member’.

On the letter from the ‘disgruntled staff member’ CAVS have sent us a copy of a letter which they say was sent to the Commission and signed by all of the staff. The letter says:

Dear Miss Jones (Nia Jones of the Charity Commission)

We write regarding the letter to the Charity Commission, dated 13th November 2012, purporting to have been written by staff of Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services.

We, the undersigned employees of Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services, wish to record the fact that, contrary to the assertion made in the above-mentioned letter, we did not write said letter and we were not involved in its composition or its delivery.

Yours Sincerely

The letter is then signed by the following staff members:

Debbie Bence, Laurence Blackhall, Katie Bowen, Allison Davies, Gareth Downes, Sara Edwards, Rosie Frewin, Laura Hancock, Jenna Harries, Tom Haskett, Fflur Hughes, Elizabeth Jenkins, Sian Johnson, Alud Jones, Pete King, Matthew Lawlor, Gwyneth Lewis, Sara Lewis, Rachel Lovell, Bill Martin, Helen Martin, Moishe Merry, Marie Mitchell, Louise Morgan, Joanna Owen, Carolyn Phillips, Paolo Piana, Clare Pilborough, Lewis Phillips, Sarah Pocock, Kelly Price, Calum Richards, Jessica Samuel, Joanne Silverthorne, Eleri Williams, Sandra Williams, Clare Withey and Elaine Wylie.

On the subject of the allegations against Mair Stephens (CAVS Chair) which were contained within the original letter, they issued the following statement:

Statement from Carmarthenshire Association of Voluntary Services Board of Trustees

The CAVS Board met this morning, 11th December 2012. The issues raised by an unsigned and unaddressed letter of complaint sent to the Charity Commission, dated 13th November, were fully discussed.

The Trustees wish to say that we are totally confident in the effective governance procedures both now and in the recent past. We fully support and trust the judgement of our Chair in her leadership and trustee role. In particular Trustees are, and have been, fully involved in the decision-making processes which have always been undertaken in a transparent and recorded way.

The Trustees work with members of staff on committees, projects, policies and interviews. We have no evidence that staff morale is low.

They also sent us a statement by the Charity Commission which says:

‘I understand that the trustees are confident that the charity’s governance is effective and that all trustees are, and have been, fully involved in making decisions for the charity.’

‘This includes decisions about redundancy and employment packages. I also note that the charity’s decision making processes are undertaken in a transparent and recorded way and so this presumably means that the above information can be evidenced through the charity’s minutes.’

‘Therefore, based on this information, I am satisfied that there is no further regulatory role for the Commission.’

CAVS must be hopeful that this embarrassing episode can now draw to a close, so that they can continue their business and focus on their existing and future projects.

At this point in time, no one has come forward to claim responsibility for writing the letter.