The Charity Commission for England and Wales has published its Report on its statutory inquiry into the Jamia Hanfia Ghosia Mosque and Princess Street Resource Centre. The inquiry found that twelve trustees failed to hold an annual general meeting and elections for three consecutive years from 2019. Despite the 2020 failures being due to COVID-19, the Commission is of the view that the trustees should have taken steps to address the position once the lockdown restrictions had been removed.
This means that the Commission has decided that the trustees' actions (or inactions) amounted to serious misconduct or mismanagement. The charity is now run by a new board of trustees who have been properly elected.
Although it may be tempting at times to avoid the formal processes set out in an organisation's constitution, this case study is an important reminder that the constitution is designed to protect and support the trustees, but it will only do so if its provisions are followed properly.
If special circumstances arise that prevent the formal processes from taking place, then trustees need to consider how to proceed.