Charity Commission agrees terms for Oxfam GB independent review
Melanie May | 29 March 2018 | News
The Charity Commission has agreed the terms of an independent review of safeguarding at Oxfam GB, which will work closely with and be supervised by the Commission’s own inquiry into the charity.
The external review will examine Oxfam GB’s governance, management and its policies and practices with regard to safeguarding, following reports of misconduct by the charity’s workers in Haiti, and in addition to the Commission’s own statutory inquiry announced last month. The external review will be chaired by Kate Gallafent QC, with Jim Gamble QPM, CEO of safeguarding specialist Ineqe Group Limited commissioned to conduct it.
The independent review’s work will include examination of:
- Oxfam GB’s current safeguarding arrangements
- Oxfam GB’s management of safeguarding allegations since 2011
- Oxfam GB’s reporting of all relevant and applicable matters, accurately and to the levels required:
- as serious incidents to the Commission
- to law enforcement or other respective agencies in the UK and in other countries where appropriate
- to statutory funders in the UK and other principal donors
It will also examine the charity’s progress in implementing the requirements of the safeguarding action plan agreed with the Commission in November 2017.
The review will then make recommendations to the trustees and the Commission on matters including future safeguarding arrangements for the charity, as well as support Oxfam GB to deliver any changes considered necessary.
Harvey Grenville, Head of Investigations and Enforcement at the Charity Commission said:
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“The public rightly expects charities to operate to high safeguarding standards. The Commission has therefore ensured that the terms of reference of this review have been drafted to guarantee independent scrutiny and rigour. We expect the review to support Oxfam GB in developing its existing action plan to deliver an improved safeguarding framework for the future which meets these standards.”
Anyone with information that could be relevant to the inquiry is asked to contact Ox**********@ch***************.uk.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.