# DSC publishes toolkit to monitor Charity Commission’s political independence - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/05/24/dsc-publishes-toolkit-monitor-charity-commissions-political-independence/ - Published: 2018-05-24T09:00:43+01:00 - Author: Melanie May **The Directory of Social Change has created a toolkit to help monitor the Charity Commission’s political independence and guard against encroachment on its decision- making.** [DSC](https://www.dsc.org.uk/) says it has launched the [toolkit](https://www.dsc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/here.pdf), called _Three Pillars of Independence,** **_in response to the concerns seen over the party-political bias of the previous [Charity Commission](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission) Chair William Shawcross, and the subsequent appointment of Conservative Peer Baroness Stowell to replace him, which was against the unanimous advice of a parliamentary scrutiny committee and charities. It believes there are three key factors to consider when it comes to the Charity Commission: independence from party politics, from populism and also from the press. The document explains each of these and why they matter, setting out the principles and context, and gives a list of practical questions, which anyone can ask to assess whether the charity regulator is indeed acting independently. ## Advertisement DSC’s Director of Policy and Research, Jay Kennedy said: > “Recent governments have sought leverage over the Charity Commission via the appointments > process. To anyone paying attention it’s obvious that relevant administrative > expertise, experience of charities, or knowledge of charity law has been secondary > to other considerations. This is a deeply disturbing trend. > “Charity trustees need confidence that their regulator is operating in an objective > way, based on the law and evidence, not unduly influenced by political rhetoric > or press hyperbole. We’ve published this toolkit as a bulwark to support the Commission’s > independence and confidence in its legally-binding judgments. We encourage others > to use it, and hope it makes the job easier for everybody in the sector and beyond.” The full toolkit, [Three Pillars of Independence](https://www.dsc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/here.pdf), can be found on the Directory of Social Change’s website. * **[DSC trustee & former Charity Commissioner warns charging charities won’t solve Commission’s issues](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/08/09/dsc-trustee-former-charity-commissioner-warns-charging-charities-wont-solve-commissions-issues/)**( 9 August 2018) * **[DSC CEO publishes It’s Murder in Management book](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/01/15/dsc-ceo-publishes-murder-management-book/)**( 15 January 2019) * **[DSC makes finding funding sources easier with launch of new site](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/01/24/dsc-makes-finding-funding-sources-easier-launch-new-site/)**( 24 January 2019) ![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader- 2x.gif)