# Serious concerns over Charity Commission Chair selection process see preferred candidate rejected

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/04/01/serious-concerns-over-charity-commission-chair-selection-process-see-preferred-candidate-rejected/
- Published: 2022-04-01T07:45:36+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The government’s preferred candidate for the Charity Commission chair role has
been rejected by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee due to serious 
concerns over the selection process.**

While the committee of ministers said it had no concerns over the candidate, Orlando
Fraser, as an individual, it did have serious concerns over how he was selected.

[In its report](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5802/cmselect/cmcumeds/1200/report.html),
the committee said that, like other recent public appointments by DCMS, the process
had been drawn out and subject to allegations of political interference. It expressed
surprise that ‘even after the resignation of Martin Thomas, the Department did not
learn from their mistakes and re-run the application.’

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Thomas stepped down almost immediately after [being appointed last year](https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/12/15/martin-thomas-appointed-charity-commission-chair/)
and before his formal start date after it emerged that he had been the subject of
misconduct allegations at a charity. Fraser was in the original pool of candidates,
along with Thomas.

The committee also called DCMS’s selection ‘yet another archetypal and unimaginative
choice’ from what it called ‘a limited shortlist’ that contained one woman and one
candidate from a BAME background.

As such, it sees Fraser’s selection as ‘demonstrative of the Department’s lack of
care, attention, and commitment to quality in this important public appointment.’

As a result, the committee report says, while it recognises Mr Fraser’s potential
to do the job, the committee does not formally endorse his selection as Chair of
the Charity Commission.

#### Committee recommendations

It recommends that the government looks again at the process of pre-appointments
to restore some of the trust and respect for process, and restores powers to the
Appointment Commissioner that were removed after the Grimstone Review of 2016. The
committee also calls for greater Ministerial discipline in removing themselves from
public speculation about candidates prior to their role in selecting a preferred
candidate.

#### NCVO response

Responding to the news, NCVO’s Head of Networks and Influencing Alex Farrow, said:

> “We have argued for a long time that parliament needs to be central to the process
> of appointing the Chair of the Charity Commission. The government should carefully
> consider the implications of continuing to appoint a candidate who does not have
> the backing of parliament.
>  
> “We agree that Orlando Fraser has the experience and understanding of the sector
> required to do the job, and we were pleased that he stressed the importance of
> the independence of the Commission to the committee.”
>  
> “We believe it was a mistake not to rerun the appointment process. This would 
> have provided confidence in the process and enabled a more diverse and representative
> shortlist to have been developed.”