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| Kids Company: ministers must explain why they 'overrode civil service' | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Ministers should never have ignored civil servants and handed over £3m to Kids Company just before it failed, Bernard Jenkin, the chairman of the public administration committee has said. | Ministers should never have ignored civil servants and handed over £3m to Kids Company just before it failed, Bernard Jenkin, the chairman of the public administration committee has said. |
| Jenkin said Kids Company had become too politicised and ministers “should not have been anywhere near the decision” to prop the charity up with public money. | Jenkin said Kids Company had become too politicised and ministers “should not have been anywhere near the decision” to prop the charity up with public money. |
| “Two ministers, Oliver Letwin and one other, actually overrode the advice of the civil service to hand over £3m and the charity went bust the next day,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. | |
| “It is for them to explain to the public accounts committee why that happened. One of the lessons of this is where a charity becomes politicised, where the figure representing the charity becomes a device used in political arguments … where ministers clearly have a conflict, they shouldn’t be involved in these decisions.” | “It is for them to explain to the public accounts committee why that happened. One of the lessons of this is where a charity becomes politicised, where the figure representing the charity becomes a device used in political arguments … where ministers clearly have a conflict, they shouldn’t be involved in these decisions.” |
| Jenkin also linked the charity’s governance failings to the role of its founder, Camila Batmanghelidjh, who he claimed was a “very verypowerful personality and she became expert at controlling the people around her”. | Jenkin also linked the charity’s governance failings to the role of its founder, Camila Batmanghelidjh, who he claimed was a “very verypowerful personality and she became expert at controlling the people around her”. |
| He said the trustees of Kids Company “were in her thrall” and accused her of preventing information reaching them. | He said the trustees of Kids Company “were in her thrall” and accused her of preventing information reaching them. |
| Alan Yentob, the chair of trustees at the high-profile charity for 19 years, was criticised in a report into the charity’s collapse by Jenkin’s committee for his repeated denials that there had been historic failures in its financial management. This interpretation, MPs said, was “inaccurate and alarming”, highlighting his “continuing inability” to recognise the failures in his duties as chair of trustees. | |
| The report by the public administration and constitutional affairs committee (Pacac) called for a radical change in charity regulation to prevent a repeat of the “extraordinary catalogue of failures of governance and control” that led to the collapse of Kids Company. | The report by the public administration and constitutional affairs committee (Pacac) called for a radical change in charity regulation to prevent a repeat of the “extraordinary catalogue of failures of governance and control” that led to the collapse of Kids Company. |
| Jenkin said his committee had heard “an extraordinary catalogue of failures of governance and control at every level: trustees, auditors, inspectors, regulators and government”. | |
| MPs were damning about senior politicians from successive governments who handed out more than £42m of public money to the charity with no robust evidence it was making any positive difference. Letwin, the Cabinet Office minister, was criticised for his role in ensuring the government gave millions of pounds of funding in the final months of the charity’s existence. | |
| Related: MPs blame 'negligent' trustees for Kids Company collapse | Related: MPs blame 'negligent' trustees for Kids Company collapse |
| The report Batmanghelidjh was allowed by trustees to be in total control of the organisation. In 2014 when Kids Company was £4m in debt and seeking £12m more of public money, Batmanghelidjh personally rejected a philanthropist’s offer of “unlimited funding” and a “large human resource”, MPs said. | |
| The report said Batmanghelidjh told the donor she was turning down the financial help because the individual lacked “emotional authenticity” and was “not ready to be genuinely philanthropic”. | |
| Neither Yentob nor the rest of the trustees – none of whom had experience in youth work – were involved in the decision to turn down the financial lifeline, underlining “how unaccountable and dominant trustees had allowed her to become and how far she was able to insist on maintaining personal control”, the report said. | |
| The former trustees of Kids Company issued a critical response to the report calling it “inaccurate, unbalanced and irresponsible” and said it was not based on a thorough investigation. They accused MPs on the committee of using parliamentary privilege to make allegations that would otherwise be subject to legal action. | The former trustees of Kids Company issued a critical response to the report calling it “inaccurate, unbalanced and irresponsible” and said it was not based on a thorough investigation. They accused MPs on the committee of using parliamentary privilege to make allegations that would otherwise be subject to legal action. |
| In the report MPs were also damning about senior politicians from successive governments. | In the report MPs were also damning about senior politicians from successive governments. |
| Related: Cheerful Letwin dons martyr's crown for Kids | Related: Cheerful Letwin dons martyr's crown for Kids |
| “Batmanghelidjh and Kids Company appeared to captivate some of the most senior political figures in the land, by the force of the chief executive’s personality as much as by the spin and profile she created for the charity,” the report said. | “Batmanghelidjh and Kids Company appeared to captivate some of the most senior political figures in the land, by the force of the chief executive’s personality as much as by the spin and profile she created for the charity,” the report said. |
| “As a consequence objective judgments about Kids Company were set aside ... There is little doubt that the high-profile support of successive prime ministers ... had an impact upon decision-making across Whitehall ... This included the authorisation of multiple grants outside of the normal competitive process. | “As a consequence objective judgments about Kids Company were set aside ... There is little doubt that the high-profile support of successive prime ministers ... had an impact upon decision-making across Whitehall ... This included the authorisation of multiple grants outside of the normal competitive process. |
| “Ministers should not allow charity representatives to exploit their access to government in a way that may be unethical.” | “Ministers should not allow charity representatives to exploit their access to government in a way that may be unethical.” |
| The report challenged the comments of Batmanghelidgjh and Yentob, who said last week Kids Company had closed because of the malicious and untrue allegations about sexual and physical abuse within the charity that sparked a police investigation. The inquiry by police led to no evidence of criminality. | The report challenged the comments of Batmanghelidgjh and Yentob, who said last week Kids Company had closed because of the malicious and untrue allegations about sexual and physical abuse within the charity that sparked a police investigation. The inquiry by police led to no evidence of criminality. |
| The MPs, however, said had trustees not allowed the weak financial position to persist for so long, Kids Company would not have been so vulnerable to the impact of the announcement of the police inquiry last summer. | The MPs, however, said had trustees not allowed the weak financial position to persist for so long, Kids Company would not have been so vulnerable to the impact of the announcement of the police inquiry last summer. |
| Key findings in the report, published on Monday, included: | Key findings in the report, published on Monday, included: |
| • “Negligent trustees” repeatedly ignored auditors’ clear warnings about the precarious finances of the charity. | |
| • There was a clear link between the length of time the chair of trustees, Yentob, and Batmanghelidjh had been in power and the failure to correct serious weaknesses in the organisation. | |
| • It was not until 2015 – after £35m of public money had been given to the charity – that the government acknowledged the need for a robust examination of its activities and outcomes. | |
| • The government knew Kids Company was overstating the number of clients it worked with but did nothing about it. | |
| • Earlier intervention by the Charity Commission might have helped safeguard Kids Company, which provided valuable support to many vulnerable young people. | |
| Jenkin said: “The committee has heard many positive accounts of the valuable work Kids Company did with some very vulnerable clients, and of employees who were inspired and motivated ... this makes the board’s failure to ensure the charity’s sustainability all the more tragic. There has been a litany of allegations of inappropriate ‘therapies’, lavish spending and abuse of power – we hope this episode highlights to all trustees that protecting the reputation of an organisation is a core element of good governance.” | |
| MPs described the “unique, privileged and significant access” to senior ministers and prime ministers of successive governments enjoyed by Kids Company – which angered other charities doing similar work – and also meant it was almost untouchable. | MPs described the “unique, privileged and significant access” to senior ministers and prime ministers of successive governments enjoyed by Kids Company – which angered other charities doing similar work – and also meant it was almost untouchable. |
| It was a “matter of considerable concern”, the report said, how individuals with concerns about the charity remained silent because of its powerful connections. | It was a “matter of considerable concern”, the report said, how individuals with concerns about the charity remained silent because of its powerful connections. |
| Related: Charity trustees are to blame for the fundraising scandal | Related: Charity trustees are to blame for the fundraising scandal |
| The report was dismissed by Batmanghelidjh, who told the Guardian that the inquiry had been superficial: “I can only have respect for reports that are based on as rigorous examination of the facts. I’m grateful the police did that [in their investigation into allegations of abuse at Kids Company] and we were cleared. I’m sorry that the Pacac MPs didn’t.” | The report was dismissed by Batmanghelidjh, who told the Guardian that the inquiry had been superficial: “I can only have respect for reports that are based on as rigorous examination of the facts. I’m grateful the police did that [in their investigation into allegations of abuse at Kids Company] and we were cleared. I’m sorry that the Pacac MPs didn’t.” |
| In a statement, the former trustees of Kids Company said: “For the committee to conclude that the trustees, auditors, care experts, inspectors, regulators and the government all failed ‘at every level’ is astonishing. | In a statement, the former trustees of Kids Company said: “For the committee to conclude that the trustees, auditors, care experts, inspectors, regulators and the government all failed ‘at every level’ is astonishing. |
| “Instead of basing its findings on a thorough investigation of the evidence, the committee has naively accepted allegations made in the media and by a small number of individuals, some with vested interests in damaging Kids Company and its much-praised model of loving care and practical support. | “Instead of basing its findings on a thorough investigation of the evidence, the committee has naively accepted allegations made in the media and by a small number of individuals, some with vested interests in damaging Kids Company and its much-praised model of loving care and practical support. |
| “Practically no weight has been given to the evidence presented to the committee by numerous witnesses who were closer to the work of the charity.” | “Practically no weight has been given to the evidence presented to the committee by numerous witnesses who were closer to the work of the charity.” |
| Although the report suggests the charity had poor child protection practices, the trustees note that the Metropolitan police – which last Thursday dismissed 32 claims against Kids Company of sexual and physical abuse after a six-month inquiry – found no evidence of safeguarding failings. | Although the report suggests the charity had poor child protection practices, the trustees note that the Metropolitan police – which last Thursday dismissed 32 claims against Kids Company of sexual and physical abuse after a six-month inquiry – found no evidence of safeguarding failings. |