Independence is our greatest strength

The other day, I had the pleasure of listening to a Q&A session with the new Chair of the Charity Commission, Dame Julia Unwin. It was convened by the Civil Society Group, a network of infrastructure organisations which works to advance the influence and profile of civil society organisations with governments across the UK. DSC has been involved with this group since its inception during Covid. 

Dame Julia has only been in post for a few months, but she’s a very experienced hand, having worked for many charities over the years and having been a Charity Commissioner several decades ago. I first came across her via ‘The Grant-making Tango’ – a thoughtful treatise on the art of grant-making published by the Baring Foundation in 2004.  

That’s a story for another day – but it gives you a sense of the length and breadth of her expertise. When have we ever had a Chair of the Charity Commission who authored a publication on grant-making? 

What struck me was that she’s almost unlike anyone else to hold her post in my experience. She really ‘gets it’. She’s seen all the debates before, and probably some a few times over. Even if some of our current challenges seem new and overwhelming, there’s a calmness and wisdom gained from a long perspective. She cited a few examples from the past and compared them to today’s climate, which really grounded the discussion. 

Dame Julia is also quite clear that in this role she needs to wear a different hat. She’s standing on her deep expertise and knowledge of the charity sector, but now must play a different role. She explained why she didn’t really need to spend a lot of time meeting charities during her induction – she knows that ground well enough already.  

What she wanted to focus on was meeting other regulators – what were their challenges? How could they learn from each other? Where were the regulatory overlaps, for example, with the FCA or the CQC? How could they rationalise or better coordinate these? 

An important thread through Dame Julia’s talk was independence – both of the regulator and of civil society. Maintaining this, she argued, was crucial to meet the many challenges ahead. DSC couldn’t agree more. This came across in three ways: 

1. The independence of charities: She argued that having an independent civil society, with charities at the heart, was vital to everything from economic growth to being “the ecosystem that got us through Covid”. The fact that civil society organisations are independent means they can be responsive and owned by communities, mobilising voluntary action. This needed to be recognised by charity leaders but also government and state institutions. 

2. The independence of the regulator: she said that the Charity Commission is “a critical part of the machinery” for the charity sector, “like a lighthouse”. It needs to be “calm and steady in the face of so much turmoil and change” and “consistent, proportionate, steady in interpreting the law”. Above all, she said that “independence is our greatest strength…we are independent of Ministers and accountable to Parliament…this is a precious good”. Regulatory enforcement is a key aspect of the regulator’s job but not the only purpose – it supports a healthy civil society where people can trust charities, and the wider public interest. 

3. The independent roles of regulator and regulated. Importantly, Dame Julia argued for a necessary distance between regulator and regulated. The two play different roles and “you don’t really want the Charity Commission to be your champion. That’s not our role and you wouldn’t be happy with the way we would do it. I don’t think any sector really wants their regulator speaking for them”. She challenged charity leaders to “lead not plead” and to set the agenda for reforms that might be needed, which the Commission could consider together with the political system. The regulator needs to be attuned to, but independent from, those it regulates. 

This is still the honeymoon period for Dame Julia as Chair of the Charity Commission and it won’t all be plain sailing. We won’t all agree with the decisions the Commission takes under her leadership in the coming years. 

There’s no shortage of big challenges ahead, some of which were mentioned in the meeting. Including the rising threat of lawfare to intimidate charities, a political environment that is deteriorating in terms of attacks on many charitable causes and beneficiaries, and the even greater financial pressures on organisations after Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. 

However, we can take confidence that we have someone now at the helm of the Charity Commission who is knowledgeable, judicious and accessible as we rise to meet them.  

In this fast-changing environment, it’s important for charities to stay on top of the latest developments. DSC will closely monitor the situation and what it means, to help you stay informed. So stay tuned for the latest news affecting the sector with DSC’s Daily Bulletin.  

You can also get my top tips on how to influence politics and politicians in DSC’s Campaigning Speed Read, here.