William Blake House in Northants accused of mismanagement after revelation it paid one of its own trustees £1m
A group of families have called for an urgent inquiry into a charity caring for their highly vulnerable disabled relatives which is under threat of closure after running up debts of £1.6m in unpaid taxes and paying £1m to one of its own trustees.
Earlier this month, a judge gave the charity, William Blake House, just weeks to pay off its debts to HMRC or face a winding up order. The charity’s accounts show auditors have routinely questioned whether it is a viable business.
The families say the wellbeing of residents is in jeopardy and public money is at risk. They have questioned why the charity has paid more than £800,000 in strategy fees and £240,000 in consultancy fees to a company owned by the charity’s chair, despite its deteriorating finances.
It now faces an investigation by the Charity Commission, which told the Guardian it had opened a regulatory compliance case into potential governance concerns. West Northamptonshire council said it was in ongoing discussions with the charity over what it called “serious governance and financial issues”.
