The Charity Commission has reported that whistle blowing disclosures in the sector have more than doubled in the last two years. The Commission received 185 whistleblowing disclosures between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019, compared to 101 disclosures received in 2017-18 and 88 disclosures in 2016-17. For the first time concerns by volunteers have been considered as whistle blowing, although over 90% of the disclosures came from employees or ex-employees.
The top three issues reported in 2018-19 were safeguarding, governance and fraud or money laundering. Other issues included terrorism and charities being set up for improper use. Safeguarding as the most reported issue marks a change from previous years, when governance has been most the most reported concern, influenced by the high-profile nature of recent safeguarding incidents in the charity sector. Disclosures were most prevalent in charities dealing with educational, disability and religious matters.
