The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into
Destiny Community Services to investigate the charity's failure
to file statutory financial reports.
Destiny
Community Services was registered with the Commission in
2015 and has charitable
purposes including the prevention or relief of
poverty primarily in Dagenham, Essex.
The charity came to the attention of
the Commission's double-defaulter class inquiry in
February 2024 for failing to submit its accounts
for the financial years ending 31 December 2021
and 2022. Despite a final reminder being sent
to the trustees, the charity entered
the double-defaulter inquiry in March 2024 as
it failed to submit the outstanding
accounts.
As part of the double-defaulter inquiry, the charity was issued
an official order by the Commission requiring it
to submit its accounts, however the order was not
fully complied with and some of the accounts remained
outstanding. The accounts that were submitted were
found to be non-compliant with the Commission's
Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP).
Since then, the charity has fallen further into default of its
accounting requirements and has failed to engage
meaningfully with the Commission.
The separate inquiry will examine the extent to which
the trustees are complying or
have complied with their legal duties in respect
of the administration, governance and management of
the charity, with particular regard to:
-
the trustees' compliance with their statutory accounting and
reporting responsibilities.
-
the operation of the charity,
its viability and the extent to which it is
carrying out its purposes for the public benefit.
-
whether there has been any unauthorised private benefit to
the trustees and/or connected parties including whether
conflicts of interest have
been properly managed.
The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry
if additional regulatory issues emerge.
It is the Commission's usual policy, after it has
concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing the issues
examined, any action taken, and the inquiry's outcomes.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
-
The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial
government department that registers and regulates charities
in England and Wales. Its ambition is to be an expert
regulator that is fair, balanced, and independent so that
charity can thrive. The Commission has a wide range of
regulatory powers which it can use to support charities and
protect charitable assets. Further information about the
Charity Commission and its work is available at The Charity Commission
- GOV.UK.
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As part of the double-defaulters inquiry, an order under
section 84 of the Charities Act 2011 was issued to the
charity's trustees in March 2024 requiring them to submit to
the Commission by 29 April 2024 the outstanding accounts
for the financial years ending 31
December 2021 and 31 December 2022 and ensure that the
accounts submitted complied with the
Commission's Statement of
Recommended Practice (‘SORP').
-
The Commission's class inquiry for double defaulters examines
charities that have failed
to submit their annual accounting information for
two or more years in the last five years.
-
On 5 January 2026 the Charity Commission opened a
statutory inquiry into the charity under section 46 of the
Charities Act 2011 as a result
of its regulatory concerns that there is or has
been misconduct and / or mismanagement in the
administration of the charity.
-
A statutory inquiry is a legal power enabling the Commission
to formally investigate matters of regulatory concern within
a charity and to use protective powers for the benefit of the
charity and its beneficiaries, assets, or
reputation. The Commission has
not reached any conclusions and the opening of the inquiry is
not a finding of wrongdoing.
