Charity Commission investigation
The Charity Commission has concluded its compliance case involving the National Trust, finding that there are no grounds for regulatory action against the charity.
Following an investigation into the National Trust's publication of the "Interim Report on the Connections between Colonialism and Properties now in the Care of the National Trust, including Links with Historic Slavery" in September 2020 which led to public criticism of the charity, the Charity Commission found that there are no grounds for regulatory action against the charity.
However, the regulator has welcomed the National Trust’s commitment to learning lessons from its recent experience, and its ongoing commitment to take into account a wide range of views and opinions within its membership and wider society.
The regulator considered that concerns about the report required examination because they had the potential to damage significantly the charity’s reputation and undermine trust and confidence in charities more widely.
The Commission’s compliance case assessed whether the report was in furtherance of the National Trust’s purposes, and examined the trustees’ decision making, including in managing the potential risk to the charity’s reputation in commissioning and publishing it.
The regulator concluded that the Trust has provided a well-reasoned response to the question of how the publication of the report furthered the charity’s purposes and was satisfied that the trustees recognised and carefully considered the potential negative reaction that could result from the publication of the report. For example, before commissioning the research, the charity consulted a panel of 2000 members, finding considerable support for research into challenging histories, provided the findings were appropriately researched and contextualised.
Publication of the report did generate strongly held and divided views, and in light of this, the Charity Commission said that it was reasonable to conclude that the Trust’s planning and approach did not fully pre-empt or manage the potential risks to the charity. In particular, the charity could have done more to explain the link between the report and the Trust’s purpose.
However, overall, the Commission was reassured that the charity acted in line with its charitable purposes, and the trustees fulfilled their legal duties and responsibilities.