An error of judgement - helplines and confidentiality leaks
The scrutiny of charities by the Charity Commission took a new turn this week with announcements that it would be investigating complaints alleging breach of client confidentiality by the National Bullying Helpline.
CEO Christine Pratt founded the helpline with her husband in 2003, and was herself the victim of bullying in the workplace. She has been under fire following her revelation that members of Gordon Brown’s Downing Street staff had alleged that his behaviour had amounted to bullying. When challenged as to why she had made the revelations, apparently without any consent or request form the charity’s clients, she has explained that these were prompted by a BBC radio programme on which Peter Mandelsson was being interviewed. Gaining the impression that the Government was not taking bullying seriously, she contacted a local radio station with her view and the allegations that clients of her service had made.
In responding to the allegation, Downing Street has denied that there is a difficulty, and Lord Mandelson highlighted the possible political drivers for the disclosure, noting the charity’s offices are in the same block as those of the local Tory party. Pratt has denied this, saying: 'We're not politically motivated. If we were politically motivated we might be very rich. We're not. We receive no government funding. This charity is a poor charity.'
Patrons of the Charity, including Tory MP Ann Widdecombe, TV presenter Sarah Cawood and workplace stress expert Cary Cooper, have resigned in the face of the furore.
Jim Clifford, head of charity advisory at third sector specialists, Baker Tilly sees this as potentially doubly unfortunate: a blow to the government’s drive against bullying in schools and in the workplace, and some ammunition for those who might want to clip the wings of charities looking to exert political influence. He commented:
'In any charity it is a constant challenge to remain objective when issues in which you believe passionately are at stake. Yet that passionate belief, and the drive to secure a better society through changing what is thought and what is done is right at the heart of our need for an effective charity sector.
Since the mid 1990s we have seen charities returning to their great Victorian role of advocating for change, through ever more effective networks of influence that span third, public and private sectors. I would hate to see that curtailed in any way on the back of what may well be shown to be an error of judgment from a well-meaning CEO of a small charity acting alone without the critical friend that we all need in the background to keep us on the straight and narrow.'
Small charities have long formed a significant part of the UK’s landscape. The NCVO reported in its 2009 Almanac that, whilst over 40 per cent of charitable income was shared by only 0.2 per cent of charities, nearly 55 per cent of charities had income of less that £10,000. Christine Pratt is far from being alone in working in this size of organisation. It is to be hoped that all the other smaller charities do not get tarred with the rather overloaded brush that is awaiting her.
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