East End charities urged to be on time with yearly accounts

ONE-in-three charities in London’s deprived East End have failed to submit documents on time to the Charities Commission, it has emerged. Now the regulator body is launching an appeal for the 483 organisations in Tower Hamlets to beat the deadline this year

By Mike Brooke

ONE-in-three charities in London’s deprived East End have failed to submit documents on time to the Charities Commission, it has emerged this week.

Now the regulator body is launching an appeal for the 483 organisations in Tower Hamlets to beat the deadline this year.

“It’s not acceptable for charities to send their annual accounts and returns late,” warned the Commission’s chair, Dame Suzi Leather. “They are accountable not just to us, but to their donors, to those whom they exist to help and to the public.

“Charities run the risk of damaging their reputations and putting off potential donors if their financial affairs are not in order.”

Charities are urged to be up-to-date with their financial returns this time, not like the 32 per cent in Tower Hamlets which were late submitting them during the 12 months to the end of December, particularly “in the current climate when every penny counts.”

Charities have 10 months from the end of their financial year to lodge their accounts and Annual Return, which are then posted on the Charity Commission’s website as part of the public Register of Charities.