UK charity commission to question Mermaids

The UK government announced on 2 December 2022 that the Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Mermaids, after identifying concerns about its governance and management.

The press release said “The Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into the charity in September 2022 after safeguarding allegations were raised. It has now formalised its engagement by opening a statutory inquiry, due to newly identified issues about the charity’s governance and management.”

The announcement said that while Mermaids’ trustees had co-operated so far, “their response has not provided the necessary reassurance or satisfied the Commission at this stage.”

The inquiry will look into:

• The administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees including its leadership and culture.

• Whether the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law; in particular whether they had sufficient oversight of the charity’s activities and compliance with its policies and procedures and in line with its charitable objects.

• Whether there has been any misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees.

It is expected a report of the inquiry will be published.

Helen Joyce discusses the Mermaids scandal.

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Volunteer writers

Susie Green, disgraced former CEO of Mermaids, recently resigned from her position. Reports in the UK say she was ousted by staff revolt, but it is not clear yet how much of that was damage control.