The Charity Commission has issued a warning to trustees embroiled in disputes that it is charged with looking at regulating the charity sector and is not “a mediation service”.

The reminder has been issued to charities as it investigates a feud taking place between trustees at religious charity, the London Spiritual Mission.

“The Charity Commission is not a mediation service or to be used as an intermediary between disputing trustees,” said the regulator.

It added that it is instead focused on “the charity’s trustees’ conduct and compliance with their legal duties”.

In the case of the London Spiritual Mission the regulator is concerned that “disputing trustees have been unwilling or unable to work together to address serious regulatory concerns”.

These concerns include lack of financial controls, failures to manage conflicts of interest and paying connected parties for renovation services at the charity, which has maintained the mission’s London site since 1945.

Spending double the agreed budget on renovations is another issue being looked at.

“All trustees are responsible for ensuring their charity’s money is safe, properly used and accounted for,” said the regulator.

“The inquiry will examine whether all trustees have had sufficient oversight of the charity’s funds.

“Through its engagement, the regulator discovered that the charity does not hold a financial controls policy. The inquiry will examine this as a lack of sufficient financial controls is potentially putting the charity’s funds at risk.”

Other concerns focus on late filing of financial information. The charity filed its 2019 annual accounts more than six months late and has failed to submit any accounts for the last three years.

“The regulator understands these have not been submitted as a result of the ongoing dispute between trustees meaning that they could not agree on final versions,” said the regulator.

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