Agenda item

Report of the BHE & Charities Finance Director

The Board considered a report of the BHE & Charities Finance Director providing the BHE Board with an overview of the requirements to report Serious Incidents to the charities’ regulator, the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and recommending the adoption of a formal policy for reporting and managing any Serious Incidents which might arise for the charity, and which will inform the exercise of delegated authority. The BHE & Charities Finance Director introduced the report and drew Members’ attention to the key points.

Members discussed the prospective policy and raised several points by way of feedback, notably that the report should draw out what is regarded as a serious or significant incident and the extent to which this is a matter of judgement on the part of the person reporting the incident, as well as the Board’s involvement in the reporting process.

In response to a question from a Member, the BHE & Charities Finance Director advised that there would be an element of judgement in reporting and that training would be provided for staff on the matter. The BHE & Charities Finance Director added that the reporting process would require the Board to be consulted on serious incidents as the report to the Charity Commission should be provided by the Trustee.

A Member commented that their instinct was that an incident posing a serious, material threat to the public, a material financial consequence, or significant reputational damage should constitute the threshold for a serious incident. The Deputy Chair, in the Chair, noted that a list of incidents considered serious as defined by the Charity Commission was provided within the report, but that these were generic rather than specific to BHE. The BHE & Charities Finance Director further advised that it was intended to provide the Board with a regular update on items not meeting the threshold for a serious incident but of which the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Board had been notified.

Arising from the feedback provided by Members, it was agreed to amend the policy to demonstrate that training would be provided for staff, as well as guidance in respect of reporting.

RESOLVED – That Members, in the discharge of functions for the City Corporation as Trustee of Bridge House Estates (BHE, charity reg. no. 1035628) and solely in the charity’s best interests:

i)              Approve the Serious Incident Reporting Policy for adoption for BHE set out in the report, subject to amendment arising from the feedback provided by Members.