A homelessness charity in Bristol failed to report two deaths and made unauthorised payments of almost £50,000 to one of its trustees, an investigation by a watchdog has revealed.
It has also emerged that the charity, Bristol Sheltered Accommodation and Support Ltd, was evicted from its city-based hostel called Wick House after failing to pay the rent in June this year.
The group now faces a winding-up order served last month as well as an official warning from the Charity Commission, which published a report yesterday following its three-year investigation.
The inquiry looked into the organisation’s governance and the lack of reporting of the two deaths at Wick House between 2016 and 2018, concluding there was “serious misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration”.
After being told to report all serious incidents in 2016, management failed to report the death of George Mahoney, 32, in November of the same year.
It was not even recorded in a meeting of trustees, the inquiry found. The death of Paul Way, 43, on October 16 in 2017 was also not reported to the commission.
The commission said the charity had also failed to alert it to the closure of its second hostel, Shepherds Hall, in December 2018. It was shut after losing its support status from Bristol City Council.
The inquiry found records from trustee meetings had been misplaced or lost.
And concerns were raised over payments amounting to £48,325 from 2012 and 2015 which were in breach of an agreement with the commission made in 2012 that no trustee receive money without written consent.
Amy Spiller, head of investigations at the commission, said: “It’s clear from our investigation that this charity was mismanaged over a long period of time, and that its trustees repeatedly disregarded regulatory advice and were receiving unauthorised payments.”
Sarah Atkinson, director of policy, said: “We are determined to ensure the lessons are learnt from Wick House and other similar settings.”
Seven deaths occurred at Wick House, now used by Selworthy House Addiction Recovery Enterprise, since 2013, according to Avon and Somerset Police.
Bristol Sheltered Accommodation and Support Ltd now has a new trustee board which had become positively engaged, the commission said.
But how long it continues to operate will be decided by an upcoming appeal to its winding-up order.
Ian McDonald is one of three new trustees at the charity. He said although the group was not operating currently, talks were being held to open a new hostel in the city.
In a statement, the trustees said: “We wish to thank the Charity Commission for their investigative work, which has prompted major changes and improvements in the running of the charity.
“The Board of Trustees has seen a number of changes over the years, most importantly with the majority of the trustees being new appointments to take it forward. We are thankful to the commission for their recommendations and that they have allowed the charity to continue doing the work of housing homeless people with support needs .
“We take note of their summary of events and will make certain that the inadequacies that have been highlighted have been carefully addressed, both now and in the future.”
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