Read the below response from Baroness Barran to Jan Shortt NPC General Secretary about the Mary Feilding Guild Care Home.
Dear Jan,
Thank you for your correspondence of 29 March concerning the sale and closure of Mary Feilding Guild Care Home. I am sorry to hear of the impact this is having on the residents and their families, particularly during this difficult period.
I can only comment on the points raised regarding the sale of the care home and the role the trustees may have played in this decision, although it would be a matter for the Charity Commission to investigate further if you pursue a complaint. I see that your letter has been copied to the Charity Commission.
The Charity Commission is the independent registrar and regulator for charities in England and Wales, and therefore, if you believe that the trustees of Mary Feilding Guild Care Home have acted unlawfully, have failed in meeting their legal duties in the sale of the home, or have engaged in mismanagement, then the Charity Commission is the right organisation with which to raise your concerns, which you can do here.
However, whether the Charity Commission takes action will depend on the evidence presented to it. By law it can only investigate and act where there is evidence of misconduct or mismanagement by the trustees in their administration of the charity.
Please note that the Charity Commission can only investigate the most serious cases in accordance with its Risk and Proportionality Framework. Beyond cases of misconduct or mismanagement, charities are independent organisations and it is up to their trustees to run them in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries. Again, if you feel this has not happened in the case of the Mary Feilding Guild Care Home, I would ask you to bring this to the Charity Commission for investigation.
As an independent regulator, the Charity Commission is not subject to ministerial or government direction or control; it is accountable to the courts for its decisions. If individuals are unhappy with the service they have received from the Charity Commission, there is an established process for making complaints. Details are available here. If, after going through this process individuals remain dissatisfied, then their complaint can be taken to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Thank you again for writing. I hope this information is helpful.
With best wishes,
Baroness Barran Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Civil Society
Download the letter below