The charity set up in honor of Sir Captain Tom Moore is under investigation over claims it tried to appoint the war hero’s daughter as its CEO on a six-figure salary.
Hannah Ingram-Moore was reportedly set to receive £ 150,000 per year before the Charity Commission blocked the move last summer after permission was requested.
If this went ahead, her pay would have represented 13.68% of the Captain Tom Foundation’s first year of income.
The proposal to make Ms Ingram-Moore CEO was made by the foundation’s trustees, without any competition or a recruitment drive, the Independent reports.
But during discussions with the regulator, the charity says she decided ‘the role was not something she wished to pursue’ as she wanted to focus on other commitments.
A salary of £ 150,000 a year would be similar to a top earner at the RSPCA, but its annual income of £ 142million is thought to be 100 times that of The Captain Tom Foundation.
Ms Ingram-Moore was appointed a trustee on February 1 last year, but resigned on March 15, accounts show.
Her husband Colin was appointed a trustee on the same date and remains as the family’s representative.
The foundation asked the Charity Commission’s permission to appoint Ms Ingram-Moore as CEO due to a clause in its rules saying trustees and ‘connected’ people should seek written consent before being employed.
A statement from Stephen Jones, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said: ‘The Foundation has engaged actively and positively with the Charity Commission since registration and any discussions are highly confidential between them and the Trustees.
‘In 2021, the Foundation approached the Commission for consent (as required by law and under the Foundation’s governing document) with regard to the appointment of Hannah Ingram-Moore as CEO.
‘As part of that process for consent, the Trustees undertook a formal benchmarking exercise to assess an appropriate salary for the role.
‘That report made recommendations to the Trustees as to an appropriate salary (within a range) based on a spectrum of charities operating with equivalent financial positions and charitable activity.
‘This was provided to the Commission as part of the application for consent, in the interests of full disclosure, together with a proposal by the Trustees as to what the salary for the CEO role should be.
‘It is the Commission’s responsibility to consider and challenge any application for consent, but in any event during the Trustees discussions with the Commission, Hannah Ingram-Moore took the decision that the CEO role was not something she wished to pursue as she wanted to focus on other commitments, both personally and professionally.
‘However, she committed to support the Trustees during an interim period, subject to Commission consent being obtained.’
Confirming its investigation, the Charity Commission said: ‘We have been in ongoing contact with the trustees of the Captain Tom Foundation on its set-up and governance arrangements and as part of this work will now assess the charity’s recently submitted accounts.’
The watchdog said that although a case has been launched, this does not mean any wrongdoing has been found.
It comes after financial documents revealed The Captain Tom Foundation spent more on consultation and management fees than on grants during its first year.
The Charity Commission has been in contact with the foundation since March about its set-up and governance arrangements.
Explaining the first year figures, bosses said ‘expenditure has been incurred in building the team, which for some months worked on a voluntary basis until funds were forthcoming’.
Metro.co.uk understands Sir Captain Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, who helped launch the charity, did not receive any consultancy fees in the time period stated, nor did any other family member.
The money mentioned in the documents is unrelated to the campaign that made Sir Captain Tom Moore a household name back in 2020.
The grandad set out to raise just £ 1,000 to support Britain’s health service after Covid devastated the country – but his mission captured the hearts of millions, taking his final total to an incredible £ 32.7 million.
This sum has been handed to NHS Charities Together to be spent on initiatives to support NHS staff.
The veteran’s ‘simple act of walking 100 times up and down his garden united a nation and gave us all hope, at a time when it was needed most’, the charity said in a statement last week.
The charity says its work is to keep alive the legacy of Captain Tom, who died with Covid in February last year, aged 100.
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