Mayor of Peterborough Charity Fund issued with warning for failing to file accounts with Charity Commission

The warning was issued by the regulator in July 2018 with the relevant documents later filed after support was offered by the city council.

A new Mayor of Peterborough is elected by councillors every year with the recipient only holding the honour once.

The city’s First Citizen always nominates a few chosen charities who they will fundraise for during their year in the role, with thousands of pounds typically being raised for each one.

The mayor is assisted in this by a management committee of volunteers, with the MPCF run as a registered charity independently from the council.

First registered in late 2015, the MPCF is required by the Charity Commission to upload its accounts and a trustees’ report annually to the commission’s website.

It has since come to light through a report to the council’s Audit Committee that this was not done for the 2016/17 financial year, prompting a warning from the Charity Commission that the MPCF was in default of its legal obligations.

The report to the Audit Committee stated: “Extensions were granted and subsequently met,” with the council’s Internal Audit team recreating the accounts and providing ongoing support to make sure “the financial records can be maintained in a suitable format”.

A Peterborough City Council spokesman said: “Over many years the mayor’s charities were administered by volunteers of the individual charities supported by the mayor.

“However, it became clear that their excellent fundraising work for so many good causes meant that they were not always able to deal strictly with the requirements of the Charity Commission.

“To ensure that there is compliance and that money continues to be raised for these causes, the council has stepped in to carry out the administration required by the Charity Commission.”