​Cabinet Office reappoints controversial chair for another three year term

Wiliam Shawcross has been reappointed as chair of the England and Wales Charity Commission.

Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, announced another three-year term for the chair - despite mounting criticism of his leadership.

Earlier this month TFN reported that Andrew Hind, former chief executive of the commission, believed the body had been compromised by his leadership.

Shawcross’s leadership had been “characterised by a continual stream of maverick interventions from the chair, which have lacked context and strategic coherence (CEO pay, terrorist infiltration of charities, proposals for changes to the annual return)”, said Hind.

The Cabinet Office said his reappointment was in order to give continuity while the commission completes its transformation programme.

His role has been expanded from two to three days per week with no change in salary.

HMRC recently gave the commission an extra £9 million to upgrade its systems and help it combat extremist abuse of charities and tackle fraud.