SHAMEFUL!

Family ‘repeatedly benefitted’ from ‘mismanaged’ Captain Tom Foundation, investigation finds

The Charity Commission’s investigation into The Captain Tom Foundation has found repeated instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the family of the late fundraiser, who set up the charity in his name.  

The official report, published today, is highly critical of the conduct and actions of the charity’s former trustee and CEO (Hannah Ingram-Moore) and a former trustee (Colin Ingram-Moore). 

It sets out evidence of serious failings in the charity’s management, including failures to act solely in the best interests of the charity and to effectively identify and manage conflicts of interest. 

The report finds that Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore, who are now disqualified from serving as charity trustees, are responsible for a “pattern of behaviour” which saw them repeatedly benefitting personally from their involvement in the charity.

The failure to manage conflicts of interest arising from Mr and Mrs Ingram Moore’s link to each other and the charity’s links to their private companies happened repeatedly and led to direct and indirect private benefit for the family.  

The report is also critical of the charity’s unconflicted trustees, who it finds did not always have sufficient oversight and control of the administration of the charity. However, the inquiry notes that their ability to manage conflicts of interest was limited by the failure of the Ingram-Moores to inform them of potential conflicts of interest as these arose.

The report concludes the non-conflicted trustees are responsible for mismanagement but that this did not warrant any further regulatory action. 

Scope of the inquiry

The regulator’s inquiry was opened in June 2021 to examine if trustees had been responsible for misconduct and / or mismanagement and if the charity suffered any financial loss, including private benefit to any current or former trustees. It also considered if conflicts of interest were adequately managed and if all trustees complied with and fulfilled their responsibilities under charity law.  

Findings of the inquiry  

The inquiry examined a range of concerns in detail, assessing the extent to which trustees complied with their legal duties. The report is critical of: 

  • The Ingram-Moores’ handling of and public communications about publishing deals for books authored by the late Captain Sir Tom. The inquiry concludes that the public “would understandably feel misled” to learn that sales of his autobiography ‘Tomorrow will be a good day’ have not benefited the charity, given that statements were made which implied donations from sales would be made to the charity carrying his name.  
  • Public statements made by Mrs Ingram-Moore regarding her involvement in setting her salary for the role. The inquiry concludes that it might have been technically accurate for her to state that she was “not offered” a “six figure salary”, as the Commission blocked the initial salary request, and no formal offer was made to her prior to the regulator’s authorisation of a lower salary. However, the inquiry finds these assertions were disingenuous, as it saw written evidence that she had stated, prior to starting in the role, that her expectations were for a £150k remuneration package.  
  • Mrs Ingram-Moore retaining £18,000 for judging and presenting an award named after Captain Tom. While she claims she undertook the engagement in a personal capacity, the inquiry does not agree and found no evidence that supports her position. Mrs Ingram-Moore committed the charity’s resources to the event without the non-conflicted trustees’ knowledge or consent. 
  • The handling of intellectual property rights owned by the Ingram-Moore family but offered to the charity for its use without appropriate agreements in place, which led to confusion and possible financial losses to the charity. 
  • The Ingram-Moores’ use of the charity’s name in an original planning application for a building constructed on their private land, which also implied the building would be used by the charity. They did not inform or seek consent from the unconflicted trustees before using the charity’s name for this purpose. The building was subsequently demolished by order of the local authority. The inquiry finds that the couple used the charity’s name inappropriately for private benefit, and that this amounted to misconduct and/ or mismanagement.  

The above matters are examples drawn from the inquiry report, which sets out the findings and conclusions in full, provides wider context and background, and includes lessons for other charities to learn from this case.   

Regulatory action taken 

In June 2024, the Commission disqualified Hannah and Colin Ingram-Moore from being a trustee and from holding a senior management position at any charity for a period of 10 and 8 years respectively.  

Throughout the investigation, the inquiry exercised the Commission’s information gathering powers to obtain information to inform the inquiry’s findings and conclusions as set out in the report. 

David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charity Commission, said:  “Captain Sir Tom inspired a nation and reminded us what service to others can achieve even in the most challenging of times.

“His determined fundraising efforts, and the incredibly generous public response, brought a smile and hope to many of us during the pandemic. We should remember his achievements and how grateful NHS Charities Together is for the £39m he raised for the causes they support.

“Sadly, however, the charity set up in his name has not lived up to that legacy of others before self, which is central to charity. Our inquiry report details repeated failures of governance and integrity.  

“The public – and the law – rightly expect those involved in charities to make an unambiguous distinction between their personal interests, and those of the charity and the beneficiaries they are there to serve. This did not happen in the case of The Captain Tom Foundation. We found repeated instances of a blurring of boundaries between private and charitable interests, with Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore receiving significant personal benefit. Together the failings amount to misconduct and / or mismanagement.   

“The Commission conducts all its investigations in a fair, balanced and independent way, led by the law and the facts alone. Where those investigations find that individuals have misused the trust that people have in charities, it is right that we take firm action to hold them to account.” 

Reflecting on the role of charity in society more generally, Orlando Fraser, Chair of the Charity Commission, said: “Charities represent the best of society – bringing people together, supporting the most vulnerable, and strengthening communities.

“It is important to remember that their work is underpinned by trustees, most of whom are volunteers, and most of whom fulfil the role with passion and integrity.”

THE last post on the charity’s website states:

Update – July 2023

At this moment in time, the sole focus of The Captain Tom Foundation is to ensure that it cooperates fully with the on-going Statutory Inquiry by the Charity Commission. 

As a result, The Captain Tom Foundation is not presently actively seeking any funding from donors.  Accordingly, we have also taken the decision to close all payment channels whilst the Statutory Inquiry remains open. 

Once the findings of the Statutory Inquiry have been communicated, The Captain Tom Foundation will be in a better position to make a decision in relation to its future, but for now, our main priority is to assist the Charity Commission with its enquiry. 

In the meantime, on behalf of the trustees of The Captain Tom Foundation, we wish to extend a warm thank-you to all our supporters who have enabled us to help charities that were close to Captain Sir Tom’s heart. 

“Horrendous”: Deaf children seriously failed by NHS Lothian

An extensive expert review has found failings in the standard of hearing tests carried out for children in NHS Lothian’s Paediatric Audiology service.

The review, conducted independently by the British Academy of Audiology (BAA), identifies significant concerns about hearing tests that were not carried out to the required professional standard, with consequences for children and their families.  In some cases, diagnosis of hearing loss or impairment may have been missed or delayed.

Early identification of hearing loss or impairment from birth is important because the earlier it is picked up, the more successfully it can be treated with hearing aids or cochlear implants and the better the outcomes for the child.

Tracey Gillies, Medical Director NHS Lothian said; “We are very sorry and saddened to learn that there are some children whose conditions were not diagnosed correctly, or as early as possible, as a result of testing that was not up to standard.

“Due to these failings, the diagnosis of hearing loss or impairment in six children was missed.  Diagnosis of a further six children was significantly delayed with long term consequences for these children. Their long-term development of speech and language will be affected and these children will require specialist support.”

Ms Gillies continued “Delayed diagnosis of hearing loss in a further 48 children is also likely to have resulted in some harm, though the longer-term impact of this will depend on the individual circumstances of each child. Some children may require to be retested.

“We have already written to the most severely-affected families individually to offer support and a face-to-face meeting to discuss their child’s condition. We have also arranged appointments for those children whom the review recommends should be tested again.

“In addition, measures have been put in place to identify young children currently in the system whose cases may require clinical review. If any concerns are found, the families will be contacted immediately.

“We apologise sincerely to all affected children and their families for these failings and for the worry and distress caused. We would encourage families who may have concerns to contact our helpline for information on 0131 465 5457. Lines will be open on Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm.

“We have been engaging closely with the National Deaf Children’s Society and would like to thank them for the support they are able to provide families via their own helpline, which can be contacted on 0808 800 8880.”

NHS Lothian commissioned the full, external review of the service following criticism in May about the diagnosis and care of a child with hearing difficulties. The review is part of the Health Board’s response to the recommendations made by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman who investigated that case.

Other actions already taken include the appointment of an additional senior expert to provide support in Paediatric Audiology, a comprehensive training programme for service staff and support from NHS Ayrshire and Arran and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde with testing in the interim.

The review consisted of an audit of cases from 2009 -2018, an appraisal of the clinical governance structures in place as well as a week’s residential visit by external experts to observe working practices in the service.

NHS Lothian Chief Executive, Calum Campbell said: “The thoroughness of the review reflects our determination to improve the service and outcomes for the children in our care.

“We note that the report was positive about some aspects of the care of the audiology team who are committed to working hard to improve the quality of testing provided by the service.  

“A number of improvements have already been made and a detailed action plan has been developed to implement all the recommendations of the BAA in full.

“We continue to work closely with the BAA and would like to thank them for their diligence and support in conducting the review.

“I apologise to the affected families and give them my assurance that lessons have been learned and that the recommendations from the review are being implemented in full.”

The National Deaf Children’s Society has called for a sweeping review of children’s audiology services in Scotland after almost a decade of failures by NHS Lothian.

At least 887 children are known to have been affected during the nine-year period, 155 significantly, but the actual number could potentially include thousands more and the problems have continued.

The charity has spoken out after a new report, published yesterday, uncovered repeated mistakes by NHS Lothian’s audiology service, with at least 100 deaf children among those affected.

The report reveals cases of deaf children being wrongly deprived of crucial technology, incorrectly discharged or identified years later than they should have been. Some have been left with life-changing consequences as a result.

In response, the charity has today written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Humza Yousaf MSP. The letter calls for an assurance that such catastrophic errors will never happen again and asks for urgent Government action to improve audiology services across the country.

The failures were revealed in a new audit report, carried out by the British Academy of Audiology to examine NHS Lothian’s children’s audiology caseload of 22,900 from 2009-2018.

It sampled 1,007 cases and found there were concerns about assessment and care in 887 of them (88%). Of those, 155 had “significant concerns”.

The specific findings of the report include:

  • The average age of children identified as deaf under NHS Lothian was 1,653 days (4.53 years old), compared to 109 days in England. The report says this appeared to have gone “unreported and un-noticed.”
  • 12 children were eligible for cochlear implantation, but this was significantly delayed, to the extent where some missed out on getting them altogether.
  • There was no evidence that nine of the children were offered a hearing aid, even though it would likely have helped them.
  • 49 children had a delayed identification of hearing loss or the fitting of their hearing aid was delayed.
  • 30 were not offered the right hearing aids.
  • The remainder of the 155 were wrongly discharged or mismanaged.

As a result, the National Deaf Children’s Society is calling for a review of children’s audiology services across Scotland. It wants to see the Scottish Government introduce national leadership for services, robust data collection and a mandatory program setting out clear standards for care.

Without urgent action, the charity says there’s a real danger that many more deaf children risk not getting the quality of care they need.

Locally, it wants NHS Lothian to commit to following the recommendations made by the report, review its past caseload to avoid repeating the same mistakes and announce a clear plan on how it will catch up and deliver for deaf children and their families.

The charity is also strongly advising all affected families to seek independent specialist legal advice. It is already offering support to families affected and says that anyone who is worried about the report should contact its helpline.

Susan Daniels, Chief Executive at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “The horrendous findings in this report represent a real-life nightmare for the families involved.

“They placed their trust in a service that was supposed to help, only to be completely let down. Some will be left with life-changing consequences, while many others across Scotland will now be facing the very real fear that the same thing could happen to them.

“Early identification and the right care are vital in helping deaf children develop language and communication at a crucial age, so this must never be allowed to happen again.

“This means we need urgent action from the Scottish Government, starting with a thorough review of children’s audiology services across the country. Until we have national leadership, better data collection and mandatory standards that services must comply with, thousands more deaf children could be at risk and families won’t be able to rest.

“We’re already in touch with several families affected and we’ve provided them with support and guidance. Anyone else who’s been affected, or feels worried about this issue, can contact our helpline or visit our website at www.ndcs.org.uk.”

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs said: ““These findings by the British Academy of Audiology are extremely concerning and families in NHS Lothian have been totally failed.

“It is crucial that all 36 recommendations for the paediatric audiology service are implemented as soon as possible.  

“The average age for diagnosing hearing loss in NHS Lothian is far too late and measures must be put into place to ensure that children with hearing loss are diagnosed much sooner.

“I have written to the Health Secretary to request a meeting about why it takes four and half years in NHS Lothian for a child to be diagnosed with hearing loss, compared to 109 days in England.”

Copies of the report are available:

BAA Summary Report

BAA Audit Report

BAA Governance Report

NHS Lothian Helpline:  0131 465 5457 Mondays to Fridays 9.00am to 4.00pm. 

National Deaf Children’s Society Helpline:  0800 800 8880 Mondays to Fridays   9.00am – 5.00pm

For information and services provided by the National Deaf Children Society, please visit their website https://www.ndcs.org.uk/our-services/