The two trustees were found by the commission to be responsible for long-term misconduct and/or mismanagement at the charity, and failure to comply with an order of the commission.
The Moss Side and Hulme Community Development Trust was registered in 2002 with the aim of regenerating areas of social and economic deprivation in Moss Side, Hulme and adjacent areas of Manchester.
This is the third statutory inquiry into the charity during the two individuals’ time as trustees. The first was a class inquiry in 2017 for charities that have defaulted on their statutory filing obligations with the commission on two or more occasions in the last five years. In 2018, a second statutory inquiry was opened into this charity after the trustees failed again to submit accounting information and concerns about potential unauthorised payments to a trustee.
That inquiry concluded in November 2020 following the receipt of the overdue accounts and the issuing of an order under section 84 of the Act that required the two trustees to, among other governance improvements, recruit more trustees in line with the governing document, advertise and hold an annual general meeting (AGM), and ensure that there was no further trustee remuneration.
Hartley Hanley and Mike Bisson, did not, as ordered, produce a report detailing how they complied with each requirement set out in the order. The regulator made numerous attempts to contact them to assess their compliance with the order, but was met with either little engagement or no response. As a result, the third inquiry was opened in September 2021.
The regulator has concluded that Mr Hanley’s and Mr Bisson’s failure to comply with an order of the commission, and their persistent and prolonged failures amount to misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of this charity. They were each consequently disqualified from acting as a trustee for seven years.
During the course of the inquiry, the commission used its powers to appoint three trustees, who called an AGM alongside Mr Hanley and Mr Bisson. Before the AGM took place, the new trustees acted to remove Mr Hanley as a trustee, and Mr Bisson resigned. The three new trustees, who were ordered to stand down at the AGM, were re-elected by the charity’s members. Alongside two more trustees who have been appointed since, there are now five new trustees responsible for the management and administration of the charity.
