A regulatory compliance case into a Stoke-on-Trent charity has now closed after the Charity Commission issued a formal action plan with guidance for improvements. 

Better Together Community Support Group faced an informal investigation prompted by a complaint made last year relating to payments being made by the charity. 

The charity, based in Trent Vale, was founded by Birgit Allport in 2018 to help vulnerable individuals and families across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It operates a community cafe, warm space and activities to promote physical and mental wellbeing.

Charity Commission documents shared with Stoke Nub News regarding a meeting between the Commission and Better Together revealed, among other non-charitable purchases, trustees had agreed to use charity money to purchase a wedding dress for its chief executive, Mrs Allport.

Other non-charitable purchases made on the charity's bank card, including one payment for airport parking, were blamed on it looking similar to a personal bank card and have since been paid back to the organisation. 

The Charity Commission told the trustees to "consider" the wedding dress payment and decide if any remuneration would be required but Better Together says the agreement was an in-kind payment in place of a salary which had not been received.

Better Together had its National Lottery funding frozen in 2024, which led to employees not to being paid and the loss of around seven jobs, Stoke Nub News understands.

In January 2025 following a meeting with Better Together, the Charity Commission issued a formal action plan outlining advice which had to be considered by law and it is now "satisfied" the charity has the appropriate measures in place. 

Chair of Trustees Adam Colclough said: "We went into the meeting with the Charity Commission confident that we had done nothing wrong and the conclusion they reached bears this out".

Adam added that the Charity Commission had been "helpful and supportive throughout the contact we had with them" and that the recommendations they made were "focused entirely on helping us to operate more efficiently".

The Charity Commission had raised some further concerns about the operations of the organisation as Mrs Allport and her husband Mr Colin Allport, while not being trustees themselves, conducted the majority of the activity on behalf of the trustees in organising deliveries and purchases with the charity bank card.

Charity trustees are legally responsible for managing, controlling, and directing the affairs of their charity so the trustees were told to review their practices to ensure conflicts of interest are identified so they operate in the best interests of the charity. 

Mrs Allport says the action plan put in place by the Charity Commission was to enable the charity to prove facts against future allegations more efficiently.

Mrs Allport added: "We welcome the Charity Commission's findings and are pleased that Better Together Community Support Group has been fully cleared of any wrongdoing. 

"Our priority has always been to act with integrity, transparency, and in the best interest of the community we serve. 

"We remain committed to delivering inclusive, meaningful support and are grateful for the continued trust placed in us."

A Charity Commission spokesperson said: "In January 2024, following an assessment of concerns raised with us, the Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into Better Together Community Support Group. "

"We engaged with the charity's trustees to gather more information and determine any next steps on concerns that fell within our remit. 

"Following our engagement with the trustees, it was determined that is was appropriate to provide formal Regulatory Advice to the trustees in the form of an Action Plan issued under s15(2) of the Charities Act which focused on strengthening the charity's governance and financial processes, including managing conflicts of interest, trustee decision making and having appropriate financial controls in place.

"We followed up with the trustees to review their progress against the action plan and upon satisfactory measures being implemented and evidenced, we closed our case [in April 2025]."

-------

READ: Four arrested after morning police raids in North Staffordshire

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stoke Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our city.

Subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter email HERE - just click the 'SIGN UP' button.

Please consider following Stoke Nub News on Facebook, X or Instagram.