07/07/11
PFRA is to appoint its first paid chair as part of a governance review that will promote the organisation’s independence as we lobby the government on the review of the Charities Act 2006.
PFRA has identified the review as one of the biggest challenges for the coming year. Addressing the association’s AGM on June 21, PFRA’s acting chair Michael Naidu told delegates: “I believe this [a paid chair] is essential in promoting our independence and will help us achieve the strength and trust we need in driving through our agenda for the review of the Charities Act 2006.
“It gives us added credibility when we are negotiating with gatekeepers and parliamentarians. When we are sitting down with the Office of the Civil Society to facilitate the long-term access for street F2F that everyone in this room wants, we will have much more credibility if the person leading the negotiations is not working for one of the organisations that stands to gain most from these negotiations.”
New articles of association are currently being drafted, which will be circulated to members ahead of an EGM on September 1.
Naidu – assistant director of fundraising at Mencap – told delegates that if local authorities were to trust PFRA to run diaries and enforce site agreements, then PFRA could not be perceived to act like a trade association for F2F.
The recruitment of a new chair would be just one of the things that would emphasis this. Naidu also reiterated that PFRA was not a trade association but a regulatory body.
A full transcript of Michael Naidu’s speech can be downloaded by clicking the link to the right.
Tweet