The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Blackpool’s Voice, an anti-poverty charity that has repeatedly failed to meet basic legal obligations on financial reporting

and governance.

Blackpool’s Voice, founded in 2020 to provide clothing, food and essential supplies to people in need, has not filed any of its required accounting information since its registration, the Commission said on Wednesday. The regulator also confirmed that the charity has been operating with too few trustees since January 2025, breaching its own governing document.

Officials said they had repeatedly contacted the organisation to offer “advice and guidance,” but the trustees had taken no corrective action and its accounts remain overdue.

The Commission escalated the matter to a formal inquiry on 21 October 2025. The investigation will scrutinise the charity’s management, governance and administration, focusing on whether trustees have met their legal duties around preparing and submitting accounts and annual returns.

Regulators will also examine whether the charity has enough capable trustees in place, whether conflicts of interest and transactions involving connected parties have been properly handled, and whether any unauthorised personal benefit has occurred. Compliance with past regulatory instructions will also be reviewed.

The Commission noted that the scope of the inquiry may widen if new concerns arise. A report detailing the findings and any regulatory action will be published once the investigation concludes.