25 July 2022 by
Russell Hargrave
The Charity Commission has frozen the bank account of a charity that provides support to air ambulances amid financial concerns.
The regulator said it had opened a statutory inquiry into the Air Ambulance Foundation UK after the trustees failed to answer financial questions sent to the board.
The commission said the inquiry would examine whether trustees can account for how the charity spent its money and whether that spending supported its charitable objectives.
Charity Commission records show the charity filed its accounts late in each of the previous two financial years, by 94 days and 57 days respectively.
The accounts for the year ending April 2021 show that the Air Ambulance Foundation UK raised £480,000 over the previous two years, including three “very substantial” legacy gifts.
In the same period it made donations worth just £4,000, although the 2020/21 accounts say that it is considering “the possibility of the joint purchase of an air ambulance for one of the air ambulance services”.
The Air Ambulance Foundation UK did not respond to a request for comment.