Raising a concern
Anyone can raise a concern about an organisation that has applied to us, or has received funding from The Armed Forces Covenant Fund or the other funding streams that we distribute.
As a custodian of public money, we will always take such concerns very seriously, and we have processes to ensure they are thoroughly investigated.
This guidance explains how to raise a concern and how we will deal with it. This guidance is for people who have a concern about a project that has received a grant or applied to us for funding. If you would like to make a complaint about the service you have received then please use our complaints guidance
What can we consider through this process?
We can only consider concerns about:
- a current application for funding, or
- alleged breaches of the terms and conditions of a current funding agreement.
Organisations that receive funding through the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust sign terms and conditions of funding before they can access their grant.
Funded organisations need to carry out the project they told us about in their application form, unless they have agreed a variation with us.
If you are raising concerns about a decision that we have taken to fund an organisation, we will review the information you provide and whether it would have affected our decision.
However, please note:
- we cannot enter into a discussion about any disagreement you have with a particular funding decision unless it involves a breach of the terms and conditions of the funding
- we cannot become involved with any personal disagreements that you may have with a particular organisation. If your concern is a personal disagreement, then you should direct this to the organisation in question
- while we can take action to investigate breaches of a funding agreement, we cannot enforce the law. If your concern involves a breach of the law, you should consider raising the matter with the relevant regulatory body or, in criminal matters, the police.
Raising concerns
If you wish to raise any concerns, then please email info@covenantfund.org.uk
If you are aware of misuse of government funds, you can report this anonymously by emailing grantsmisuse@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Reporting fraud
The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is committed to preventing and detecting fraud.
If you suspect that someone is stealing from or defrauding the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust help us do something about it by getting in touch with us.
Please email us at fraud@covenantfund.org.uk
When reporting a potential fraud to us please provide as much detail as you are able. Please do not alert the organisation or individual that you are reporting a potential fraud to us and please do not try and investigate the issue yourself.
Fraud is defined as an intentional act of dishonesty by one or more people with the intent of making a gain for themselves or anyone else, or inflicting a loss on another. An example may include providing deliberately misleading information when applying for a grant.
Responding to your concerns
We do not make information about our investigative procedures public. Doing so would allow organisations to circumvent our checks and jeopardise our ability to protect public funds.
It is, therefore, unlikely that we will be able to give you any information about the progress or outcome of any investigation that we conduct.
Confidentiality
As part of a review of information, we may need to contact the organisation we have funded. In this case we will respect your anonymity.
We will honour any specific requests that you make regarding confidentiality. Similarly, if you work for the organisation that you are raising concerns about, or are a named contact on an application or funding agreement, and you would like us to keep your details confidential, please advise us of this at the time you raise each concern with us.
Your request will be respected, even though you may have a contractual duty to advise us of any incident or practice that may jeopardise the success of the project or amount to a misuse of public funds. If we receive information that suggests individual people may be at risk, we may need to share this information with the police or other appropriate authorities. In these cases, we would still take steps to preserve your confidentiality.