The Association of Chairs is seeking charities’ views about ways to improve charity governance, including by increasing board diversity and removing financial barriers to trusteeship.

The public consultation, which opened yesterday (27 January), asks charities and sector experts about how the sector can develop and improve charity boards and remove barriers to trusteeship.

The findings will be used to develop a strategy for the improvement of charity governance, which the AoC said would be “collectively held and implemented” by the infrastructure body alongside other organisations, as well as chairs and trustees.

The survey will close on 25 April and AoC said it was aiming to gather at least 500 responses.

The consultation asks about the importance of creating trustee boards that are diverse and representative of the UK public, and asks respondents about how this goal could be achieved.

It also asks respondents for their views on making it easier to pay trustees, with the survey saying that the lack of pay “presents a barrier for some people who would like to become a trustee”.

The survey asks respondents whether they are in favour of making it easier to pay trustees and how high a priority this issue is for them.

The consultation also seeks views about how to mitigate the time barriers to trusteeship, saying: “For some the problem is that 10 days taken up in the course of a year doing trustee duties could mean 10 days of holiday allowance being used up. 

“That is a very significant commitment to being a trustee, and a substantial barrier, especially for those with young families or other commitments.”

Respondents are also being asked about their views on how to improve the status and recognition of trustees within the charity sector, how to develop a learning culture on boards, and the potential development of professional qualifications for trustees.

The consultation seeks views on whether creating a formal infrastructure organisation specifically for trustees would better support trustee development, or if existing bodies can fill this gap.