The Charity Commission has announced an inquiry into a youth charity that failed to inform the regulator that one of its trustees had been arrested in relation to a safeguarding issue.

The commission said in a statement today that it opened a statutory inquiry into the Youth Development Summer Camp Project, which provides or assists in the provision of holiday camps for young people, in part because the charity did not appear to have any written safeguarding policies in place.

The regulator opened the inquiry in August last year but did not announce it until today because of an ongoing police investigation.

It said that although one of the charity’s trustees, who has not been named, was arrested last year under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, the charity had not made a serious incident report to the regulator.

The commission is also investigating whether any disclosure and barring checks have been carried out.

“The charity’s annual returns for financial years ending 2014 onwards indicate that the charity has no written safeguarding policies in place, including in relation to risk management or vulnerable beneficiaries,” the regulator said today.

“Due to the nature of the charity’s activities, these factors have raised serious regulatory concerns for the commission and require further examination by way of a statutory inquiry.”

The inquiry will examine matters such as whether the charity’s trustees have properly managed the risk to the charity’s beneficiaries and services, whether they have complied with their legal duties and responsibilities in the governance and management of the charity, particularly in relation to policies and procedures regarding safeguarding, and whether trustees have protected the charity’s assets, including its reputation.

The charity had an income of £69,166 in the year to 15 October 2015, according to its entry on the Charity Commission register.

Third Sector was unable to contact anyone at the charity for comment.