The charity has objects to relieve the needs of children and young people up to the age of 18 in the UK suffering from serious or terminal illness and their family and carers as the trustees shall determine.

The Commission engaged with the charity’s trustees in August 2016 about a number of regulatory concerns identified from multiple complaints about the charity and from the Commission’s own scrutiny of the charity, which is based in Sussex.

The regulator says it has been unable to adequately address any of its concerns with the trustees and so has launched an investigation, which will consider whether, and to what extent, the charity is operating in furtherance of its charitable objects and for the public benefit.

It will examine the administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees, in particular the extent to which the trustees have responsibly managed the charity’s resources and financial affairs, taken action to ensure that conflicts of interest in the charity have been adequately avoided or managed; and properly authorised benefits to trustees and connected persons.

It will also look at the trustees’ non-compliance with their reporting duties, specifically the non-submission of the charity’s annual accounts and reports.

To protect the assets of the charity, the Commission has frozen the charity’s bank account which will prohibit the charity from making payments or withdrawing money from the account without the Commission’s prior authorisation.

Once the inquiry is concluded the Commission will publish a report detailing its actions and the outcomes.