Charities: Crime
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with the Charity Commission on the registered charitable status of groups that have demonstrated support for illegal activity, including those engaged in terrorism.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock
Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission for England and Wales to discuss a range of issues relating to the regulation of charities.
The promotion of extremist views or terrorism in charities is unacceptable. The Charity Commission has been consistent and clear that it responds to such abuse robustly. This includes referring potential criminal offences to the police where relevant.
DCMS is planning to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities. This will include strengthening powers to close down charities that promote extremism, to protect the vast majority of the sector delivering positive work. We will also consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and make it easier for the Charity Commission to take action against people promoting violence or hatred.
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