Charity Commission

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ashley Dalton]

I thank the right hon. Member for his contribution. That is the point that I am making: whether the Charity Commission has the powers, resources and ability to act. I fear that the story I am laying out today is far from unique across the country.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

I congratulate my good and hon. Friend on securing this debate. There is a really key point about trust and accountability. Does she share the concerns of myself and other members of the coalfields group of MPs about the activities of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation? It is a charitable body established by Parliament in 1952 to provide support to mining communities. Many former mining communities, including some in my own constituency, say that they are missing out on millions of pounds of investment from the sale of former miners’ welfare halls and outdoor welfare schemes. Does my hon. Friend agree that the public must have confidence that charitable trusts are held accountable for their actions? Will she support our efforts to ensure that the Charity Commission takes all appropriate action in the cases that we have identified?

[Ashley Dalton]

I absolutely agree with what my hon. Friend has outlined. The Charity Commission should support all charities, because it is fundamental that public trust remains. That is why residents and I have engaged with the Charity Commission and raised concerns regarding the transparency and governance of Scarisbrick village hall and the decisions being made.

The Charity Commission has begun an investigation. Following the February AGM, the commission confirmed that concerns about the failure to comply with advice and the conduct of the meeting itself had been escalated to its regulatory compliance team. Further concerns, including concerns around social media activity and questions about the transparency and integrity of the AGM ballot, have been added to its case records. However, by June, the commission confirmed that the case remained ongoing and was progressing.

Last month, the commission advised that it had received a significant volume of further correspondence, including new concerns about the conduct of a trustee on social media. It also confirmed that it was continuing its investigation and planned to undertake a books and records inspection in the coming weeks. I appreciate that thorough investigations take time, particularly where there are complex governance issues to consider. However, this case illustrates the challenges of addressing concerns in a timely way, particularly where further issues and inappropriate conduct continue to emerge while an investigation is ongoing. Residents of Scarisbrick are concerned that the village hall will potentially be lost and its resources frittered away.

Those concerns have been compounded by further developments. Two companies associated with the management of the village hall, The Venue Scarisbrick Ltd and Community Inclusion Projects Ltd, have appeared on Companies House as having active proposals to strike off. That raises even more questions about corporate governance and the protection of charitable assets and community facilities. Given that this case has been ongoing since last summer and I have been raising concerns with the commission for a year, I ask the Minister to consider what more the Government can do to ensure the commission can investigate cases of this nature promptly.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Vicky Foxcroft)]

I am pleased to respond to this debate, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) on securing it. She is an incredibly powerful woman—such a powerful woman that she has been able to get the Secretary of State to attend the debate. She also shares powerful woman characteristics with my mother. I have to mention my mother today, because it is her birthday and, sadly, I am not able to be with her.

Village halls and other such spaces are often the lifeblood of our communities, and I pay tribute to the army of workers and volunteers who selflessly provide vital services in them, to communities up and down the country. In the vast majority of cases, these spaces are well-run and treasured by their communities, but on rare occasions, problems can arise.

My hon. Friend has raised concerns about Scarisbrick village hall in her constituency. Such cases highlight the important role that local Members of Parliament can play in resolving issues in their communities. I congratulate her on securing a positive outcome that protects and preserves the war memorial. On the ongoing concerns about the management of the village hall, I note that the Charity Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into the charity in February 2026. The opening of a case is not a finding of wrongdoing, but a step the commission can take to consider concerns in greater detail. The case is ongoing, and the commission is therefore limited in what it can say at this stage. However, I understand that the commission intends to meet the parties involved at the charity’s premises in the coming weeks.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales plays a vital role in helping community charities, such as village halls, to thrive, and in supporting public trust and confidence in charities across the sector.

[Grahame Morris]

Trust is important, and I support the points made by my hon. Friend the Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton), but further to the issues that I raised in my intervention, I point out to the Minister that we are expecting a judgment from the Charities Commission on the evidence provided to it by Members of Parliament representing coalfield constituencies. We gathered that evidence from local authorities, the National Union of Mineworkers, the Industrial Communities Alliance and around 20 locations across the UK coalfields. This is not an isolated issue, so does the Minister believe that the Charity Commission has sufficient powers to effect the change required to hold charities to account for their actions? If I may be so bold, will she agree to meet a delegation from the coalfields group to look at some of the evidence that we have gathered, which should raise concerns for the Charity Commission investigators?

[Vicky Foxcroft]

I will come to the points that my hon. Friend raises later, but I will say that the Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley South (Stephanie Peacock), met the Charity Commission when she was the Minister responsible for civil society to discuss CISWO’s support for coalmining communities. My hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) cares deeply about supporting coalfield communities, and the Government and I share that sentiment. I would be happy to meet a delegation.

We rightly rely on the Charity Commission not only to promote best practice and deliver knowledge for trustees, but to step in and act when issues arise. As a civil regulator, its core responsibility is to ensure that trustees comply with their duties under charity law, that charities pursue their charitable purposes for the public benefit, and that any misconduct or mismanagement is addressed. The Charity Commission has a range of statutory, investigatory and enforcement powers at its disposal to effectively regulate charities and address wrongdoing. The Government fully support the Charity Commission in taking proportionate action in such cases, but it is important to note that the Charity Commission can only take action where there is misconduct or mismanagement. Where a charity pursues its charitable purposes within the law and the terms of its governing document, the commission cannot intervene.