Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what additional powers she plans to grant the Charity Commission to tackle extremist abuse as referenced in the Statement of 9 March 2026; whether these powers will require primary legislation; what safeguards he will introduce to ensure that legitimate charitable and community activities are not inadvertently affected; and what plans he has to consult with the voluntary sector.

As part of the Government’s action plan for social cohesion we have announced that the Charity Commission’s powers will be extended to tackle extremist abuse of charities. This includes: extending its ability to suspend trustees and close down charities; introducing mandatory trustee ID verification; and digitising charity accounts to improve transparency and accountability. As a first step we will shortly 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. These changes can be implemented through secondary legislation. DCMS will engage the sector on any further changes which may require primary legislation.

The Government intends for the Charity Commission’s powers to be used proportionately to protect charities. In rare cases that charitable status is abused for extremist purposes the Charity Commission must be able to act swiftly and decisively to safeguard charitable funds and to protect public trust and confidence in charities.