Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what checks her Department undertakes before providing funding to community organisations for Hong Kongers in the UK.

The Government takes the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously and my department works closely with the Home Office and the FCDO, as well as other government departments, to ensure that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders.

The department assesses the appropriateness and suitability of all potential grant funding recipients, and their ability to deliver the support required as part of HMG’s BN(O) Welcome Programme. This Programme reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to the people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BN(O) status at the point of Hong Kong’s handover to China in 1997.

In deciding whether to make a grant award to any organisation through the Hong Kong BN(O) Welcome Programme, checks are conducted on all organisations to be satisfied insofar as is possible with the information available, that the organisation is suitable to receive Government funding.