Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what due diligence procedures will be undertaken before a charity or non-profit organisation is accredited as a lead sponsor under the new refugee sponsorship routes.

To be accredited as a lead sponsor by the Home Office, registered charities and community interest companies must meet all eligibility and suitability requirements.

Information on the eligibility requirements for lead sponsor accreditation is published in the lead sponsor guidance on gov.uk.

Robust suitability checks will be undertaken on all organisations applying to become lead sponsors and on the organisation’s key personnel. These checks will consider relevant links to proscribed organisations, including where concerns relate to the organisation or its key personnel. Any organisation that is proscribed, or has links to a proscribed organisation, will be prevented from acting as a lead sponsor. Any relevant concerns identified in relation to an organisation’s trustees, directors or senior officers will be taken into account by the Home Office when assessing the suitability of the organisation to act as a lead sponsor.

Checks on registered charities will include checks with the relevant charity regulator (which for charities in England and Wales is the Charity Commission), depending on where the charity is based in the UK.