Question to the Attorney General:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Attorney General expects to give a definitive response to the request made three years ago by the Charity Commission in respect of the governance of the Albert Hall.

In December of last year, the Charity Commission wrote to the then Attorney General requesting consent to refer six questions to the First-Tier Tribunal concerning the Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Albert Hall, which is a registered charity. This is the third such request by the Commission since 2017. The then Attorney General granted, then subsequently withdrew his consent in relation to the first request. The second request was withdrawn, with consent then sought for the reference of an amended set of questions last December. While the Charity Commission has the power to refer questions to the Tribunal, it may only do so with the consent of the Attorney General, as set out in section 325 of the Charities Act 2011.

The Corporation made further representations in relation to the Commission’s request earlier this year. The Attorney General is in the process of considering the request and representations with a view to issuing a decision in due course.