Call not to ‘politicise’ new chair of Charity Commission
'Charities and faith groups must retain the right to speak out publicly about their concerns without fear of repercussions from the Charity Commission for England & Wales.’
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has joined other civil society members in a move to ensure the appointment of a new chair of the Charity Commission is not politicised.
The joint open letter from the Good Law Project to Nadine Dorries MP – the new secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – highlights an opinion piece in The Telegraph from her predecessor Oliver Dowden MP announcing his intention to crack down on charities. In the piece, Oliver Dowden complained about ‘a worrying trend in some charities that appear to have been hijacked by a vocal minority seeking to burnish their woke credentials’. He said the new chair will be chosen based on their ability to ‘rebalance’ charities away from that agenda – and ministers will only hire someone who convinces them they will do this.
The letter says that ‘Mr Dowden’s comments showed his ambition to direct and control the work of the Charity Commission to achieve political ends’.
It calls on Nadine Dorries to ‘make clear your vision for a strong civil society, correctly regulated but free of Ministerial influence’.
Paul Parker, recording clerk for BYM, said: ‘[Quakers] welcome fair and impartial regulation to improve our sector, but charities and faith groups must retain the right to speak out publicly about their concerns without fear of repercussions from the Charity Commission for England & Wales.’
