Greg Smith

Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to charity regulation. As the Charity Commission is independent from the Government in its regulatory decision making, it will be for the Charity Commission to assess these matters further.

The Charity Commission has live regulatory compliance cases into Dar Alhekma Trust and Abrar Islamic Foundation. These cases were temporarily paused at the request of the Metropolitan Police Service, to avoid prejudicing the police’s assessment of the concerns raised. The Charity Commission is now engaging with the trustees of both charities to assess the allegations.

The principle of BBC First - where the BBC has the opportunity to try and resolve complaints about its content before consideration by Ofcom - was formalised by the current Charter. If a complainant is not satisfied by the BBC’s initial response to their complaint, they have the option to escalate it for consideration by the independent regulator, Ofcom.

The public expects and deserves the highest editorial standards from the BBC. The Secretary of State has been consistently clear that where these standards are not met, firm and transparent action must follow.

The forthcoming Charter Review will look at how the BBC can remain independent and accountable to the public it serves and continue to provide trusted and truthful news to combat an era of growing disinformation.

This Government is committed to encouraging international investment to drive economic growth. DCMS’s work to promote investment into the culture and creative industries, media and sport sectors is an important part of this.

Most recently, through the Creative Industries Sector Plan we committed to provide £10 million to expand the National Film and Television School which will unlock £11 million of private investment, including from major overseas companies. We have also recently brought together sporting stakeholders and investors in the third annual One Goal Investment Symposium to highlight opportunities for foreign investment into the sport sector.

The whole Government uses its international engagements to encourage investment from overseas, India being a prime example. On her visit to India earlier this year, the Secretary of State signed a cultural cooperation agreement that will boost cultural exchange and encourage long-term institutional partnerships. On the Prime Minister’s recent visit to India, with a large business and cultural delegation, we secured a commitment from Yash Raj Films to bring new productions to the UK, attracted to the UK by our skillsbase and competitive tax system. This will create over 3,000 jobs and boost the economy by millions of pounds. On the same visit, the Government announced that the Science Museum has received an unprecedented eight-figure donation from the Serum Institute of India to support the transformation of one of the museum’s most iconic spaces.

Claims received in this financial year are unaffected, assuming that they are eligible claims with the required detail and documentation.

We expect the cap will be applied to all claims received on or after 1 April 2025. We will be publishing guidance on scheme applications and eligibility in due course.

Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000. We believe that the modifications were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and the capital pressures on other parts of the heritage sector.

Last month, my right hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, brought together Vice Chancellors and community leaders to hear testimonials from Jewish students and to discuss next steps to ensure safer, more inclusive campuses for all. This included productive discussion of how students’ confidence in the disciplinary processes could be improved, while ensuring that confidentiality requirements continue to be met.

The department remains deeply committed to working with universities, sector partners and stakeholder groups to effectively tackle the unacceptably high level of antisemitism on our campuses.

This government condemns antisemitism in the strongest possible terms and we are actively taking steps to prevent and tackle it on campus, as in all parts of society. The antisemitic incidents detailed in StandWithUs UK’s report are wholly unacceptable and the wellbeing and safety of our Jewish students remains a priority.

Universities have a duty to protect freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law, but the department has been clear that this does not extend to unlawful hate speech or incitement of hatred against any individual or group.

It is important to recognise the efforts that university Vice Chancellors and their staff are making to foster cohesion on campuses across the country. However, as the StandWithUs UK report highlights, there is still more for us to do. That is why my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is hosting a roundtable on antisemitism to which she has invited several leading Vice Chancellors, many whose students and universities are featured in StandWithUs UK’s testimonials, including Professor Andrew Jones, Vice Chancellor of Brunel, University of London. This will be an opportunity to discuss what more can be done collectively, and at all levels, to make our universities a safe and inclusive environment for all.

This government condemns antisemitism in the strongest possible terms and we are actively taking steps to prevent and tackle it on campus, as in all parts of society. The antisemitic incidents detailed in StandWithUs UK’s report are wholly unacceptable and the wellbeing and safety of our Jewish students remains a priority.

Universities have a duty to protect freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law, but the department has been clear that this does not extend to unlawful hate speech or incitement of hatred against any individual or group.

It is important to recognise the efforts that university Vice Chancellors and their staff are making to foster cohesion on campuses across the country. However, as the StandWithUs UK report highlights, there is still more for us to do. That is why my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is hosting a roundtable on antisemitism to which she has invited several leading Vice Chancellors, many whose students and universities are featured in StandWithUs UK’s testimonials, including Professor Andrew Jones, Vice Chancellor of Brunel, University of London. This will be an opportunity to discuss what more can be done collectively, and at all levels, to make our universities a safe and inclusive environment for all.

The National Foundation for Educational Research is a leading provider of research and assessments in the UK. The department has no formal oversight or management relationship with them, and as such, has not made an assessment of the adequacy of their governance arrangements.

This government’s mission is clear: to break down barriers to opportunity by driving high and rising standards delivered through excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum, and a system which removes the barriers to learning that hold too many children back. All underpinned by strong and clear accountability.

This is why we introduced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to give every family the certainty that they will be able to access a good local school for their child, where they can achieve and thrive, regardless of where they live.

Through this Bill, we are creating a floor for all schools but placing no ceiling on what they can achieve, enabling healthy competition and innovation beyond a core framework to improve all schools.

The department published updated impact assessments on the Bill’s measures on 21 March on GOV.UK. These include assessments of the impact on all types of school, including academies. It is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.

Where measures are in scope, assessments follow the Better Regulation Framework, and we have received a ‘Green’ rating from the Regulatory Policy Committee.

The department will continue to develop the Impact Assessments throughout the passage of the bill and undertake post-implementation reviews.