Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of alleged Iranian interference in the UK charity sector through (a) Dar Alhekma and (b) the Abrar Islamic Foundation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The promotion of extremist views or terrorism in charities is unacceptable. The Charity Commission is alive to the risks of hostile state threats to the charity sector, and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. The Charity Commission has consistently been clear that it will respond robustly where there proves to have been wrongdoing and I am confident that it has the ability to do so effectively.
The Government takes the safeguarding of all children seriously and is committed to protecting them from harm across all settings, including out-of-school settings such as Scouts clubs. The Charity Commission has published guidance that explains in which circumstances a report about serious wrongdoing should be made, which details should be provided, and what it will do after receiving a report.
DCMS is planning to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities. We will consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and make it easier for the Charity Commission to take action against people promoting terrorism, violence or hatred
Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to the regulation of charities.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports that Al-Ikhlas Education Centre in Willesden hosted Scout meetings.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The promotion of extremist views or terrorism in charities is unacceptable. The Charity Commission is alive to the risks of hostile state threats to the charity sector, and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. The Charity Commission has consistently been clear that it will respond robustly where there proves to have been wrongdoing and I am confident that it has the ability to do so effectively.
The Government takes the safeguarding of all children seriously and is committed to protecting them from harm across all settings, including out-of-school settings such as Scouts clubs. The Charity Commission has published guidance that explains in which circumstances a report about serious wrongdoing should be made, which details should be provided, and what it will do after receiving a report.
DCMS is planning to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities. We will consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and make it easier for the Charity Commission to take action against people promoting terrorism, violence or hatred
Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to the regulation of charities.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Charity Commission on reports of Iranian interference in the UK charity sector.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The promotion of extremist views or terrorism in charities is unacceptable. The Charity Commission is alive to the risks of hostile state threats to the charity sector, and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. The Charity Commission has consistently been clear that it will respond robustly where there proves to have been wrongdoing and I am confident that it has the ability to do so effectively.
The Government takes the safeguarding of all children seriously and is committed to protecting them from harm across all settings, including out-of-school settings such as Scouts clubs. The Charity Commission has published guidance that explains in which circumstances a report about serious wrongdoing should be made, which details should be provided, and what it will do after receiving a report.
DCMS is planning to strengthen the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities. We will consult on measures to automatically ban individuals convicted of hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and make it easier for the Charity Commission to take action against people promoting terrorism, violence or hatred
Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to the regulation of charities.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of the proposals in the consultation entitled The Tax Treatment of Remote Gambling, last updated on 6 May 2025, on the British horseracing industry.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
There has been ministerial engagement between my Department and His Majesty’s Treasury to ensure that they are aware of the specific way British horseracing is funded and the potential implications of any changes to taxation.
Future proposals on taxation are a matter for His Majesty’s Treasury. We would encourage interested parties and stakeholders to engage with ongoing consultations on the matter, which run until the 21st of July. Should legislative change be brought about following this consultation, we expect the impact of such changes to be outlined in tax and impact notes published alongside, as is standard practice.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities avoids conflicts of interest in the allocation of funds under the statutory levy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government’s priority is to ensure funding is being directed where it is needed most to deliver on our objective to reduce gambling-related harms. The Gambling Act 2005 is clear that DCMS and HM Treasury have powers to approve levy spending. To guarantee sufficient accountability and transparency within the new system, we will ensure robust governance arrangements are in place for the levy, including a Levy Board for central government oversight. Governance arrangements will be designed to manage conflicts of interest, while recognising that a wide spectrum of views and insights will be needed to shape our objectives and monitor the outcomes of the levy system.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Gambling Commission has taken to ensure compliance with the Growth Duty under Section 108 of the Deregulation Act 2015; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Commission's (a) policies and (b) regulatory activities on economic growth.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Gambling Commission is required by its statutory functions to strike a balance between supporting the growth of regulated businesses and providing protection for consumers and society. The Commission’s statement of principles for licensing and regulation includes ensuring that unnecessary regulatory burdens are not placed on businesses, prioritising the least intrusive regulatory tools to achieve compliance and ensuring that any regulatory action is proportionate. It also states that the Commission will have regard to promoting economic growth, insofar as it thinks it is consistent with pursuit of the licensing objectives.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of whether the funding of the UK Youth Parliament delivers value for money to taxpayers; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of transitioning its funding from public expenditure to a model reliant on voluntary donations.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS is currently overseeing a number of projects reviewing the UK Youth Parliament and its funding. Further details on their conclusions will be published in due course.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned increase in employer National Insurance contributions on charities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government highly values the charity sector, and its positive contribution across society.
Due to the difficult economic inheritance from the previous government, we have had to take a number of difficult decisions on tax, welfare and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability.
The Government has considered the implication of this policy change on the charity sector, and the impacts have been published in the usual way by HMRC as part of the Autumn Budget process.
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN), which gives a clear explanation of the policy objective and an assessment of the impacts, was published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on 13 November 2024. This Note includes the impacts of the policy on the Exchequer; the economic impacts of the policy; and the impacts on individuals, businesses, civil society organisations and equality impacts.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December to Question 19589 on Newspaper Press: Foreign Investment in UK, whether her Department has (a) considered and (b) taken legal advice on issuing Foreign State Intervention Notices in the last six months.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State has a quasi-judicial role when considering foreign state ownership, influence and control in newspapers and news magazines, and as such we cannot comment further.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December to Question 19589 on Newspaper Press: Foreign Investment in UK, what level of indirect investment by foreign states will trigger the issuing of a Foreign State Intervention Notice.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Consultation on The Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Regulations 2024 closed on 9 July 2024. Ministers recognise the high importance of this issue and are considering the responses carefully. Ministers take into account a wide range of issues and evidence when making a decision, and will publish the response in due course.