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 the effectiveness of licencing practices for charity fundraisers to effectively tackle the use of aggressive tactics to raise money in public areas.

The vast majority of charities carry out collections to support their vital work in a responsible way and in line with the law and the Code of Fundraising practice. However, DCMS supports local authorities in taking action against fraudulent collections and unlawful behaviour, and to make enforcement easier, simpler and more cost effective.

In the recently announced action plan on social cohesion, we have announced that we will increase fines and strengthen local authorities’ enforcement powers to tackle unlicensed street fundraising.