Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of charities registered in the UK primarily or substantially funded from Middle Eastern sources; and if he will make a statement.

Charity regulation is a devolved matter in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The annual accounts of charities in England and Wales are available on the Charity Commission’s website but the data requested on funding sources is not routinely held. Some charities may include information about the source of their donations in their accounts but they are not required to do so.

The Charity Commission is alert to the potential abuse of humanitarian aid efforts through facilitating travel for individuals for other purposes, particularly to conflict zones where terrorist groups are known to operate or exert control, including in Syria and Iraq.

There is a risk that charities working in certain areas, including those where so-called Islamic State militants operate, may be abused for non-charitable purposes. This is of serious concern to the Charity Commission. The Charity Commission has issued alerts to charities operating in these areas and advice to members of the public of how to give safely to ensure that their donations reach the intended charitable target. This information is available on the Charity Commission’s website.

Where there are concerns about suspected terrorist or extremist abuse connected to a charity the Charity Commission will support the Police in conducting criminal investigations.