Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help increase diversity in the charity sector.

The Government recognises the importance of diversity within the charity sector at all levels, whether that be trustees, chief executives, staff members or volunteers, in order to meet the needs of the communities the sector serves and it is committed to working with our civil society partners to address this. We welcome the work that sector representative bodies are doing to improve diversity within the sector.

Appointing trustees is a matter for individual charities, but is something the Government takes very seriously. The Government has held a number of conversations with civil society partners to improve understanding of the opportunities and challenges around enabling people from different backgrounds to become involved in trusteeship. The Charity Commission has published resources for charities to encourage people from diverse backgrounds to get involved and make a difference. The Charity Commission also assisted in the creation of the Charity Governance Code, which sets out recommended practice for all charities registered in England and Wales. The Charity Governance Code makes clear the importance of diversity and resulting positive outcomes. We are fully committed to continue working with the charity sector to take action on this issue.

In responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials and Ministers have met with a wide range of groups, including women-led organisations and BAME-led civil society organisations to discuss how the Government can engage more with a variety of groups in the sector as we come out of the Covid-19 pandemic.