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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the Charity Commission on the activities of (a) Dar Al-Hekma and (b) Abrar Islamic Foundation.

The Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth recently met with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues. The Charity Commission has live regulatory compliance cases open into the Abrar Islamic Foundation and the Dar Alhekma Trust and they will not hesitate to take regulatory action if necessary. Given the nature of the allegations, the Commission has also referred the serious allegations to the Metropolitan Police Service.

As the independent regulator, the Charity Commission has a wide range of powers to tackle misconduct or mismanagement in charities. It acts robustly to tackle those who abuse charities. We keep the Charity Commission's powers under regular review and are actively considering whether further powers are required.