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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has plans to assess whether the Charity Commission appropriately complied with the Public Sector Equality Duty in giving the LGB Alliance charitable status.

As an independent regulator, the Charity Commission for England and Wales (“the Commission”) is not subject to Ministerial or Government direction or control; it is accountable to the courts for its legal decisions.

The Commission has set out its decision to register the LGB Alliance in a detailed paper which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lgb-alliance/lgb-alliance-full-decision

The Commission concluded that the LGB Alliance is established for exclusively charitable purposes, in accordance with the legal framework and based on the evidence received.

During the registration process, the Commission took account of guidance from the Government Equality Office and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which informed its consideration of the Public Sector Equality Duty, and equality law issues. The Commission’s published decision addressed allegations that LGB Alliance unlawfully discriminates against transgender people under the Equality Act 2010.

The Commission’s published decision is clear that no charity should undermine the rights of others in promoting the rights of one or more group. If any charity undertakes activity that gives rise to concerns about the denigration of human rights then the Commission will consider taking regulatory action. To the extent that matters considered by the Commission during the course of its registration case or in future constitute matters of regulatory concern, these will be addressed appropriately by the Commission in line with its risk and regulatory framework.