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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the average waiting time was for an application to register a new charity or convert an existing non-profit organisation into a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in the last 12 months; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of administrative processes on grassroots community organisations' ability to access critical grant funding.

Applications that clearly demonstrate exclusively charitable purposes are typically registered within 4 days of receipt. In instances where further exploration is required, the average wait for further assessment is 23 weeks.

It is important that the Charity Commission robustly assess each application on its individual merits, in order to maintain the integrity of the charity register. Charitable status is a privilege that carries a number of material benefits and is held in high esteem by the public.

The Charity Commission is currently experiencing record numbers of applications to register a charity, leading to increased response times. The Commission prioritises applications where there is risk to vulnerable beneficiaries or significant funding which is dependent on charity registration. The Commission is training additional staff to speed up response times and is embarking on a programme of digital upgrades, including a major review of the charity registration service to make it more user-friendly and efficient for both applicants and the taxpayer.