New Clause 15
Charities Bill [Lords]
3:30 pm
Andrew Turner (Shadow Minister (Charities), Home Affairs; Isle of Wight, Conservative)
I do not want to detain the Committee, for obvious reasons, but one issue about international activity by charities that has been drawn to my attention—and to which the Minister might slip in a response in replying to the debate—is the extent to which the commission has a duty to ascertain that money raised in this country for charitable purposes is spent for charitable purposes overseas. We know that that is the duty of the charity and of the commission; the question is whether they have the capacity to discharge it.
I am concerned because of allegations, of which I am sure Ministers and hon. Members are aware, that some religious charities in this country remit considerable funds overseas, where they are spent for purposes that are only borderline religious, at least in the sense that that is understood in the United Kingdom.