A group of prominent charities have warned that the sector’s campaigning and advocacy work could be suppressed if the regulator is handed increased powers without sufficient consultation.
Some 18 charities and voluntary organisations wrote to culture secretary Lisa Nandy this week, urging her to consider the sector’s advice before proceeding with plans to widen the Charity Commission’s remit.
Proposed in its social cohesion strategy last month, the government plans to allow the regulator to strip charitable status, disqualify trustees and remove senior managers at voluntary organisations suspected of harbouring extremism.
In March, Nandy also asked officials to work with the commission on expediting investigations into charities suspected of engaging in or promoting extremist behaviour.
This includes reinforcing the regulator’s powers to shut them down.
Leaders of membership bodies NCVO and ACEVO as well as charities including Oxfam and Runnymede Trust were among those who signed the open letter sent to Nandy on Tuesday.
The signatories, also including faith organisations Muslim Charities Forum and Quakers in Britain, expressed concern that a lack of clear definitions and safeguards could stymie legitimate advocacy amid a “gradual shrinking of civic space”.
They expressed particular concern about “broader and more ambiguous” grounds on which organisations could be reported for alleged extremism.
“The proposed expansion of the Charity Commission’s powers to remove trustees and to close organisations, could be applied in ways that mischaracterise legitimate civil society activity,” the letter reads.
“This, in turn, may contribute to the suppression of lawful advocacy, campaigning, and community engagement.
“This suppression could happen directly or via self-censorship.”
Concern of ‘specific community organisations’ being targeted
The government has stated that it plans to consult on expanded powers for the commission but has yet to do so publicly.
This month, the commission also saw an increase to its annual budget by more than a quarter, which it plans to invest in recruiting 80 new staff members.
Despite the concerns expressed in this week’s letter, the charities welcomed the government’s strategy overall to strengthen social cohesion and tackle hate, extremism and division.
They recognised growing threats towards Jewish and Muslim communities and said that the misuse of charitable status risks undermining public trust in the sector.
Signatories, however, took issue with the potential crackdown on campaigning and lawful engagement, particularly for organisations that work on sensitive or contested issues.
Muslim, environmental and social justice organisations are especially under threat, they said, warning that misrepresentation could result in unfair punitive action.
“There have also been instances where the Charity Commission has been perceived as being used disproportionately against specific community organisations, further eroding trust,” the letter reads.
“Left unchecked, this trend could spread further across civil society.”
Increased scrutiny, gagging clauses, lack of funding and heightened public as well as political pressure were among the issues highlighted by the charities group.
A DCMS spokesperson said: "Where individuals use charitable status to promote violence or hatred, the Charity Commission must have the powers to act quickly and decisively to protect public trust in the sector as a whole.
"These proposals will not undermine legitimate civil society activity," they said, adding that the government would soon "engage closely" with charities via a consultation.
Civil Society has approached the Charity Commission for comment.
