Bernard Jenkin, chair of the Public Administration Select Committee, has said MP Margaret Hodge’s recent suggestion to scrap the Charity Commission is "bonkers".
Hodge, Labour MP for Barking and chair of the Public Accounts Committee, recently suggested that HM Revenue & Customs should regulate charities and that the Charity Commission become a “little quango on a bonfire”.
Speaking to civilsociety.co.uk, Jenkin called the proposal “bonkers”.
“Who would regulate charities if the Charity Commission did not exist?" he said. "HMRC does not have its independence from ministers secured in law like the Charity Commission does.
“This is very important, particularly when regulating charity issues like excessive political campaigning and other politically sensitive questions.”
