Government consults over plans to ban trustees who promote hate

A consultation has launched over government plans to give the Charity Commission new powers to ban trustees “who promote violence and hatred”.

The measures to increase the regulator’s scope to disqualify trustees are part of the government’s crackdown on extremists “abuse of charities”.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport consultation has launched this week and closes at 5pm on 23 December.

Consultation documents point out that while the regulator already has “a range of powers and takes robust action in cases of extremist abuses” it is vital it has “all the tools needed to tackle the abuse of charities, including by those who promote extremist ideologies”.

Being proposed is to allow the regulator “to disqualify certain individuals who engage in conduct or express views which promote or encourage (or would be reasonably likely to promote or encourage) violence, or hatred against any group of people defined by reference to their race, or their religion or belief”, as defined by the 2010 Equality Act.

This would cover the actions or views by trustees, charity leaders, groups of people or organisations.

“By targeting this power at violence of any kind, and hatred against any group of people defined by reference to their race, or their religion or belief, the Commission will be able to take faster and more consistent action against individuals using charities to promote extremist beliefs,” states the consultation.

It adds that people’s rights to freedom of speech and thought are a “qualified right” that can be subject to limitations, saying the proposed new powers “support the Commission in barring individuals whose conduct makes them unfit to be trustees, where it is desirable in the public interest to disqualify them”.

The government consultation stresses that the measures are “not intended to capture mere offence or unpleasantness towards an individual or a group of people, or to prevent legitimate debates”.

The new powers will be discretionary and the regulator “will need to assess evidence and make a decision on a case-by-case basis”