Committee publication · Correspondence · 16 July 2026
Letter from the Charity Commissioner for England and Wales to the Chair dated 6 July 2026 concerning social housing and social cohesion
Summary
The Charity Commission's Chief Executive writes to the Housing Committee Chair following a June meeting, raising two principal concerns: (1) regulatory gaps in oversight of supported housing charities, with 5,000 properties under investigation for conflict of interest and safeguarding issues, and implementation of the 2023 Act severely delayed; (2) risks of extremism and terrorism abuse in charities, including over 300 cases opened since October 2023 relating to Middle East conflict, hostile state influence, and criminal referrals.
Key findings
- Regulatory gap exists in oversight of supported housing charities; Commission has open statutory inquiries covering ~5,000 properties, primarily conflict of interest and private benefit cases, but lacks power to regulate service quality or safeguarding directly.
- Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 implementation severely delayed despite being enacted directly from select committee report; Commission wrote to then-Secretary of State (October 2024) and current Secretary of State (September 2025) expressing concerns about risks to vulnerable residents.
- Since 7 October 2023, Commission opened 300+ regulatory cases involving charities with differing views on Middle East conflict; made 70+ police referrals for alleged criminal offences (Hamas support, antisemitism, hate speech).
- Commission's preventative outreach programme reached 8,000 trustees and volunteers in 2024–2025; serious concerns exist about misuse of charities to promote hostile state interests, particularly Iran.
- Commission can freeze bank accounts, direct trustee action, issue warnings, and disqualify trustees, but powers do not cover adjudication of religious discourse within legal free-speech limits; Government consultation announced on expanding disqualification powers.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
David Holdsworth, Charity Commission for England and Wales, Florence Eshalomi MP, Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Bristol Sheltered Accommodation and Support, Counter Terrorism Policing, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Notable line
“… the implementation of this legislation is severely delayed. As Chief Executive of the Commission I wrote to the then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in October 2024 to outline our concerns …”
Key Quotes
“At present, we believe there to be a regulatory gap regarding the oversight of the provision of supported housing by these charities.”
“Our regulatory remit, primary legislation and resourcing mean we have limited ability to regulate the service provision of these charities – for example the quality of their housing stock or the support provided to, and safeguarding of, residents.”
“… the implementation of this legislation is severely delayed.”
“Since the start of the conflict the Commission has opened over 300 regulatory cases involving charities with differing views on the conflict and made over 70 referrals to the police where we consider that a criminal offence may have been committed.”
“We are aware of serious concerns about the alleged misuse of charities in the UK to promote the interests of hostile states. Such concerns undermine trust and confidence in charities, and we take them very seriously in our regulatory work.”
“While the tone and context of some religious teaching may provide a contributory factor requiring regulatory action, the Commission cannot be expected to adjudicate on questions of religious discourse which falls within the legal limits of free speech.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗