Trans activist charities receive taxpayers’ money through ‘loophole’- Telegraph

[rogdmum]

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/09/02/trans-activist-charities-receive-taxpayers-money-loophole/

Jacob Rees-Mogg is setting up a “ministerial oversight board” to ensure charities don’t cascade money to charities which lobby against govt policies. Gendered Intelligence is specifically named as a charity to have helped trigger this move and Mermaids gets a mention as well.

”Mr Rees-Mogg said: “The grants ministerial oversight board is designed to ensure that taxpayers' money cannot disappear into organisations that push divisive and dangerous agendas. It is an essential principle that there is democratic oversight of how government spends money.”

Mermaids and Gendered Intelligence declined to comment.

Actually I think it's a bit naive to throw money at the charity sector and expect it to be used for public good. Look at Oxfam etc. The whole sector needs scrutiny because there are some very dodgy things going on at the moment.

Yes, let’s give it to private businesses instead. They’ll do much more good with it. Perhaps your local MP knows a company who can help?

So best not to give it to anyone at all, are you saying?

Give it to the NHS maybe?

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/03/nhs-spent-700-taxpayer-cash-virtue-signalling-staff-magazines/

Then again, maybe not.

For heaven's sake, I said it needs scrutiny. Why bring businesses into it.

Or maybe give it to the fire brigade:

www.thesun.co.uk/news/19693403/fire-brigades-trucks-lgbt-colours/

Then again, maybe not.

Ambulance services

www.ambulancelgbt.org/media/1393/preparing-for-pride-events-draft-v4-bb-31-jan-2018.pdf

Preparing a business case

Expected gains for the trust, look for other organisations published evidence for attending these events and relevant publications from Stonewall.

"Public service legal requirements that this may achieve."

What ones are those then?!

None of the cost considerations asks you to do a cost-ben analysis. In fact the opposite:

"Merchandise/freebies

This is generally a must to support your message and attract people to your stall. You can also get your message out there on the day during the parade and march with exciting freebies."

Spend spend spend!!! After all, it's only public money. Who cares?

That’s how I read the intention of the overview board.

I think this is unlikely to be good overall. It’s a form of micromanagement and will make charities much less effective with the government grants they do get and less experimental.

While it looks like a win in terms of cutting some funding right now for some trans-activist charities that have undermined women, that’s only because right now the people in charge have decided this particular bit of activism is a vote winner to be seen to be standing up against. If they decide it’s not than the money will flow that way again (because training on trans-inclusion is likely to be a justified cost for many charities getting government grants). The government could decide instead to stop charities paying Women’s Aid for services if Women’s Aid get too vocal about lack of action on VAWAGs. Etc.

It’s a way for the government to put pressure on the charitable sector to STFU about things the government doesn’t want criticized.

It's not the activism that's the problem, but the Civil Service's response to it. And MPs' responses. Rather than listening neutrally and investigation, the civil service and various MPs have embraced, supported and promoted something that has absolutely no basis in law. Could even be said to have broken the law.

That's the problem.

So, much as I disagree with this particular activism, it is a case of "I disagree with what you say, but support your right to say it." Removing funding used for lobbying restricts the right of charities to speak and be heard.