The Taxpayers' Alliance latest report on Stonewall is truly shocking. The Lesbian, Gay and transgender rights lobby group, which is listed in Companies House as a Limited Company, is still receiving millions of pounds of taxpayers money it then uses to attack public policy and push through its own anarchic agenda.
The Taxpayers Alliance Report states:
Many charities rely on public bodies for funding. One way in which the government funds charities is through grants which can total hundreds of millions of pounds each year across all charities.[1],[2] Another way is via publicly funded bodies subscribing to the charity in return for guidance and services. Stonewall, an LGBTQ+ charity, receives money through both methods, with subscription to its Diversity Champions scheme receiving particular attention. Charities that receive taxpayers’ money are placed in an entitled position.
Stonewall uses money granted or paid to them to lobby the government, as well as publish reports critical of policies passed by the UK Parliament. Examples include Stonewall declaring draft legislation “simply not fit for purpose”,[3] as well as intervening on the government’s block of Scotland’s gender recognition reform bill.[4]
Key findings
At least £1,107,868 was given to Stonewall through taxpayer funded organisations in 2022-23. This includes £530,482 through the Diversity Champions scheme, £71,071 through events, conferences and workshops, and £503,225 through grants.
At least 165 public bodies were members of the Diversity Champions scheme in 2022-23. Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Natural Resources Wales and Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust have joined the scheme since then.
A total of at least 173 public bodies gave money to Stonewall in the 2022-23 financial year via the Diversity Champions scheme, conferences, events and training programmes. In 2021-22, at least 234 public sector organisations gave to the same scheme and programmes.[5]
Public bodies also gave grants to Stonewall. In 2022-23, this totalled £572,868. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Scottish government gave the highest amounts of any public bodies, at £173,034 and £101,613 respectively.[6]
The public sector body that generated the most non-grant revenue for Stonewall was the Scottish government, at £10,944. This included a £3,000 membership fee for Diversity Champions, with the rest spent on training.
A total of at least 71 educational bodies were members of the Diversity Champions scheme in 2022-23 with total membership fees of £257,945.
30 bodies have left the scheme since the start of the 2022-23 financial year. This includes the Metropolitan Police, HM Land Registry, and the Ministry of Defence. No Whitehall department is a current member of the Diversity Champions scheme.
The report concludes:
Taxpayer-funded lobbying must end so that public money is not being used to unduly influence political decision making by advancing policy positions which taxpayers may find disagreeable.
Read the research paper in full here
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