Tracey Crouch confirmed as Minister for Civil Society
Melanie May | 15 June 2017 | News
Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, has been announced as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport and Civil Society.
As well as the Office for Civil Society, Crouch’s portfolio covers: gambling, horse racing, sport, the National Lottery and society lotteries.
Previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Sport, Tourism and Heritage since May 2015, Crouch was elected as the Conservative MP for Chatham and Aylesford in 2010. She was a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee from 2012 to 2015 and a member of the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, and of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee from 2013 to 2015.
Many reports yesterday stated that John Glen MP had been appointed to the post, while Glen himself confirmed on Twitter at the end of the day that he was in fact the new Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism. Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport Karen Bradley today (15 June) announced her full ministerial team and their portfolios, including Glen’s role.
This morning Crouch’s Twitter bio had been updated to put her as Sports and Civil Society Minister with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport making the official announcement on its site early this afternoon.
Crouch lists a number of charity patronages on her website:
- Patron, Conservatives Against Fox Hunting
- President of RSPCA Medway
- Honorary member of the Royal Engineers
- Honorary member of the Friends of Mental Health, West Kent and Medway
- Patron of the Medway Branch of the National Osteoporosis Society
- Honorary Member of Bradfields School Student Council
- Vice President of Kent branch of Campaign to Protect Rural England
- Patron of Peter’s Place
- Independent Chair of Medway Council’s Physical Disability Partnership Board
- Patron of Blenheim CDP: The London Drug and Alcohol Agency
- Patron of the Halpern Charitable Foundation
Her appointment has received positive responses from the industry:
Just had a great chat with our new charities minister @tracey_crouch. Down to earth, enthusiastic about her brief and keen to engage.
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— Vicky Browning (@browning_vicky) June 15, 2017
Peter Lewis, chief executive at the Institute of Fundraising, said:
“I offer my warm congratulations on behalf of the fundraising community to Tracey Crouch on her appointment as Minister for Civil Society. Demand for charity services is always growing but many charities are struggling to raise the resources they need. Fundraising is a big part of the solution and we would urge the minister to look at ways to grow and support charity fundraising, especially for smaller charities and community groups looking for new ways to fundraise.
“Fundraisers also know that sport and mass-participation events are excellent ways to engage people, build communities and raise money for good causes, and we look forward to discussing with the Minister how her role can help harness that engagement to benefit good causes.”
Also commenting on her appointment, Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said:
“With parliamentary responsibility for civil society, Tracey Crouch MP has a key role in influencing the future of legacy giving and we’re excited about the opportunity of working with her.
“In recent years, Government’s support has helped to quadruple the number of solicitors that proactively give clients the option of leaving a legacy in their Will, but the potential is even greater. We hope that government continues to champion this vital form of giving.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.