Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria he will apply when giving advice to the (a) Privy Council and (b) Department for Education on whether an Oxford University college should be given permission by the Privy Council to rename itself after the Chairwoman of a company in order to secure a donation; and whether the human rights record of the Vietnamese Government, with which the Chairwoman has close links, will be included in the assessment of whether to permit that name change.  [124939]

[Due for Answer on 23 February. Transferred from the Cabinet Office to the Leader of the House.]

ANSWER

The Leader of the House (Mark Spencer): Any chartered body seeking to change its name will need to apply for a Supplemental Charter which takes the form of a petition to The Queen. No such petition has been received by the Privy Council from an Oxford University College, in the terms described. Should such a petition be submitted, it will be dealt with in accordance with the process and set criteria as published on the Privy Council website (https://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/royal-charters/applying-for-a-royal-charter/). Formal applications for Royal Charters and Supplemental Charters are published and gazetted to allow other interested individuals or organisations to comment or to lodge counter-petitions within a set period of time. Each petition is considered on its own merits and it would not be appropriate for me to make a policy statement concerning current or future individual Charter petitions.