Section 8 — Establishing the Castlereagh Foundation

(1) The Secretary of State may—

(a) establish a body corporate or other organisation to be known as the Castlereagh Foundation, or

(b) provide grants for the establishment of such a body or organisation by another person.

(2) A body or other organisation established or funded under subsection (1) must—

(a) have as its principal objective the funding and support of academic research into identity, including national and cultural identity and shifting patterns of identity, in Northern Ireland, and

(b) be operationally and financially independent from the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression (though this does not affect the Office’s functions under section 78H of the Northern Ireland Act 1998).

(3) The Secretary of State may dispose of any interest in the Castlereagh Foundation.