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1239478

registered interest
date	30/09/2020
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to monitor (1) the level of political funding from companies and individuals associated with (a) the arms trade, (b) tobacco companies (c) private medical companies, (d) pharmaceutical companies, and (e) the financial sector, and (2) the percentage, individually and collectively, that funding by companies and individuals constitutes of the total amount of political spending.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL8620
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2020 answer text <p>Lawfully constituted UK companies may make permissible political donations. The Electoral Commission is responsible for regulating party financing. The Commission publishes information relating to donations and loans over £7,500, including the name of the donor and other appropriate such as their address and company registration number. Details are available online.</p> answering member printed Lord True question first answered 14/10/2020 15:31:46 answering member 4200 label Biography information for Lord True
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1135945

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2017 to Question 268970, whether his Department received proposals from the Electoral Commission on the implementation of section 10 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	271380
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission set out their concerns and recommendations for implementation in their 2013 report ‘<em>A regulatory review of the UK’s party and election finance laws: Recommendations for change</em>’.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 04/07/2019 09:59:54 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1134466

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2019 to Question 266672 on Political Parties: Finance, for what reason the Government considers Section 10 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 to be unworkable.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	268969
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The Coalition Government took the decision not to implement the 2009 legislation, as it was not deemed to be workable, and the Conservative Government continues to hold this view.</p><p>During the passage of the 2009 Act, the Electoral Commission raised concerns about the legislation (further to Official Report, 15 October 2009, Col. 998W), and in 2013, the Electoral Commission also flagged issues about the tax status declaration requirements. The Labour Government conceded that the provisions could not be commenced at that time “due to their complex nature” (as outlined in the answer of Official Report, 10 March 2010, Col. 5MC).</p><p> </p><p>An individual’s tax status is subject to confidentiality between them and HMRC. It may therefore be difficult or impossible for the political party and the Electoral Commission to accurately determine whether a donor meets the permissibility test set out section 10 in the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009.</p><p>The Government also has a principled objection to the measures:</p><p> </p><ul><li>The UK has a robust legal framework in place that bans foreign donations. There is a long-standing principle – as originally recommended by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 1998 – that permissible donors are those on the UK electoral register, and this includes UK citizens who are registered overseas electors. Companies wishing to make donations must be UK-registered and carrying on business in the UK.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>If a British citizen is able to vote in an election for a political party, they should also be able to donate to that political party, subject to the requirements for transparency on donations. Supporting a political party is part of the democratic process, and is an expression of freedom of association.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Since the adoption of universal suffrage, taxation has never been the basis of enfranchisement in the UK. Those who do not pay income tax, such as those earning less than the tax-free personal allowance, rightly remain entitled to vote. Similarly, full-time students are legally exempt from paying council tax, but still have the right to vote in local elections.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Notwithstanding, as I stated in my previous answer, the Government has announced it will consult on strengthening the current provisions which protect UK politics from foreign influence. The consultation may consider recommendations on tackling loopholes in relation to foreign spending in elections and donations from shell companies which are not properly operating in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, since 2010, the Government has taken action to sanction and deter those involved in offshore evasion, including creating a new criminal offence for serious offshore evasion, and introducing penalties for those who deliberately help others to evade tax offshore. The Government has introduced over 100 new measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 01/07/2019 09:32:22 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1134468

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has received representations from the Electoral Commission on the workability of section 10 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	268970
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2019 answer text <p>The Coalition Government took the decision not to implement the 2009 legislation, as it was not deemed to be workable, and the Conservative Government continues to hold this view.</p><p>During the passage of the 2009 Act, the Electoral Commission raised concerns about the legislation (further to Official Report, 15 October 2009, Col. 998W), and in 2013, the Electoral Commission also flagged issues about the tax status declaration requirements. The Labour Government conceded that the provisions could not be commenced at that time “due to their complex nature” (as outlined in the answer of Official Report, 10 March 2010, Col. 5MC).</p><p> </p><p>An individual’s tax status is subject to confidentiality between them and HMRC. It may therefore be difficult or impossible for the political party and the Electoral Commission to accurately determine whether a donor meets the permissibility test set out section 10 in the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009.</p><p>The Government also has a principled objection to the measures:</p><p> </p><ul><li>The UK has a robust legal framework in place that bans foreign donations. There is a long-standing principle – as originally recommended by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 1998 – that permissible donors are those on the UK electoral register, and this includes UK citizens who are registered overseas electors. Companies wishing to make donations must be UK-registered and carrying on business in the UK.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>If a British citizen is able to vote in an election for a political party, they should also be able to donate to that political party, subject to the requirements for transparency on donations. Supporting a political party is part of the democratic process, and is an expression of freedom of association.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Since the adoption of universal suffrage, taxation has never been the basis of enfranchisement in the UK. Those who do not pay income tax, such as those earning less than the tax-free personal allowance, rightly remain entitled to vote. Similarly, full-time students are legally exempt from paying council tax, but still have the right to vote in local elections.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Notwithstanding, as I stated in my previous answer, the Government has announced it will consult on strengthening the current provisions which protect UK politics from foreign influence. The consultation may consider recommendations on tackling loopholes in relation to foreign spending in elections and donations from shell companies which are not properly operating in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, since 2010, the Government has taken action to sanction and deter those involved in offshore evasion, including creating a new criminal offence for serious offshore evasion, and introducing penalties for those who deliberately help others to evade tax offshore. The Government has introduced over 100 new measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 01/07/2019 09:32:44 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1133264

registered interest
date	19/06/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the Government has not issued a commencement order for Section 10 of the Political Parties Act 2009, in relation to non-resident donors.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	266672
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Successive Governments have considered section 10 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 to be unworkable</p><p>There is already a robust legal framework in place to ensure only individuals that are registered on the electoral register and organisations that carry out business in the UK can<br>make donations to political organisations in the UK</p><p>In May this year, the Government announced it will consult on strengthening the current provisions which protect UK politics from foreign influence. The consultation may consider<br>recommendations on foreign spending in elections and donations from shell companies.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 24/06/2019 16:25:16 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1132688

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
answering dept id	36
answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission plans to review the ability of UK political parties and campaigns to receive micro-funding from overseas donors.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
uin	911478
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Electoral law allows parties to adopt a fundraising strategy that focusses on raising funds in small amounts. A positive aspect of this is broad engagement of people in politics.</p><p>Parliament set a threshold of £500, above which donations must be from permissible sources. This is to limit influence from outside the UK on our elections and democracy. Below the threshold, sums given to parties and campaigners are not considered to be donations under law, but recipients still need to satisfy themselves who is giving these sums. Multiple sums from a single source could aggregate to above £500 triggering the permissibility rules. This would exclude overseas donors not on the UK electoral register.</p><p>Parties must have systems in place to comply with the rules, and the Commission provides advice to parties and campaigners about how to ensure that they do. If the current law is complied with, there is no reason why micro funding would result in impermissible donations from overseas donors. However, if it is considered that confidence in this needs to be improved by more transparency, the level of the £500 threshold could be lowered by Parliament.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 24/06/2019 09:58:46 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

1126732

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Electoral Commission about putting in place safeguards to ensure that political parties do not receive donations from people promoting the interests of other countries during and between election campaigns.
tabling member printed	Baroness Tonge
uin	HL15749
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission in its 2018 report ‘Digital campaigning - Increasing transparency for voters’, included recommendations relating to foreign donations and campaigning. The Government has discussed these with the Electoral Commission.</p><p>On 5th May 2019, the Government announced it will consult on safeguarding UK elections. The consultation may consider recommendations for increasing transparency on digital political advertising, including by third parties; closing loopholes on foreign spending in elections; preventing shell companies from sidestepping the current rules on political finance and on action to tackle foreign lobbying.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 16/05/2019 16:09:24 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	200 label Biography information for Baroness Tonge

1086391

registered interest
date	11/03/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received from the Electoral Commission concerning the implementation of section 10 the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009; and what was their response.
tabling member printed	Lord Rennard
uin	HL14419
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2019 answer text <p>The Coalition Government took the decision not to implement the 2009 legislation, as it was not deemed to be workable</p><p><br>During the passage of the 2009 Act, the Electoral Commission raised concerns about the legislation (further to Official Report, House of Commons, 15 October 2009, Col. 998W), and in 2013, the Electoral Commission also flagged issues about the tax status declaration requirements. The Labour Government conceded that the provisions could not be commenced at that time “due to their complex nature” (as outlined in the answer of Official Report, House of Commons, 10 March 2010, Col. 5MC)</p><p><br>The UK has a robust legal framework in place that bans foreign donations.</p><p><br>There is a long-standing principle – as originally recommended by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 1998 – that permissible donors are those on the UK electoral register, and this includes UK citizens who are registered overseas electors. Companies wishing to make donations must be UK-registered and carrying on business in the UK</p><p><br>If a British citizen is able to vote in an election for a political party, they should also be able to donate to that political party, subject to the requirements for transparency on donations. Supporting a political party is part of the democratic process, and is an expression of freedom of association</p><p><br>Since the adoption of universal suffrage, taxation has never been the basis of enfranchisement in the UK. Those who do not pay income tax, such as those earning less than the tax-free personal allowance, rightly remain entitled to vote. Similarly, full-time students are legally exempt from paying council tax, but still have the right to vote in local elections</p><p><br>More broadly, since 2010, the Government has taken action to sanction and deter those involved in offshore evasion, including creating a new criminal offence for serious offshore evasion, and introducing penalties for those who deliberately help others to evade tax offshore. The Government has introduced over 100 new measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham grouped question UIN HL14422 HL14423 question first answered 18/03/2019 12:45:10 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	2484 label Biography information for Lord Rennard

1086395

registered interest
date	11/03/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) implementing section 10 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009, and (2) extending permanently the capacity of UK citizens living abroad to make large donations to the parties, on the financing of political parties.
tabling member printed	Lord Rennard
uin	HL14422
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2019 answer text <p>The Coalition Government took the decision not to implement the 2009 legislation, as it was not deemed to be workable</p><p><br>During the passage of the 2009 Act, the Electoral Commission raised concerns about the legislation (further to Official Report, House of Commons, 15 October 2009, Col. 998W), and in 2013, the Electoral Commission also flagged issues about the tax status declaration requirements. The Labour Government conceded that the provisions could not be commenced at that time “due to their complex nature” (as outlined in the answer of Official Report, House of Commons, 10 March 2010, Col. 5MC)</p><p><br>The UK has a robust legal framework in place that bans foreign donations.</p><p><br>There is a long-standing principle – as originally recommended by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 1998 – that permissible donors are those on the UK electoral register, and this includes UK citizens who are registered overseas electors. Companies wishing to make donations must be UK-registered and carrying on business in the UK</p><p><br>If a British citizen is able to vote in an election for a political party, they should also be able to donate to that political party, subject to the requirements for transparency on donations. Supporting a political party is part of the democratic process, and is an expression of freedom of association</p><p><br>Since the adoption of universal suffrage, taxation has never been the basis of enfranchisement in the UK. Those who do not pay income tax, such as those earning less than the tax-free personal allowance, rightly remain entitled to vote. Similarly, full-time students are legally exempt from paying council tax, but still have the right to vote in local elections</p><p><br>More broadly, since 2010, the Government has taken action to sanction and deter those involved in offshore evasion, including creating a new criminal offence for serious offshore evasion, and introducing penalties for those who deliberately help others to evade tax offshore. The Government has introduced over 100 new measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham grouped question UIN HL14419 HL14423 question first answered 18/03/2019 12:45:10 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	2484 label Biography information for Lord Rennard

1086396

registered interest
date	11/03/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to restrict donations to political parties from people living in tax havens and paying lower rates of tax than donors to political parties who pay full rates of tax.
tabling member printed	Lord Rennard
uin	HL14423
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2019 answer text <p>The Coalition Government took the decision not to implement the 2009 legislation, as it was not deemed to be workable</p><p><br>During the passage of the 2009 Act, the Electoral Commission raised concerns about the legislation (further to Official Report, House of Commons, 15 October 2009, Col. 998W), and in 2013, the Electoral Commission also flagged issues about the tax status declaration requirements. The Labour Government conceded that the provisions could not be commenced at that time “due to their complex nature” (as outlined in the answer of Official Report, House of Commons, 10 March 2010, Col. 5MC)</p><p><br>The UK has a robust legal framework in place that bans foreign donations.</p><p><br>There is a long-standing principle – as originally recommended by the Committee on Standards in Public Life in 1998 – that permissible donors are those on the UK electoral register, and this includes UK citizens who are registered overseas electors. Companies wishing to make donations must be UK-registered and carrying on business in the UK</p><p><br>If a British citizen is able to vote in an election for a political party, they should also be able to donate to that political party, subject to the requirements for transparency on donations. Supporting a political party is part of the democratic process, and is an expression of freedom of association</p><p><br>Since the adoption of universal suffrage, taxation has never been the basis of enfranchisement in the UK. Those who do not pay income tax, such as those earning less than the tax-free personal allowance, rightly remain entitled to vote. Similarly, full-time students are legally exempt from paying council tax, but still have the right to vote in local elections</p><p><br>More broadly, since 2010, the Government has taken action to sanction and deter those involved in offshore evasion, including creating a new criminal offence for serious offshore evasion, and introducing penalties for those who deliberately help others to evade tax offshore. The Government has introduced over 100 new measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham grouped question UIN HL14419 HL14422 question first answered 18/03/2019 12:45:10 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	2484 label Biography information for Lord Rennard