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1134466

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	01/07/2019
	date	25/06/2019
	date tabled	25/06/2019
	ddp created	25/06/2019 16:55:28
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	ddp modified	25/06/2019 17:05:23 01/07/2019 10:04:03
	hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
	house id	1
	identifier	268969
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	parliament number	57
	question first answered	01/07/2019 09:32:22
	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.
	session	2017/19
	session number	1
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2017/19 268969
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	268969
	version	1
	written parliamentary question type	NamedDay
	answer	answer 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>
	creator	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett
	publisher	25259 pref label House of Commons
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1134468

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	01/07/2019
	date	25/06/2019
	date tabled	25/06/2019
	ddp created	25/06/2019 16:55:35
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	ddp modified	25/06/2019 17:05:28 01/07/2019 10:04:01
	hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
	house id	1
	identifier	268970
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	parliament number	57
	question first answered	01/07/2019 09:32:44
	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.
	session	2017/19
	session number	1
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2017/19 268970
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	268970
	version	1
	written parliamentary question type	NamedDay
	answer	answer 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>
	creator	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett
	publisher	25259 pref label House of Commons
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1135945

	human indexable
	published
	registered interest
	answer date	04/07/2019
	date	01/07/2019
	date tabled	01/07/2019
	ddp created	01/07/2019 21:46:39
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	question status	Tabled
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	ddp modified	01/07/2019 22:01:52 04/07/2019 10:31:07
	hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
	house id	1
	identifier	271380
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	parliament number	57
	question first answered	04/07/2019 09:59:54
	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.
	session	2017/19
	session number	1
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	title	House of Commons Tabled Parliamentary Question 2017/19 271380
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	271380
	version	1
	written parliamentary question type	NamedDay
	answer	answer 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>
	creator	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett
	publisher	25259 pref label House of Commons
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett