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1244737

	registered interest
	date	19/10/2020
	answering body	Leader of the House of Lords
	answering dept id	92
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House of Lords
	hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House how much Cranborne money has been budgeted to (1) the Labour party, (2) the Liberal Democrat party, (3) the office of the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers, and (4) any other groups or parties in the House of Lords, in the current financial year.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mann
	uin	HL9304
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>For the 2020-21 financial year, the maximum amount available for financial assistance to opposition parties and the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers (“Cranborne money”) is as follows:</p><p> </p><ul><li><p>Labour - £656,948</p></li><li><p>Liberal Democrats - £328,008</p></li><li><p>Office of the Convenor of the Crossbench peers - £ 99,770</p></li></ul><p> </p><p>No other groups or parties are able to claim it.</p> answering member printed Baroness Evans of Bowes Park question first answered 22/10/2020 10:56:00 answering member 4329 label Biography information for Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
	tabling member	1387 label Biography information for Lord Mann

1243613

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2020
	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 assessment, if any, they have made of raising the recordable and reportable donation thresholds for registered political parties in the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
	uin	HL9192
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2020 answer text <p>I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to PQ <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-10-12/hl9043" target="_blank">HL9043</a> on 26 October 2020.</p> answering member printed Lord True question first answered 28/10/2020 17:59:52 answering member 4200 label Biography information for Lord True
	tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

1242235

	registered interest
	date	12/10/2020
	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 review the levels at which donations to political parties are recordable and reportable.
	tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
	uin	HL9043
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>UK electoral law sets out a stringent regime of donations controls to ensure that only those with a genuine interest in UK electoral events can donate to political parties and to ensure transparency of those donations.</p><p>All donations over £500 need to be recorded by political parties and checked for permissibility. Certain donations need to be reported to the Electoral Commission, including all donations from impermissible donors, all donations over £7,500 and donations that are over £1,500 and come from a source that parties have already reported in the same calendar year. To ensure transparency about party funding, donation reports are published by the Electoral Commission on its website.</p><p>The Government is committed to upholding the integrity of our electoral system. As part of that, we are taking forward a programme of work that will strengthen and update the UK’s electoral regulation to ensure it is fit for the modern age; provides a robust framework for campaign finance; and supports public confidence in our processes.</p> answering member printed Lord True question first answered 26/10/2020 17:06:57 answering member 4200 label Biography information for Lord True
	tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

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

1456665

	registered interest
	date	31/03/2022
	answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept id	211
	answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	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, if any, to introduce legislation to make it illegal for non-UK citizens who were granted Tier 1 (Investor) visas to donate to political parties in the United Kingdom.
	tabling member printed	Lord Jones of Cheltenham
	uin	HL7555
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/04/2022 answer text <p>UK electoral law sets out a stringent regime of donations controls to ensure that only those with a legitimate interest in UK elections can make political donations and that political donations are transparent.</p><p>Donations from individuals not on the electoral register are not permitted. There is only a very limited exception to this, whereby for political parties registered in Northern Ireland, permissible donors also include Irish citizens and organisations provided they meet prescribed conditions.</p><p>UK visas, whatever the tier, do not give someone the right to vote in the UK. Eligibility requirements at UK elections will vary across the UK depending on the election, and anyone holding a UK visa will be subject to usual tests around nationality and residency to determine whether they are eligible to register as an elector.</p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 14/04/2022 15:22:10 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh
	tabling member	248 label Biography information for Lord Jones of Cheltenham

1436081

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2022
	answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept id	211
	answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	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, if any, to bring into force the un-commenced provisions of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009, regarding donations from non-resident donors.
	tabling member printed	Lord Rennard
	uin	HL6457
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government has no plans to bring into force the uncommenced provisions of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 regarding donations from non-resident donors.</p><p>As set out in a related answer to a question from <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fquestions-statements.parliament.uk%2Fwritten-questions%2Fdetail%2F2019-06-25%2F268970&amp;data=04%7C01%7CParliamentary%40levellingup.gov.uk%7C3163853efe774557d84d08d9fdd4200a%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637819909769752213%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=sXuNbZH3by8Oou0%2BO%2BEkT36i7qCPVFy3HmE4pd6ypPI%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Jon Trickett MP (268970</a>) (attached), it is the view of the Government that this provision is not workable given that an individual’s tax status is subject to confidentiality between them and HMRC.</p><p>Further, taxation is not connected to enfranchisement in the UK and 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.</p><p>Registered overseas electors are eligible to make political donations and it is only right that they should be able to donate in the same way as other UK citizens registered on the electoral roll.</p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 14/03/2022 11:59:02 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh attachment 1 file name 220310 Written questions and answers - HL6457.pdf title Question from Jon Trickett MP
	tabling member	2484 label Biography information for Lord Rennard

1416136

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept id	211
	answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	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 make it a criminal offence for foreign governments to channel funds in excess of a limit of £5,000 into the (1) personal, or (2) business, accounts of individual parliamentarians.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL5601
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2022 answer text <p>There are rules in place to ensure that only those with a legitimate interest can make political donations. All MPs and members of political parties are regulated donees and can only accept donations of more than £500 made to them in connection with their political activities if it is from a permissible donor. Donations from individuals not on the UK electoral register, such as foreign donors, are not allowed.</p><p>In addition, Members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords must provide information on any financial or non-financial benefit which might reasonably be thought by others to influence their actions or words as Members of Parliament.</p><p>However, we know that in very rare instances, malign actors disguise their links to foreign Governments. It is, and always will be, an absolute priority to protect the UK against foreign interference. The Government has structures in place to identify foreign interference or any potential threats to democracy and, where necessary, take proportionate action to mitigate them.</p><p>As set out in the Queen’s Speech, the Government is bringing forward new Counter State Threats legislation to give the intelligence agencies and law enforcement the tools they need to tackle the diversifying and evolving threats we face.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 07/02/2022 17:32:37 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

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

1679237

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2023
	answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept id	211
	answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
	hansard heading	Political Parties: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 4 July 2023 (HL Deb col 1125), what progress they have made on the consultation on enhancing information sharing.
	tabling member printed	Lord Evans of Weardale
	uin	HL1334
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2024 answer text <p>The Government will consult the relevant authorities with the aim of finding ways to improve information sharing to facilitate enforcement of existing electoral law and report its conclusions to Parliament by the end of 2024.</p> answering member printed Baroness Scott of Bybrook question first answered 05/01/2024 12:34:35 answering member 4553 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook
	tabling member	4348 label Biography information for Lord Evans of Weardale

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