Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reporting by The Sunday Times on 26 January regarding the robustness and transparency of police investigations into allegations of illegal election campaign activities, and in particular, of investigations into election materials produced in the Leicester South constituency in the 2024 general election.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Any individual or organisation wishing to influence the electorate should be prepared to be transparent about their activity. Campaigners are required to include an imprint with their name and address on a wide range of printed and digital election campaigning material in scope of the rules.

It is an offence to distribute printed or digital election campaign material without a correct imprint. There are also strict local campaign spending rules for political parties, candidates and third-party campaigners.

Any offences are a matter for the Electoral Commission or the police to enforce depending on the facts of the case. Police forces and the Electoral Commission are operationally independent of government.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of banning unincorporated associations from donating to political parties in order to increase the level of transparency concerning their funding.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Effective regulation of political finance is crucial for maintaining public trust in our electoral systems and combatting the threat of foreign interference in our democracy. The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections. As stated in our manifesto, we intend to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy. My department is developing proposals to give effect to these commitments and will provide details to Parliament in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to use their powers under section 109 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 to require donors to political parties to certify the original sources of donated funds, and whether they consider that this may help to address concerns about potential foreign funding influencing elections in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Effective regulation of political finance is crucial for maintaining public trust in our electoral systems and combatting the threat of foreign interference in our democracy. The Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections. As stated in our manifesto, we intend to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy. My department is developing proposals to give effect to these commitments and will provide details to Parliament in due course.

Found: BARONESS LAING OF ELDERSLIE LORD RENNARD 67_ After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause— “Ministerial