Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has provided (a) guidance and (b) advice on whether Members’ Associations have to declare political donations, if such income is not used for the three political activity tests for Members’ Associations.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Electoral Commission’s guidance for regulated donees sets out the requirements on members associations regarding the declaration of political donations.
Members associations are required to report all permissible donations received for their use or benefit in connection with any of their political activities with a value of over £11,180, and all impermissible donations over £500. The political activities of a members association include promoting or developing policies for adoption by a party or promoting candidates for internal office within the party.
Certain payments and services are not treated as donations, and are exempt from the reporting requirements. A full list of exemptions is available on page 16 of the Commission’s guidance; for example, any donation worth £500 or less, and the provision by an individual of their services voluntarily and in their own time.
The Commission also provides ongoing advice to members associations on whether their activities fall within the definition of political activities.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the No10 press release entitled Prime Minister to warn that Europe must move away from overdependence on the US, to interdependence - and a more European NATO, of 13 February 2026, whether the £270 billion includes security spending; whether that figure is in cash terms; and what the monetary amount is in each year of this Parliament.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on 9 February 2026 to Question 110442, tabled on 3 February 2026 by the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge). All figures provided in the response are in cash terms.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2026 to Question 110416 on Government Departments: Publicity, if he will publish the revised branding guidance.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are currently no plans to publish this guidance.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2026 to Question 109158, if he will publish a breakdown of political activity data of public appointments made in 2024-25.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Hon. Gentleman to PQ 103784.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88303 on Prime Minister: Correspondence, what progress he has made on responding to the correspondence of 15 August 2025 from the Rt hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar on Lord Mandelson.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I apologise for the delay in responding to the Hon Member's correspondence. A response was issued on 13 February.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, 22 December 2025, what his policy is on the negotiation and adoption of penalty clauses that would impose financial payments if the UK were to (a) amend or (b) withdraw from the new arrangements in a future Parliament, or otherwise restrict or prohibit a future government from changing the policy on engagement with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The details of any agreements, including specific clauses, are subject to ongoing negotiations with the EU. We will not provide a running commentary on the progress of those negotiations, although I would note termination provisions are routine in international agreements.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2026 to Question 101383 on Government Actuary's Department: Freedom of Information, what is the evidential basis for the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry's statement that the £34,702 million figure by the Government Actuary's Department was incorrect.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is incorrect to present the nominal costs as the true amount, and to ignore the effects of inflation and the changing value of money on the real costs of a deal that lasts 99 years.
The figures published by the Government Actuary's Department clearly show that they had also calculated a net present value of £3.4 billion, by using the OBR forecast inflation rate along with the Social Time Discount Rate set out in the Green Book. The Government gave a detailed breakdown of this methodology in the explanatory memorandum we published alongside the Treaty in May 2025.
This is standard practice for any long-term Government deal. It ensures the figures are realistic, comparable, and not artificially inflated by adding up future payments without considering the time value of money.
These figures also have been verified and confirmed by the Office for Statistics Regulation and Office for Budget Responsibility.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2026, to Question 101383, on Government Actuary's Department: Freedom of Information, which department commissioned the Government Actuary's Department to make the calculations to discount the £34.7 billion cash term costs using (a) the GDP deflator and (b) social time discounting methodology; and which public body decided to use the social time methodology.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As set out in the Explanatory Memorandum to the UK-Mauritius Treaty, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) calculated the forecast costs of the deal by discounting the sums due to be paid to Mauritius over the duration of the treaty, using the standard Social Time Preference Rate (STPR) as set-out in the Treasury's Green Book. The average annual cost was calculated by applying the Office for Budgetary Responsibility forecast GDP Deflator to the future payments. The Government Actuary's Department was commissioned by the FCDO to review the calculations, which GAD verified at time of signature. In addition to this, the House of Commons Library verified these figures, and the Office for Statistics Regulation welcomed the Government's approach and said that it is in line with intelligent transparency. The Office for Budget Responsibility also confirmed that the discount rates were correct at the time of publication.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to reply to the letter of 6 November 2025 from the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
A reply was sent by Cat Little, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, on 30th January 2026.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, 22 December 2025, what plans he has to align with the EU Single Market in relation to manufactured goods.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This government remains committed to reducing barriers to trade and cutting red-tape. There are clear areas where closer alignment with the EU can benefit UK businesses, as demonstrated by our negotiations on a food and drinks agreement. However, the government’s red lines are clear: there will be no return to the Single Market, Customs Union or freedom of movement.