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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) the sprint review of security threats and (b) the Defending Democracy Task Force will consider risks created by weaknesses in (i) the UK’s laws on political finance laws and (ii) their enforcement.

Effective regulation and enforcement of political finance are crucial for maintaining public trust in our electoral systems and combatting the threat of foreign interference in our democracy. Which is why, as set out in our manifesto, the Government is committed to strengthening our democracy and upholding the integrity of elections. As part of this, the Government intends to strengthen the rules around donations to political parties to protect our democracy. My department is developing proposals to give effect to this commitment, and we will continue to work closely with the Defending Democracy Taskforce, of which MHCLG is a member, and the national security community on this.