Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will take steps to accelerate the public disclosure of donations to political parties in Northern Ireland; and if she will give reasons for the time taken to date.

The Government is committed to ensuring the maximum level of transparency in relation to party funding in Northern Ireland that the security situation allows. The Northern Ireland Office has been working closely with the Electoral Commission to bring forward secondary legislation to provide for greater transparency. This legislation has raised some complex issues and NIO officials will be working closely with the Commission in the weeks ahead to resolve these issues with a view to bringing this legislation before Parliament.