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

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration the independent review into countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics will give to the adequacy of existing safeguards, including the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme and lobbying rules, in relation to paid political influence activity carried out in the UK on behalf of foreign authorities and organisations whose senior leadership is subject to UK sanctions.

It is, and always will be, an absolute priority for this Government to protect our democratic and electoral processes. The Rycroft review will involve an in-depth assessment of current financial and bribery related rules and safeguards that regulate political parties and political finance. The terms of reference for the review can be found here: Independent review: countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics: Terms of Reference - GOV.UK

The outcome of the review will, where relevant, inform the elections and democracy bill that we have pledged to bring forward during this Parliament. However, given the review’s independence, we cannot pre-empt specifics of the ground it will cover, nor the recommendations it will make. It is right that the review is independent of Government and independent of any political party. We will be looking to mitigate the risk of foreign financial interference in UK politics from any actors and individuals who might wish to undermine our democracy.