Asked by: Peter Bone (Independent - Wellingborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many investigations were carried out by public bodies into (a) leave and (b) remain campaign organisations involved in the 2016 EU referendum; and what the (i) direct costs and (ii) costs paid to external organisations were of each investigation.
Answered by Chloe Smith
This information is not held by the Cabinet Office.
Investigations were carried out by a range of public bodies in relation to organisations campaigning on both sides in the 2016 EU referendum. These include the Electoral Commission, National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police and Information Commissioner’s Office.
Asked by: Peter Bone (Independent - Wellingborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the electoral commissioners are appointed; and what steps the Government takes to ensure those commissioners will be impartial and independent.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission is required to oversee the procedure for selecting candidates for appointment to the Electoral Commission in accordance with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (“PPERA”) 2000. Candidates that are put forward are subject to an Address in the House of Commons, and require approval by the Speaker of the House of Commons and Her Majesty the Queen. The Electoral Commission is independent of Government.