Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether all Arm’s Length Bodies, including public corporations and private companies owned by the Government, are required to follow the Cabinet Office local and Parliamentary by-election election purdah guidance.

It is for individual public bodies to apply pre-election guidance within their own organisations, but in doing so they should not go beyond the principles set out in central guidance. Sponsor departments must ensure that staff and board members of their ALBs are aware of the guidance and are applying the principles appropriately. Sponsor departments should be consulted by the ALB in cases of doubt.