Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165163 on Political Parties: Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) controls and (b) transparency regulations on donations from the (i) the US and (ii) other countries outside of the UK and the Republic of Ireland to political parties in Northern Ireland.

There is a range of legislation that sets out the rules for donations and loans, credit facilities and securities given to political parties in Northern Ireland.

The Electoral Commission regulates compliance with the permissibility rules and has published detailed quarterly data about donations and loans in Northern Ireland since July 2017.

The Government remains committed to reviewing the operation of the broader framework for donations and loans in Northern Ireland once the current regime has fully bedded in.

Transparency of donations and loans from the US and other countries outside the UK and Ireland will be part of that review.