Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has previously released individual RPA candidate spending returns under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Electoral Commission assesses each request under the FOI Act individually. The Act allows certain exemptions to be applied when considering requests, including an exemption for information that is reasonably by other means. Candidate returns are available on request from local authorities for two years for the date of receipt.

The Commission takes a range of factors into account when considering disclosure of candidate spending returns. The Commission has previously released a number of redacted individual candidate spending returns under FOI after the two-year period or where the return was not available from the Returning Officer.