Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Commission has issued guidance on whether a government department can be a permissible donor.

A government department is not a permissible donor. However, political parties can receive public funds from government departments. The Commission’s guidance on permissibility states that any payment received by a political party out of public funds is regarded as received by a permissible donor. Parties must report these payments if above the reporting threshold.