Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 76608 on Local Government: Elections, whether the information sharing gateway will include powers to share information (a) to and (b) from (i) political parties and (ii) other regulators.

The Government intends to provide the Electoral Commission with an explicit statutory gateway that will enable it to disclose information to certain regulators and enforcement authorities for the purpose of assisting those bodies in carrying out their statutory functions. The gateway will not include political parties. This will provide a solid legal foundation for the Commission to disclose information on cross-cutting issues such as foreign interference and data protection, nurturing a more collaborative and effective regulatory environment. Any disclosures will remain subject to UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.