Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report, Digital campaigning, Increasing transparency for voters, published by the Electoral Commission in June 2018, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling the Electoral Commission to (a) investigate and (b) sanction candidates in elections.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is grateful to the Electoral Commission for its comprehensive report into Digital Campaigning. We are carefully reviewing it and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report, Digital campaigning, Increasing transparency for voters, published by the Electoral Commission in June 2018, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the maximum level of fine available to the Electoral Commission for campaigners that break electoral rules.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is grateful to the Electoral Commission for its comprehensive report into Digital Campaigning. We are carefully reviewing it and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report, Digital campaigning, Increasing transparency for voters, published by the Electoral Commission in June 2018, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling the Electoral Commission to share information with other agencies when it is in the public interest to do so.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is grateful to the Electoral Commission for its comprehensive report into Digital Campaigning. We are carefully reviewing it and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report, Digital campaigning, Increasing transparency for voters, published by the Electoral Commission in June 2018, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of enabling the Electoral Commission to obtain information outside of an investigation.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is grateful to the Electoral Commission for its comprehensive report into Digital Campaigning. We are carefully reviewing it and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the June 2018 report of the Electoral Commission, Digital Campaigning: Increasing Transparency for Voters, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on its recommendation that (a) online materials produced by parties, candidates and campaigners have an imprint stating who has created them and (b) spending categories be revised so that campaigners are compelled to provide detailed information about money spent on digital campaigns.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government will begin a consultation this summer considering the introduction of digital imprints. The consultation will seek views on the scope of material to be covered, enforcement of the rules and how the requirement to introduce a digital imprint can be appropriately framed.
The Government has no current plans to bring forward legislation to revise spending categories.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the report entitled Digital campaigning: Increasing transparency for voters, published by the Electoral Commission in June 2018, what the Government's policy is on the recommendation that each of the UK’s governments and legislatures should change the law so that digital material must have an imprint saying who is behind the campaign and who created it.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to PQ148915 on 7 June 2018.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that charities have access to clear advice on the effect of the provisions of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The changes made to the existing third party campaigning rules by the Transparency of Lobbying Act 2014 do not restrict charities’ freedom to campaign to further their charitable purposes in a non-partisan way, but instead make the political system more accountable. Charities can legitimately undertake a wide range of campaigning activities as part of their work.
The Electoral Commission provides clear guidance for charities that may be considering campaigning in the run up to an election. Where there is significant spending on campaigning that could influence the election, the rules ensure that this is transparent.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many organisations have been fined for failing to comply with regulations on third party campaigning set out in the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The rules on third party campaigning at elections are set out in the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000. These rules were amended by the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014.
Since the amendments made by the 2014 Act came into force, three organisations have been fined by the Electoral Commission. On 19 April 2016, the Electoral Commission announced that it had fined Steve Hart from the Centre for Labour and Social Studies £1100 for failing to deliver two donations reports on time. On 19 April 2017, the Commission announced that it had fined Greenpeace Limited a total of £30,000 and Friends of the Earth Limited £1000. Both organisations did not register with the Electoral Commission at the 2015 UK Parliamentary General Election before spending in excess of the registration threshold.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the effect of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 on the work of charities.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The changes made to the existing third party campaigning rules by the Transparency of Lobbying Act 2014 do not restrict charities’ freedom to campaign to further their charitable purposes in a non-partisan way, but instead make the political system more accountable. At the 2015 general election, 68 organisations were registered with the Electoral Commission as third party campaigners undertaking campaigning activity which could influence the election outcome, of which 11 were charities.
Asked by: Peter Bone (Independent - Wellingborough)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what plans are in place for monitoring the EU referendum.
Answered by Gary Streeter
In addition to its roles overseeing delivery of the referendum, supporting the work of Electoral Registration Officers in registering voters and helping the police and electoral administrators tackle allegations of electoral fraud, one of the Electoral Commission’s key objectives is to ensure the integrity and transparency for voters of campaign funding and spending at the EU referendum. Its role will be to register campaigners and regulate their funding and spending.
To ensure all campaigners know what the rules are, the Commission will actively engage with potential campaigners, publish guidance and provide an advice line. It will receive, analyse and publish information about the campaign funding and spending; ensuring this information is provided by campaigners on time and in line with the legal requirements. The Commission will also deal with potential breaches of the rules, including by the use of its enforcement and sanctioning powers where appropriate.
As part of its approach, the Commission will monitor campaigning. Using various sources, including the media and information brought to the Commission by campaigners and others, it will identify emerging issues and opportunities to offer advice and guidance to those it regulates or, if necessary, take enforcement action where the rules are not followed. The Commission will also refer to the information obtained through campaign monitoring when looking at financial information submitted by campaigners.