Oral QuestionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of sewage spillages on coastal businesses.

Tabled: 9 November 2022Answered: 17 November 2022

Asked by

Bill Esterson

LabourSefton Central

Answering Minister

the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Answer from Hansard

Sir Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam)

When establishing the political finance regime, Parliament’s explicit intention was to ban foreign donations. However, limitations of the current law mean that it is possible for money from foreign sources to enter the UK electoral system through donations from UK companies. For that reason, the Electoral Commission has called for the laws around company donations to be strengthened, to ensure that parties cannot accept money from companies that have not made enough in the UK to fund their donation or loan, to impose a duty to carry out enhanced “know your donor” checks, and to improve transparency over donations made through unincorporated associations.