Companies (Political Donations) (Hansard, 9 April 1973)

§ 22. Mr. Hugh Jenkins
asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the total sum disclosed under the Companies Act 1967 of donations made by companies for political purposes in the years 1970, 1971 and 1972.

§ The Minister for Trade and Consumer Affairs(Sir Geoffrey Howe)
This information is not available.

§ Mr. Jenkins
Does not the right hon. and learned Gentleman agree that it ought to be made available? Is he aware that most of this money finds its way into 928 the coffers of the Conservative Party and thus supports him and his hon. Friends, and would it not be a matter of public interest to know how much they are financed by companies which are simultaneously underpaying people abroad and at the same time undercutting international minimum standards? Is it not the case that a number of these companies which contribute to Conservative Party funds are the same companies as have been listed as underpaying people abroad? Do the right hon. and learned Gentleman and his hon. Friends feel that this is right, and do they enjoy being financed by money arising from such sources?

§ Sir G. Howe
I do not accept most of the premises of the hon. Member's extremely wide-ranging and multi-linked question. The provisions of the Companies Act 1967, passed by the Government which he supported, are in force and are being complied with. I do not consider that it would be a suitable use of officials' time or of public funds to produce the figures requested by him.

§ Sir G. Nabarro
Will my right hon. and learned Friend bear in mind that during the passage of this legislation two objectives were clearly stated and accepted by the then Government? The first was that we should have access to trade union funds used for subventions to the Labour Party, and that as a proper counterpart we should have available and published periodically such subventions as were available to the Tory Party and elsewhere for party political purposes. If my right hon. and learned Friend says now that the figures are not available, will he go to work and make them available?

§ Sir G. Howe
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for reminding me of the purposes of the legislation passed by the Labour Party. That legislation is being complied with to the full and the information required to be disclosed under the Companies Act 1967 is being disclosed in accordance with the requirements of that statute.

§ Mr. Benn
Was not the object of that legislation to make it known publicly how much money was going from business firms to a political party? Is not the 929 Minister, by declining to make this information available to the House, preventing that legislation from having its effect? Also, have there been any requests for refunds?

§ Sir G. Howe
There have been no requests for refunds. The information of the kind referred to by the statute is being made available publicly in precisely the way required by the statute. Other private enterprise publications, such as Labour Weekly, published by the Labour Party, do some additional research in gathering this material, but the material is now available exactly as required by the Act passed by the Labour Party.