§ Mr. Charles WardleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress on the review of the system of controls on candidates' expenses at elections announced on 21 June 1989,Official Report, columns 131–33.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe second and final stage of the review has now been set in hand. A consultative group is being set up under Home Office chairmanship and representatives of the main political parties and of local authority associations are being invited to participate. The review will include Scotland and Northern Ireland. The group's terms of reference are to consider whether the current provisions for controlling expenditure on election campaigning at parliamentary, European parliamentary and local government elections are both appropriate and effective and, where appropriate, to make recommendations for change.