§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Prime Minister if he will arrange for(a) Lord Nolan's Committee on standards in Public Life and (b) the political and public honours scrutineers to be advised by the trustees of the funds that provided help in opposition to him and to other ministers, of the sources of those funds. [1706]
§ The Prime MinisterThe Leader of the Opposition's Office Fund was set up in accordance with guidelines discussed and agreed with Sir Gordon Downey.
The fund was set up as a blind trust to prevent me being aware of the sources of the contributions to it. But the practice established in Opposition whereby the Chief Whip consults the trustees of the fund when he is preparing the information needed by the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee, will continue. If an individual recommended for such an honour has been a contributor to the Leader of the Opposition's Office Fund, that information will be made available to the PHSC.