§ Sir Brian MawhinneyTo ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his oral Answers of 12 November 1997,Official Report, columns 898–99, if he will list the names of those with whom he or his advisers have had meetings or discussions in No. 10 Downing Street on policy matters since 2 May who have also made donations or loans to the Labour Party of £5,000 or more in the past 12 months. [16727]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 19 November 1997]: No. When individuals or groups meet me or my advisers on Government policy, they are not asked whether they have provided funding to the Labour Party or any other party.
§ Mr. GarnierTo ask the Prime Minister if he will extend the remit of Sir Patrick Neill's Committee to include the identifying of all those individuals and companies who have donated money to political parties in the years 1992 to 1997 inclusive, indicating the sums they donated. [16366]
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 17 November 1997]: I have proposed that all Parties disclose to the Neill Committee—on a confidential basis—the names of donors and the amounts over £5,000 donated since 1992, so that the Committee can properly assess the current state of affairs of party funding and see how the system had been working in practice. The leader of the Liberal Democrats has agreed to this. I have urged the hon. and learned Gentlemen's party to do the same.