§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff that(a) are and (b) will be employed in or by (i) the Party Funding Unit, (ii) the Electoral Commission project team and (iii) the 528W Electoral Commission are members of political parties; how many members of each political party there are in each of categories (i) to (iii) above; what restriction is to be placed on party membership or political activity by members of the Electoral Commission staff once the Commission is established; what his policy is on members of staff of the Electoral Commission who are members of political parties dealing with confidential information relating to other political parties; and if he will make a statement. [140663]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienUnder the terms of the Civil Service Code, civil servants are required to conduct themselves with honesty, integrity, impartiality and objectivity. The restrictions on the involvement of civil servants in political activities are set out in the Civil Service Management Code. There is no requirement on civil servants to disclose membership of a political party.
The Electoral Commission will appoint its own staff in due course. The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill has now been amended so as to preclude the chief executive of the Electoral Commission from retaining or taking up membership of a political party. This restriction will not extend to other members of the Electoral Commission's staff. We would expect the Electoral Commission to require its staff to discharge their duties in a similar way to civil servants.