§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for North Dorset (Mr. Walters) on 28 February 2000,Official Report, column 112W, if he will place in the Library copies of his correspondence since that date with the Committee on Standards in Public Life relating to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill. [134854]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI am unaware of any further correspondence with the Neill Committee relating to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill since the exchange of letters referred to in my answer to the hon. Member for North Dorset (Mr. Walter) on 28 February.
§ Miss WiddecombeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans to make an order allowing the foreign funding of political parties and referendums in Northern Ireland under clause 65 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill, once the Bill is enacted; and what estimate he has made of the amount of foreign funding that will be given in any one year to each party that currently fields candidates in elections in Northern Ireland. [134863]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienIt is the Government's current intention to exercise the order-making power to clause 65 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill so as to disapply the provisions of Part IV of the Bill in respect of Northern Ireland parties for an initial period of four years. However, before coming to a final view on this matter the Government will undertake a further round of consultations with the main Northern Ireland parties.
The Government have made no estimate of the amount of foreign funding that will be given in any one year to parties contesting elections in Northern Ireland. In their evidence to the Neill Committee a number of Northern Ireland parties indicated that they had received donations from abroad.