Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, has issued this recent statement on Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill.
The Government has always been clear that this Bill is about bringing greater transparency to politics, and how third parties interact with the political system. The importance of the role charities and other campaigning organisations play in the democratic process has always been, and will continue to be, fully recognised.
Campaign groups and charities can help inform policy making and highlight serious issues. The Government is committed to seeing this continue and an organisation campaigning solely on policy issues will not be included in these changes.
A balance has always been sought between passing the legislation in good time to have new systems in place by 2015, and making sure Parliament has sufficient time to scrutinise and debate the proposals. The Government re-ordered the Committee days of the Bill in the House of Lords, to allow for further consultation. Government amendments tabled at the Report stage in the House of Commons showed that Ministers were already listening carefully to the concerns raised. There will now be even more time to take additional views on board.
The spending threshold at which third parties have to register with the Electoral Commission will be raised to ensure those organisations spending the smallest amounts will not be required to register at elections. I hope that this will further reassure the smallest charities, as it is only on registration that third parties become subject to controls on donations and spending.
The Harries Commission report is a welcome addition to the debate and it endorses the principle that third parties who campaign at elections should be subject to regulation. Ministers believe it would be premature to respond to specific recommendations before the further period of discussion has finished and before Members of the House of Lords have been given the full opportunity to express their views.
The Government is committed to providing extra time to engage in open and constructive dialogue with interested parties, before proceeding with the next stages of the Bill.