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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

I can, as I will explain, give the hon. Lady a positive response to the questions she has asked. The Electoral Commission will be involved in detail on all that. Indeed, it plays a pivotal role. The chairman, Sam Younger, is content with the arrangements we have described. For the reason I have just given, the Bill will require Northern Ireland parties, for the first time, to comply with the rules set out under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, which require donations over a certain amount to be declared to the Electoral Commission. However, to take account of the continuing concerns about the possibility of donor intimidation in Northern Ireland, for a transitional period, donations to Northern Ireland parties will be checked privately by the Electoral Commission. If the commission discovers that a donation has been unlawfully accepted, the donation will be made public. That period will run from November 2007 and pave the way for full transition to complete transparency, as in the rest of the UK, in October 2010, which remains the Government’s goal.