Political Parties and Elections Bill

My Lords, I think that we are all grateful not just to the Minister this evening for explaining the rationale behind the amendments but also to his team for writing to us and explaining the background. Although these issues may not seem as controversial as some of those which we have discussed earlier, they are very important because they close some potential loopholes. If we have learnt nothing else from the way in which this whole issue has been addressed over the years—not just in this Bill—it is that attempts to find loopholes constantly cause us concern, and I am sure that there will be greater ingenuity in future. We should congratulate Ministers and their team on the way in which they have tackled the particular problems of unincorporated associations both in Clause 16 and, perhaps even more so, in Schedule 4. I notice, for example, that Amendment 47 contains very careful explanations of how loans can be used in a way which is clearly just the same as a donation and which in the case of an individual donor would be treated in effectively the same way as a donation. It is entirely right that the Minister is spelling out, for example in new sub-paragraphs (2)(b) and (2)(d), the ways in which, if the amendments were not incorporated in the Bill, these loopholes could be used as a way of getting around the spirit of the Bill. I will make one further point. I am sure that the Minister and his team are fully confident that the generic term "contribution" is sufficient to cover all the potential problems and that the definition is sufficiently substantial and resilient to resist any challenge from our legal friends. I notice in Amendment 125, which is not part of this group but nevertheless flows from it, the change in title. It is spelled out in slightly more detail as "loans and related transactions", which seems more comprehensive than simply "contribution". These are sensible amendments. We are grateful to Ministers for explaining them in detail this evening and also in the letters that they have sent to prepare us for the changes. We welcome them.