asked the Secretary of State for Employment what information he has as to the proportion of trade union political fund expenditure represented by affiliation fees to political parties.

Information about trade unions' expenditure from both general and political funds is contained in annual returns of accounts which all trade unions are required to submit to the Certification Officer. It is not possible in every case to distinguish between expenditure on affiliation fees and other grants and donations to political parties. An analysis of the latest accounts of the ten trade unions with the highest level of political expenditure, representing about three quarters of all political fund expenditure shows that in 1983 at least 78 per cent. of that expenditure was accounted for by affiliation fees and other grants and donations to a political party.The figures for each of these trade unions were as follows:

Union	Amount of payments to a political party	Proportion of total political fund expenditure
	£	per cent.
TGWU	1,449,000	91
GMBATU	1,164,000	81
NUPE	585,000	46
AUEW(E)	722,000	92
NUM	440,000	92
USDAW	223,000	50
NUR	272,000	90
COHSE	208,000	76
UCW	242,000	96
EETPU	205,000	99
Total	5,510,000	78

The purposes to which the remaining political fund expenditure is put are not always apparent from the accounts but it is possible that some of that expenditure also represents payments to or on behalf of a political party. In 1982 payments to a political party accounted for at least 69 per cent. of the political fund expenditure of the same ten trade unions. The difference is probably attributable to the fact that 1983 was a year in which a general election took place.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many trade unions have balloted their members in the last 10 years on whether they should have a political fund.

In the last 10 years seven trade unions have balloted their members under the provisions of the Trade Union Act 1913 on whether they should set up a political fund, with the following results:

Year of ballot and Union	Votes for	Votes against
1976 Society of Graphical and Allied Trades	25,837	24,665
1981 National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers	13,414	17,054
1981 Association of Broadcasting and Allied Staffs	871	4,506
1982 Society of Union Employees	100	20
1983 Society of Telecom Executives	10,761	9,217
1983 Civil and Public Services Association	31,479	65,922
1984 Amalgamated Society of Textile Workers and Kindred Trades	1,011	673

None of the 53 trade unions with political funds has balloted during the last ten years on the continuance of its political fund.