Part 4: Foreign Activities and Foreign Influence Registration Scheme Section 75: Information notices
Subsection (1) provides the Secretary of State with the power to issue an information notice to a number of different persons under the enhanced tier of the scheme. These persons are as follows:
a person who is party to a registered foreign activity arrangement;
a person the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be party to a foreign activity arrangement which is required to be, but is not, registered;
a person the Secretary of State reasonably believes is carrying out relevant activities, or arranging for others to carry out these activities, pursuant to a foreign activity arrangement which is required to be, but is not, registered;
a person (who is a specified person) who has registered relevant activities they are to carry out in the United Kingdom;
a person the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be carrying out activities registered under section 68; or
a person (who is a specified person) the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be carrying out activities in the United Kingdom in breach of a prohibition under section 68.
	Subsection (2) provides the Secretary of State with the power to issue an information notice to a number of different persons under the political influence tier of the scheme. These persons are:
a person who is party to a registered foreign influence arrangement;
a person the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be party to a foreign influence arrangement which is required to be, but is not, registered;
a person who the Secretary of State reasonably believes is carrying out political influence activities, or arranging for others to carry out these activities, pursuant to a foreign influence arrangement (whether it is registered or not);
a person (who is a foreign power) who has registered political influence activities;
a person the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be carrying out activities registered under section 72; or
a person the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be carrying out political influence activities in the United Kingdom in breach of a prohibition under section 72.
	Subsection (3) sets out that an information notice is a notice requiring the person to whom it is given to supply the information specified in the notice. The power to issue an information notice is intended to provide a tool by which the Secretary of State can be assured that persons are meeting their registration obligations.
	Subsection (4) sets out that an information notice may only require information which the Secretary of State considers is relevant to an arrangement or activity under subsections (1) and (2).
	Subsection (5) states that an information notice must specify both the form of information that a person should provide and the date by which this information should be supplied.
	Subsection (6) provides the Secretary of State with the power to cancel an information notice by writing to the person it was provided to. For example, if it has been issued in error.
	Subsection (7) provides the Secretary of State with the power to make regulations about the minimum period of time given to respond to a notice, other matters which may be specified in a notice or about the cancellation of notices.
	Subsection (8) provides an offence of not complying with an information notice (without a reasonable excuse). An example of a reasonable excuse would be if the person could not have complied with the notice in the specified timeframe, for example if they were not in the UK and/or were not able to receive or consider the notice due to serious illness.
	Subsection (9) prohibits the Secretary of State from being able to give an information notice to a foreign power.
	Hypothetical examples of when information notices can be given are provided below.
Example (1): A person who is party to a foreign influence arrangement registered under section 69
A UK company registers a foreign influence arrangement concerning political influence activities to be carried out at the direction of a foreign power. The description of the activities to be carried out are so vague that the UK public cannot meaningfully benefit from the information provided and the transparency objectives of the scheme are undermined.
The scheme management unit, on behalf of the Secretary of State, issues an information notice to the UK company to gather further information about the activities, the target audience and the intended purpose.
Example (2): A person the Secretary of State reasonably believes to be carrying out a political influence activity in breach of a prohibition
An individual works at a consultancy firm established in a foreign country. They visit the UK and meet with a group of parliamentarians to discuss upcoming legislation, seeking to encourage them to oppose it.
Information received by the scheme management unit suggests that the individual’s consultancy firm has entered into a contract with a foreign government, which has long been opposed to the legislation.
The scheme management unit, on behalf of the Secretary of State, issues an information notice to the individual, requesting information about their activities in the UK and the meeting with Parliamentarians. The individual provides the requested information, and their company registers the activities with the scheme and no further action is taken by the scheme management unit. The transparency objective has been achieved.