Both major political parties have failed to answer questions about their pending water and electricity bills with the Government’s payment agency ARMS Ltd.

The Times has been informed Labour and the Nationalists owe money to ARMS Ltd but are not being treated like ordinary households and companies that fail to pay up.

Asked how much it owed ARMS Ltd for water and electricity, Labour’s response was: “The Labour Party will be publishing its accounts as usual.”

Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party said this was a commercial matter regarding the work of its companies and “the agreements these companies have with public entities”.

The Times asked the PN to supply more details about these agreements and whether they provided longer credit terms or subsidised rates, but the party had yet to respond.

An ARMS Ltd spokesman also refused to give details, saying: “It is ARMS’ policy not to divulge customer details, or any other details related to such accounts, to third parties.”

ARMS Ltd was also asked to explain what sort of agreements it had with the political parties and their companies, but by the time of going to print, no reply had been received.

Meanwhile, The Times has filed a Freedom of Information request to find out what agreements the agency has with political parties.

Party finances have become a big talking point in recent weeks, particularly with the news the PN was struggling to pay its media company employees.

It is not known how much the party owes, but exponents have begun talking about desperately needed restructuring to get it back on its feet.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party, which ran a well-funded electoral campaign, has promised to introduce a party financing law to regulate donations.

The Nationalist Party had also promised such a law but this never materialised.