Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill (HL Bill 86)

(1) A person is disqualified from being elected as, or being, a police and crime
commissioner unless the person satisfies the citizenship condition (see section
69).

(2) A person is disqualified from being elected as, or being, a police and crime
35commissioner if the person—

(a) is disqualified from being a member of the House of Commons under
section 1(1)(a) to (c) of the House of Commons Disqualification Act
1975 (judges, civil servants, members of the armed forces), or

(b) is a member of the legislature of any country or territory outside the
40United Kingdom.

(3) A person is disqualified from being elected as, or being, a police and crime
commissioner if—

(a) the person is the subject of—

(i) a debt relief restrictions order under paragraph 1 of Schedule
454ZB to the Insolvency Act 1986;

(ii) an interim debt relief restrictions order under paragraph 5 of
that Schedule;

(iii) a bankruptcy restrictions order under paragraph 1 of Schedule
4A to that Act;

(iv) 5a bankruptcy restrictions interim order under paragraph 5 of
that Schedule;

(b) a debt relief restrictions undertaking has effect in respect of the person
under paragraph 7 of Schedule 4ZB to that Act;

(c) the person has been convicted in the United Kingdom, the Channel
10Islands, or the Isle of Man, of any imprisonable offence (whether or not
sentenced to a term of imprisonment in respect of the offence); or

(d) the person is incapable of being elected as a member of the House of
Commons, or is required to vacate a seat in the House of Commons,
under Part 3 of the Representation of the People Act 1983
15(consequences of corrupt or illegal practices).

(4) For the purpose of subsection (3)(c)—

(a) “imprisonable offence” means an offence—

(i) for which a person who has attained the age of 18 years may be
sentenced to a term of imprisonment, or

(ii) 20for which, in the case of such a person, the sentence is fixed by
law as life imprisonment;

(b) a person is to be treated as having been convicted—

(i) on the expiry of the ordinary period allowed for an appeal or
application in respect of the conviction, or

(ii) 25if an appeal or application is made in respect of the conviction,
when the appeal or application is finally disposed of or
abandoned or fails by reason of non-prosecution.

(5) A person is disqualified from being elected as, or being, police and crime
commissioner for a police area if the person—

(a) 30is a member of staff of a relevant council, or

(b) holds any employment in an entity which is under the control of a
relevant council within subsection (7)(a), (b), (c) or (f).

(6) For this purpose—

• “member of staff” has the same meaning as in section 66;

• 35“relevant council”, in relation to a police area, means a council within
  subsection (7) for an area which, or any part of which, lies within the
  police area.

(7) Those councils are—

(a) a county council;

(b) 40a county borough council;

(c) a district council;

(d) a parish council;

(e) a community council;

(f) the Council of the Isles of Scilly.

(8) 45In subsection (5)(b), the reference to an entity under the control of a relevant
council is to be construed in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary
of State.

(9) Nothing in subsection (5) is to be taken to disqualify a person by virtue of being
a teacher, or otherwise employed, in a school or other educational institution
maintained or assisted by a relevant council.

68 Disqualification of person holding office as police and crime commissioner

5A person becomes disqualified from being a police and crime commissioner
upon becoming a member of—

(a) the House of Commons;

(b) the Scottish Parliament;

(c) the National Assembly for Wales;

(d) 10the Northern Ireland Assembly;

(e) the European Parliament.

69 Citizenship condition

(1) This section applies for the purposes of section 67.

(2) A person satisfies the citizenship condition if the person is—

(a) 15a qualifying Commonwealth citizen,

(b) a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, or

(c) a citizen of the Union.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a person is a qualifying Commonwealth
citizen if the person is a Commonwealth citizen and—

(a) 20is not a person who requires leave under the Immigration Act 1971 to
enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or

(b) is a person who requires such leave but for the time being has (or is, by
virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having) indefinite leave to
remain within the meaning of that Act.

(4) 25But a person who does not require leave to enter or remain in the United
Kingdom by virtue only of section 8 of the Immigration Act 1971 (exceptions to
requirement for leave in special cases) is not a qualifying Commonwealth
citizen by virtue of subsection (3)(a).

(5) In this section the expression “citizen of the Union” is to be construed in
30accordance with Article 20(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union.

70 Validity of acts

The acts of a person elected as police and crime commissioner for a police area
under this Chapter who acts in that office are, despite any disqualification—

(a) 35from being, or being elected as, a police and crime commissioner, or

(b) from being, or being elected as police and crime commissioner for that
area,

as valid and effectual as if the person had not been so disqualified.

Elections: further provision

71 Declaration of acceptance of office of police and crime commissioner

(1) A person elected to the office of police and crime commissioner for any police
area may not act in that office unless the person has—

(a) 5made a declaration of acceptance of the office in a form specified in an
order made by the Secretary of State, and

(b) delivered the declaration to the appropriate officer,

in each case, when not ineligible by virtue of subsection (5).

(2) If the person fails to make and deliver a declaration in accordance with
10subsection (1) within the period of two months beginning with the day after the
election, the office of police and crime commissioner for that area becomes
vacant at the end of the period.

(3) Any declaration made under this section must be made before—

(a) the appropriate officer;

(b) 15a justice of the peace or magistrate in the United Kingdom, the Channel
Islands or the Isle of Man, or

(c) a commissioner appointed to administer oaths in the Senior Courts.

(4) Any person before whom a declaration is authorised to be made under this
section may take the declaration.

(5) 20A person is ineligible to make or give a declaration of acceptance of office
under this section in respect of the office of police and crime commissioner for
a police area at any time when the person is a member of—

(a) the House of Commons;

(b) the Scottish Parliament;

(c) 25the National Assembly for Wales;

(d) the Northern Ireland Assembly;

(e) the European Parliament.

(6) No salary, and no payment towards the provision of superannuation benefits,
is to be paid under this Act to or in respect of a police and crime commissioner
30until the commissioner has complied with the requirements of subsection (1).

(7) Subsection (6) does not affect any entitlement of a police and crime
commissioner to payments in respect of the period before the commissioner
complies with the requirements of subsection (1) once the commissioner has
complied with those requirements.

72 35Judicial proceedings as to disqualification or vacancy

(1) Any person who claims that a person purporting to be a police and crime
commissioner for a police area is, or at any time since being elected has been,
disqualified—

(a) from being a police and crime commissioner; or

(b) 40from being police and crime commissioner for the police area,

may apply to the High Court for a declaration to that effect, and that
accordingly the office of police and crime commissioner for the area is vacant.

(2) An application under subsection (1) in respect of any person may be made
whether the grounds on which it is made are alleged to have subsisted at the
time when the person was elected or to have arisen subsequently.

(3) No declaration may be made under this section in respect of any person on
5grounds which subsisted when the person was elected, if an election petition
under an order under section 59 is pending or has been tried in which the
person’s disqualification on those grounds is or was in issue.

(4) Any person who claims that a person purporting to be a police and crime
commissioner for a police area has ceased to be the police and crime
10commissioner for the police area by virtue of—

(a) section 64, or

(b) section 71,

may apply to the High Court for a declaration to that effect.

(5) On an application under this section—

(a) 15the person in respect of whom the application is made is to be the
respondent, and

(b) the applicant must give such security for the costs of the proceedings as
the court may direct.

(6) The amount of the security may not exceed £5,000 or such other sum as the
20Secretary of State may specify by order.

(7) The decision of the court on an application under this section is final.

73 Amendment of police areas: term of office of commissioner

(1) Subsection (2) applies where a person becomes police and crime commissioner
for a resulting police area by virtue of, or of an election required to be held by,
25a police area alteration order.

(2) The person’s term of office as police and crime commissioner ends at the time
when it would end had the person been elected as police and crime
commissioner at the previous ordinary election of commissioners in England
or, as the case may be, Wales.

(3) 30In this section—

• “police area alteration order” means—

  (a)

  an order under section 32 of the Police Act 1996 (power to alter
  police areas by order);

  (b)

  an order under section 10 of the Local Government and Public
  35Involvement in Health Act 2007 (implementation of Boundary
  Committee for England review of local government areas)
  which alters the boundary of any police area in England;

  (c)

  an order under section 58 of the Local Government Act 1972
  (implementation of proposals by Local Government Boundary
  40Commission for Wales) which alters the boundary of any police
  area in Wales;

• “resulting police area”, in relation to a police area alteration order, means
  a police area existing immediately after the order comes into force—

  (a)

  which is created by the order, or

  (b)

  45any part of whose boundary results from the order.

(4) References in this section to the coming into force of a police area alteration
order are references to the changes in police areas made by the order taking
effect.

74 Computation of time and timing of elections etc

(1) 5Subsection (2) applies where the day, or the last day, on which anything is
required or permitted to be done by or under section 51, 52 or 71 is not a
business day.

(2) The requirement or permission is deemed to relate instead to the first business
day after that day.

(3) 10Where under subsection (2) the day of an election is postponed, the day to
which it is postponed is to be treated as the day of election for the purpose of—

(a) any provision of, or made under, this Act, or

(b) any relevant provision (within the meaning of section 59).

(4) Any day which is not a business day is to be disregarded in computing any
15period of time for the purpose of section 52.

(5) In this section, “business day” means a day other than—

(Nonenone) a Saturday,

(Nonenone) a Sunday,

(Nonenone) Christmas Eve,

(Nonenone) 20Christmas Day,

(Nonenone) Good Friday,

(Nonenone) a bank holiday, or

(Nonenone) a day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning.

75 Elections: consequential amendments

25Schedule 10 (consequential amendments relating to elections of persons as
police and crime commissioners) has effect.

76 The appropriate officer

(1) For each police area, other than the metropolitan police district, the Secretary
of State must by order designate a local authority.

(2) 30In this Chapter, the “appropriate officer”, in relation to any such police area,
means the head of paid service of the local authority designated for that police
area.

(3) In this section—

• “local authority” means—

  (a)

  35a district council,

  (b)

  a county council in England for a county in which there are no
  district councils,

  (c)

  the Council of the Isles of Scilly,

  (d)

  a county council or county borough council in Wales;

• 40“head of paid service”, in relation to a council, means the person
  designated by the council under section 4(1)(a) of the Local
  Government Act 1989.