House of Commons
Session 2013-14
Publications on the internet
The Register of Members' Financial Interests: Part 1
As at 20th January 2014
REGISTER OF MEMBERS' FINANCIAL INTERESTS
INTRODUCTION TO THE JANUARY 2014 EDITION
This edition of the Register of Members' Financial Interests is the fourth to be published for the Parliament elected in May 2010, and is up to date as at 20 January 2014.
The Register was established following a Resolution of the House of 22 May 1974. The maintenance of the Register is one of the principal duties of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards under House of Commons Standing Order No. 150.
The main purpose of the Register is to provide information about any financial interest or any other material benefit which a Member receives which might reasonably be thought by others to influence his or her actions, speeches or votes in Parliament, or actions taken in his or her capacity as a Member of Parliament. [1] Apart from the specific rules, there is a more general obligation upon Members to keep this overall definition of the Register’s purpose in mind when registering their interests.
The interests which are to be registered are set out in the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members, first agreed in July 1996 [2] and revised in May 2002 [3] , July 2005 [4] , March 2007 [5] , and June 2009. [6] The Guide is published under the same cover as the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament. Interests fall into twelve categories, which are as follows:
|
Category |
Descriptor |
Financial threshold for registration |
|
1 |
Directorships |
Over 0.1% of annual parliamentary salary (currently £66) for individual payments Over 1% of annual parliamentary salary (currently £660) for total payments of whatever size from the same source in the course of a calendar year [1]7 |
|
2 |
Remunerated office, profession, employment etc |
As for Category 1 |
|
3 |
Clients |
As for Category 1 |
|
4 |
Sponsorships |
Over £1,500, either as individual payments, or as total of multiple donations of more than £500 from the same source in the course of a calendar year |
|
5 |
Gifts, benefits and hospitality (UK) |
Over 1% of annual parliamentary salary (currently £660) for benefits of whatever size from the same source in the course of a calendar year |
|
6 |
Overseas visits |
Over 1% of annual parliamentary salary (currently £660) if not wholly borne by Member or public funds. Threshold applies to benefits of whatever size from the same source in the course of a calendar year |
|
7 |
Overseas benefits and gifts |
As for Category 5 NB: donations of more than £500 from an overseas source in connection with political activities, other than under Category 6, are impermissible. |
|
8 |
Land and property [not used for personal residential purposes] |
Value of property: over annual parliamentary salary (currently £66,000) Income derived from property: over 10% of annual parliamentary salary (currently £6,600) |
|
9 |
Shareholdings |
Greater than 15% of issued share capital (on preceding 5 April), or If 15% or less of issued share capital (on preceding 5 April), greater in value than annual parliamentary salary (currently £66,000) |
|
10 |
Controlled transactions within the meaning of Schedule 7A PPERA (loans, credit facilities and securities) |
Over £1,500 for total of donations and loans of more than £500 from the same source in the course of a calendar year |
|
11 |
Miscellaneous |
No threshold |
|
12 |
Family members employed and remunerated through parliamentary expenses |
Over 1% of annual parliamentary salary (currently £660) in calendar year [1] |
The Register is published in printed form under the authority of the Committee on Standards soon after the beginning of a new Parliament, and approximately every year thereafter. Between its annual printings the Register is updated fortnightly online when the House is sitting, and less frequently at other times. It is the responsibility of Members to notify changes in their registrable interests within four weeks of the change occurring.
The Register is available on the Internet and can be accessed via the following link: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem.htm . Copies of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members may be viewed at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmcode/1885/188501.htm. They can also be obtained from The Stationery Office as House of Commons paper No 1885 of session 2010-12.
Free internet access to the Register is available in the Search Room, Parliamentary Archives, London SW1A 0PW, by appointment only (tel. 020 7219 3074).
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards may inquire into allegations that a Member has not registered interests in accordance with the rules of the House. Entries are printed in bold italics, with an appropriate explanatory note, when they have been made following an inquiry by the Commissioner. Such entries may be made at the request of the Committee on Standards, following an inquiry and memorandum by the Commissioner, or after the Commissioner has resolved the matter by means of the rectification procedure available under Standing Order No 150.
Any questions about the Register should be addressed to the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards at the House of Commons, London SW1A OAA or via standardscommissioner@parliament.uk.
Kathryn Hudson
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
20 January 2014
1 Cf Select Committee on Members’ Interests, First Report, Session 1991–92, “Registration and Declaration of Financial Interests”, HC 236, paragraph 27.
5 HC Deb (2007-08), 27 Mar cols 382-394
6 HC (2008-09), HC 735; updated May 2010. This Guide is published with the 2012 Code as HC 1885 of Session 2010-12.
1 The job titles given are those set out in guidance issued by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: see http://www.parliamentarystandards.org.uk/IPSAM P s/Pages/HR,-Payroll,-Interns.aspx .