Amendment Paper as at
Friday 23rd July 1999
CONSIDERATION OF BILL
REFERENDUMS BILL, AS AMENDED
NEW CLAUSES
Commencement (No. 2)
Mr Andrew Miller
NC3
To move the following Clause:—
'.—This Act shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.'.
Question proposed, That the Clause be read a second time.
Referendum broadcasts
Mr Andrew Miller
NC4
To move the following Clause:—
'.—(1) The Broadcasting Act 1990 shall be amended as follows.
(2) In section 36(1)(a) after 'broadcasts' insert 'and referendum broadcasts'.
(3) In section 36(1)(b) after 'broadcasts' insert 'and referendum broadcasts'.
(4) After section 36(3) insert—
"(3A) A broadcaster may only include in its broadcasting services a referendum broadcast made on behalf of a designated referendum campaign".
(5) In section 107(1)(a) after 'broadcasts' insert 'and referendum broadcasts'.
(6) In section 107(1)(b) after 'broadcasts' insert 'and referendum broadcasts'.
(7) After section 107(2) insert
"(2A) A broadcaster may only include in its broadcasting services a referendum broadcast made on behalf of a designated referendum campaign".'.
Referendum campaign organisations
Dr Nick Palmer
NC5
To move the following Clause:—
'.—(1) No person shall incur expenses exceeding the sum of £25,000 with a view to promoting a particular outcome in a referendum.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to—
(a) a designated referendum campaign;
(b) a person registered with the Commission.
(3) A person registered under subsection (2)(b) shall comply with such requirements as the Commission may specify and those conditions may include the keeping and making available for publication of accounts showing such particulars as may be so specified of—
(a) the sums received or spent for the purposes of the referendum; and
(b) the persons to whom any such sums were received and the persons to whom any such sums were paid.
(4) A person who incurs expenditure in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary convicted to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.'.
Expenditure and donations
Dr Nick Palmer
NC6
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) Any person (whether an individual or a registered campaign) wishing to campaign in the referendum must register with the Commission, whether or not the person is a campaign designated by the Commission to represent the argument for one possible outcome.
(2) All registered persons must keep accounts of sums received and spent for the purposes of the referendum, including the names of persons from whom such sums were received or to whom such sums were paid, from the day on which the person was registered, and publish these accounts within six weeks of the referendum having taken place.
(3) No registered person may accept donations received directly or indirectly from individuals or organisations located overseas, unless these are individuals entitled to vote in United Kingdom General Elections.
(4) Persons who are not registered may not spend more than £1,000 on attempting to influence the outcome of the referendum, unless otherwise specified by this Act. Any breach of this prohibition is an offence liable to a fine of 200 per cent. of the amount spent or three months imprisonment or both.
(5) Organisations which are not registered may nevertheless communicate their views on referendums to their members without the cost of the communication being counted towards the above limit.'.
Statements
Dr Nick Palmer
NC7
To move the following Clause:—
'.—(1) The Minister in charge of the proposed provision shall invite each of the designated referendum campaigns to submit a statement of a number of words to be specified by the Minister, putting the case for their preferred outcome.
(2) The total space allocated to each campaign shall be identical, with space allocated to individuals or bodies within that campaign according to the share decided upon by the Commission.
(3) The Minister may seek to have passages amended if he considers them untrue or believes that their publication would be unlawful. If the authors of the sections are not willing to revise the disputed passages, the question will be referred to the Commission for final decision.
(4) All the statements made shall be published by the Minister in charge, with an introduction stating the Government's view in no more than 50 per cent. of the total number of words allocated to each campaign. The publication shall be sent to every household with one or more individuals entitled to vote in the referendum.
(5) In this section "Minister in charge of the proposed provision" means
(a) in relation to provision proposed to be made by Act of Parliament, the Minister of the Crown in charge of the Bill for that Act in that House of Parliament in which the Bill is first introduced; and
(b) in relation to provision proposed to be made by subordinate legislation, the Minister of the Crown authorised by the parent Act of Parliament to make that subordinate legislation.'.
Report by Audit Commission
Dr Alan Whitehead
NC8
To move the following Clause:—
'The Commission may invite the Audit Commission to make a report on a referendum held by a local authority where that referendum—
(a) consults residents within its area over its planned budget;
(b) gauges opinion of residents within its area for any scheme it wishes to propose; or
(c) seeks the opinion of residents within its area for any scheme concerning the structural reorganisation of the democratic function of the authority.'.
Mr Andrew Dismore
1
Page 1, line 8 [Clause 1], leave out 'four' and insert 'eight'.
Mr Andrew Miller
20
Page 1 [Clause 1], leave out line 10.
Mr Andrew Dismore
2
Page 1, line 10 [Clause 1] leave out 'justice of the High Court and insert 'Lord of Appeal in Ordinary'.
Dr Nick Palmer
38
Page 1, line 11 [Clause 1], after 'appointing' insert 'or declining to renew the appointment of'.
Mr Andrew Dismore
3
Page 1, line 13 [Clause 1], after 'Commons', insert 'and Lord Chancellor'.
Dr Nick Palmer
37
Page 1, line 13 [Clause 1], at end insert—
'(4A) The chairman and members of the Commission shall be appointed for 10 years, renewable for further 10-year periods by the Secretary of State.'.
Dr Alan Whitehead
45
Page 1, line 15 [Clause 1], after 'on', insert 'national or regional'.
Mr Andrew Miller
21
Page 1, line 15 [Clause 1], after 'referendum', insert 'at national or regional level'.
Mr Andrew Dismore
4
Page 1, line 16 [Clause 1], leave out from 'on' to end of line 18 and insert 'the matters specified in subsection (5A) below.
(5A) The specified matters are—
(a) the regulation of donations to referendum campaigns;
(b) the maximum amounts a referendum campaign may spend—
(ii) in each Parliamentary constituency;
(c) the timetable for the referendum;
(d) arrangements for counting the referendum;
(e) the conduct of referendum campaigns;
(f) the conduct of referendum campaign advertising;
(g) such other matters as the Secretary of State may by order specify; and
(h) such other matters, save for the question to be proposed in a referendum, as the Commission may wish.'.
Mr Andrew Miller
22
Page 1, line 19 [Clause 1], leave out 'Secretary of State' and insert 'the Commission'.
Mr Andrew Miller
23
Page 1, line 21 [Clause 1], leave out 'he' and insert 'the Commission'.
Mr Andrew Dismore
5
Page 1, line 22 [Clause 2], leave out 'possible' and insert 'reasonably practicable'.
Mr Andrew Dismore
6
Page 1, line 22 [Clause 2], leave out from 'after' to second 'the' in line 25.
Dr Nick Palmer
39
Page 2, line 2 [Clause 2], at end insert—
'(1A) The Bill may provide for one or more referendums on a specified date, or it may empower or instruct local authorities to conduct referendums under specified circumstances.
(1B) Where the Bill does not directly initiate a referendum, the provisions of the Act relating to activities by the Commission, payments of public monies, and restrictions of broadcasting apply as soon as a local authority has decided to conduct a referendum under the terms of the Bill empowering or requiring them to do so.'.
Mr Andrew Dismore
7
Page 2, line 3 [Clause 2], leave out subsection (2).
