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given up to and including

Thursday 9th March 2000

New Amendments handed in are marked thus *

CONSIDERATION OF BILL

POLITICAL PARTIES, ELECTIONS AND REFERENDUMS BILL, AS AMENDED

NOTE
The Amendments have been arranged in accordance with the Order to be proposed by Mr Secretary Straw.
Mr Secretary Straw To move, That the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill, as amended, be considered in the following order, namely: New Clauses, amendments relating to Clause 1, Schedule 1, Clause 2, Schedule 2, Clauses 3 to 28, Schedule 3, Clauses 29 to 44, Schedule 4, Clauses 45 to 56, Schedule 5, Clauses 57 to 64, Schedule 6, Clause 65, Schedule 7, Clauses 66 to 72, Schedule 8, Clauses 73 to 87, Schedule 9, Clause 88, Schedule 10, Clauses 89 to 103, Schedule 11, Clause 104, Schedule 12, Clauses 105 to 111, Schedule 13, Clause 112, Schedule 14, Clauses 113 to 123, Schedule 15, Clauses 124 to 128, Schedule 16, Clause 129, Schedule 17, Clause 130, Schedule 18, Clauses 131 to 138, Schedule 19, Clauses 139 to 149, Schedules 20 and 21, New Schedules.

NEW CLAUSES
Involvement of Commission in changes in electoral procedures

Mr Secretary Straw

NC1
To move the following Clause:—
    '.—(1) The Commission—

(a) may participate with any relevant local authority in the joint submission of proposals falling within section 10(1) of the Representation of the People Act 2000 (pilot schemes); and

(b) shall have such other functions in relation to—

    (i) orders and schemes under section 10 of that Act, and

    (ii) orders under section 11 of that Act (revision of procedures in the light of pilot schemes),

as are conferred on the Commission by those sections.
    (2) Where any scheme under section 10 of that Act falls to be implemented following the approval by the Secretary of State of proposals jointly submitted by the Commission and a relevant local authority as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above, the Commission may, in connection with the implementation of the scheme, provide that authority with such assistance (except financial assistance) as the Commission think fit.
    (3) In this section "relevant local authority" has the same meaning as in section 10 of that Act.'.

Payments etc. which are (or are not) to be treated as donations by permissible donors

Mr Secretary Straw

NC2
To move the following Clause:—
    '.—(1) The following provisions have effect for the purposes of this Part.
    (2) Any payment out of public funds received by a registered party shall (subject to section 46(1)(a) and (b)) be regarded as a donation received by the party from a permissible donor.
    (3) Any donation received by a registered party shall (if it would not otherwise fall to be so regarded) be regarded as a donation received by the party from a permissible donor if and to the extent that—

(a) the purpose of the donation is to meet qualifying costs incurred or to be incurred in connection with a visit by any member or officer of the party to a country or territory outside the United Kingdom, and

(b) the amount of the donation does not exceed a reasonable amount in respect of such costs.
    (4) In subsection (3) "qualifying costs", in relation to any member or officer of the party, means costs relating to that person in respect of—

(a) travelling between the United Kingdom and the country or territory in question, or

(b) travelling, accommodation or subsistence while within that country or territory.
    (5) Any donation received by a registered party from a trustee of any property (in his capacity as such) which does not constitute a donation transmitted by the trustee to the party—

(a) on behalf of a person who, at the time of its receipt by the party, is a permissible donor, or

(b) in pursuance of a bequest made by such a person as is mentioned in section 48(3),
    shall be regarded as a donation received by the party from a person who is not a permissible donor.'.

Transfer to Commission of functions of Local Government Boundary Commision for Scotland

Sir George Young
Sir Patrick Cormack
Mr Nigel Evans
Mr Dominic Grieve
Mr Robert Walter

NC3
To move the following Clause:—
    '.—(1) The Scottish Parliament may by order make provision for the transfer to the Commission of any one or more functions of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland (in this section referred to as "the Scottish Commission").
    (2) The Commission shall make arrangements for functions transferred to them by an order under subsection (1) to be exercised by the Boundary Commission for Scotland.
    (3) Where each of the functions of the Scottish Commission is transferred by an order under subsection (1), the Scottish Parliament may by order make provision for the abolition of the Scottish Commission.
    (4) An order under subsection (1) or (3) may include provision for the transfer to the Commission.

(a) of the staff of the Scottish Commission, and

(b) of any property, rights and liabilities to which the Scottish Commission are entitled or subject;
    and an order which contains provision such as is mentioned in paragraph (b) may in particular provide for the order to have effect despite any provision (of whatever nature) which would prevent or restrict the transfer of the property, rights or liabilities otherwise than by the order.
    (5) An order under subsection (3) may include provision for the abolition of any duty in compliance with which the Scottish Commission was established or constituted.
    (6) An order under this section may contain any appropriate consequential, incidental, supplementary or transitional provisions or savings (including provisions amending, repealing or revoking enactments).
    (7) Any power of the Scottish Parliament to make an order under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.
    (8) The expenditure of the Commission, so far as attributable to the exercise of any functions transferred by an order under subsection (1), shall be met by the Scottish Parliament.'.

Tax relief for donations to political parties

Sir George Young
Sir Patrick Cormack
Mr Nigel Evans
Mr Dominic Grieve
Mr Robert Walter

NC4
To move the following Clause:—
    '.—The following shall be inserted after section 379 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (interpretation of sections 369 to 378)—

"Relief for donations to political parties. 379AA.—(1) Tax relief shall be available to an individual (the donor) in accordance with this section on qualifying political donations made by him of up to £500 in any year of assessment.
    (2) A donation is a qualifying political donation for the purposes of this section if it is made to an eligible political party and—

(a) it takes the form of the payment of a sum of money,

(b) it is not subject to a condition as to repayment,

(c) it is not conditional on or associated with, or part of an arrangement involving, the acquisition of property by the political party, otherwise than by way of gift, from the donor or a person connected with him, and

(d) the donor is resident in the United Kingdom at the time the donation is made.
    (3) For the purposes of this section a political party is an eligible political party if, at the last general election preceding the donation in question—

(a) two members of that party were elected to the House of Commons, or

(b) one member of that party was elected to the House of Commons and not less than 150,000 votes were given to candidates who were members of that party.
    (4) If an individual makes a qualifying donation he shall be entitled, on making the payment, to deduct and retain out of it a sum equal to basic rate tax thereon.
    (5) Where a sum is deducted under subsection (4) above the sum deducted shall be treated as income tax paid by the person to whom the payment is made.
    (6) Any person by whom a qualifying donation is received shall be entitled to recover from the Board, in accordance with regulations, an amount which by virtue of subsection (5) above is treated as income tax paid by him; and any amount so recovered shall be treated for the purposes of the Tax Acts in like manner as the qualifying political donation to which it relates.
    (7) The following provisions of the Management Act, namely—

(a) section 29(1)(c) (excessive relief) as it has effect apart from section 29(2) to (10) of that Act,

(b) section 30 (tax repaid in error, etc) apart from subsection (1B),

(c) section 86 (interest), and

(d) section 95 (incorrect return or accounts),
    shall apply in relation to an amount which is paid to any person by the Board as an amount recoverable in accordance with regulations made by virtue of subsection (6) above but to which that person is not entitled as if it were income tax which ought not to have been repaid and, where that amount was claimed by that person, as if it had been repaid as respects a chargeable period as a relief which was not due.
    (8) In the application of section 86 of the Management Act by virtue of section (7) above in relation to sums due and payable by virtue of an assessment made for the whole or part of a year of assessment ('the relevant year of assessment') under section 29(1)(c) or 30 of that Act, as applied by that subsection, the relevant date—

(a) is 1 January in the relevant year of assessment in a case where the person falling within subsection (5) above has made a relevant interim claim; and

(b) in any other case is the later of the following dates, that is to say—

    (i) 1 January in the relevant year of assessment; or

    (ii) the date of the making of the payment by the Board which gives rise to the assessment.
    (9) The Board may by regulations make provision—

(a) for the purposes of any provision of this section which relates to any matter or thing to be specified by or done in accordance with regulations;

(b) with respect to the furnishing of information by donors or recipients, including, in the case of recipients, the inspection of books, documents and other records on behalf of the Board; and

(c) generally for giving effect to this section.
    (10) In this section—

'financial year' in relation to any person means a financial year of that person for the purposes of the relevant regulations;

'interim claim' means an interim claim within the meaning of the relevant regulations;

'relevant interim claim' means, in relation to an assessment made for a period coterminous with, or falling wholly within, a person's financial year, an interim claim made for a period falling wholly or partly within that financial year; and

'the relevant regulations' means regulations made under subsection (9) above.
    (11) Section 839 of this Act shall apply for the purposes of this section to determine whether one person is connected with another".'.