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6 Oct 2008 : Column 80W—continued
The Commission now considers that parties and regulated donees have had sufficient time to acclimatise to the obligations placed upon them by the regulatory framework. Since 1 January 2008 all cases of late reporting have been identified and details have been published on the Commission's website.
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington on 17 June 2008, Official Report, column 825W, on political parties: finances, (a) what and (b) how many documents the Electoral Commission has destroyed; how many of them were original regulated donee completed return forms; whether the information on these completed forms has been retained by the Commission; and what the reasons for the destruction were. [223082]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that in July 2005 the then Director of Regulatory Services ordered the destruction of certain hard copy records on the grounds that there was no current or future business need for them and they did not hold any historical value for the National Archives.
The paper files destroyed comprised: by-election expenses, party campaign expenditure, policy development grants records, donation returns for all candidates and parties during the years 2001 to 2003, and statements of accounts for all parties and accounting units for the years 2001-02.
The Commission further informs me that it does not hold information as to the exact number of documents destroyed or how many were original regulated donee forms. All information in these documents which the Commission is required to publish on its registers was retained and is available on its website at:
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the Electoral Commission's consultation paper on Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units, whether the Commission proposes that a compliance grant will be provided to political parties in the same manner as a PPERA compliance grant was provided. [223739]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not proposed that a compliance grant be provided for political parties. The Commission informs me that whilst parties may have to bear some costs, these are expected to be modest and offset by the benefits as indicated in the consultation paper. The Commission will publish guidance and provide training for all parties in time for the preparation of the 2009 statements of accounts.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the Electoral Commission’s consultation paper on Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units, what plans the Commission has to undertake audits of local accounting units; and whether the Commission proposes that the audits will be paid for by the Commission or the local party. [223740]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that under section 43 and schedule 5 of PPERA, registered parties and accounting units are required to have their accounts audited if:
their income or expenditure in any financial year exceeds £250,000, or
their income or expenditure is lower than this but the Commission directs that their accounts should be audited.
Where a party or accounting unit does not carry out such an audit within the statutory time limits, the Electoral Commission may appoint an auditor and may recover the auditor’s expenses including remuneration.
The Electoral Commission further informs me that it is currently developing an audit strategy which will include audits by the Commission of the accounts of registered parties and local accounting units whose income or expenditure in a financial year is lower than £250,000 where a risk assessment indicates that this is appropriate. The Commission is not proposing to recoup the costs of such audits.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the Electoral Commission’s consultation paper on Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units, how many pages long the Commission estimates the supporting manual for local accounting units will be. [223741]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it is not yet in a position to estimate the length of the guidance manual. The Commission will develop the guidance in discussion with party treasurers to ensure that it is as comprehensive and user-friendly as possible.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission what role the Ministry of Justice played in the preparation of the Electoral Commission’s consultation paper on Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units. [223742]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the Ministry of Justice played no role in the preparation of the consultation paper ‘Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units’.
John Bercow: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what criteria the Commission uses when deciding whether to refer to the police cases of regulated donees notifying it of late donations. [223903]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the position remains as stated in the answer I gave the hon. Member for Leeds, North-East (Mr. Hamilton) on 27 March 2008, Official Report, column 349W.
Mrs. Spelman:
To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the Electoral Commission’s consultation paper on Standardising Statements of
Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units, what the timetable is for the publication of the draft guidance and draft regulations; and whether the Commission will consult separately on the draft regulations and guidance. [224320]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it will confirm the nature of any proposed new regulations, and the associated timetable for the publication of draft regulations and guidance, in the light of the public consultation which ended on 3 October 2008. If the Commission decides to proceed with the proposals set out in the consultation paper, it proposes to consult on the draft regulations and guidance with registered political parties and other stakeholders in November.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the Electoral Commission’s consultation paper on Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units, what the (a) estimated compliance costs to political parties and (b) the estimated cost to public funds in terms of (i) set-up costs and (ii) ongoing regulatory costs of the proposals are. [224322]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has not quantified the estimated costs to political parties, but that it has set out its assumptions on the level of the costs and benefits in the draft impact assessment contained within the consultation paper ‘Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units’. A copy of the Commission’s consultation paper has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
The Commission has invited views on the draft impact assessment as part of its consultation, and will review any comments it receives and reflect any changes in the final impact assessment.
The Commission informs me that it estimates the set-up costs to public funds of implementing the proposals at approximately £90,000 and that it has allocated funds from its existing budget to cover these costs. The Commission does not expect implementation of the proposals to result in any significant additional ongoing cost to public funds.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the Electoral Commission’s consultation paper on Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units, whether local accounting units will be obliged to report in their accounts donations in kind from their national political party. [224323]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that its consultation paper proposes that accounting units in receipt of transfers from the central party should show these in their statements of accounts as income (paragraph 4.9), and that gifts including gifts of services should be reported as income (paragraph 4.7). The Commission will consider the responses to these and its other proposals when considering the way forward.
A copy of the Commission’s consultation paper, ‘Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units’ has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission with reference to the Electoral Commission’s consultation paper on Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units, whether a full impact assessment for the proposals will be undertaken in line with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform’s Impact Assessment Guidance, including a small firm’s impact assessment. [224324]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it is committed to imposing the minimum necessary administrative burden on regulated bodies, in accordance with the principles of good regulation. The Commission’s consultation paper included a draft impact assessment and invited views on its analysis. The Commission informs me that it will publish a final impact assessment after considering the consultation responses. The final assessment will include consideration of the issues covered by the Small Firms Impact Test where appropriate.
A copy of the Commission’s consultation paper, ‘Standardising Statements of Accounts for Parties and Accounting Units’ has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Powers
John Bercow: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what systems are in place to regulate the Electoral Commission's use of its powers. [223876]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that use of its powers is subject to judicial review.
Representation of the People Act 1983
Mrs. Lait: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what steps the Commission has taken to prepare guidance on matters falling within Schedule 4A of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as amended by the Electoral Administration Act 2006. [223068]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it publishes guidance for candidates and agents in advance of each election, including guidance on matters falling within schedule 4A of the Representation of the People Act 1983. These guidance documents are not formal codes of practice of the kind described in paragraph 14 of Schedule 4A.
Copies of the guidance published for candidates and agents in the 2008 English local government and Greater London Authority elections have been placed in the Library of the House.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Air Travel
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 14 July 2008, Official Report, column 27W, on carbon emissions: Government departments, how much air mileage incurred through departmental travel was used to calculate the departmental payment to the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund in each year that his Department has participated in the fund, broken down by (a) domestic, (b) short-haul and (c) long-haul flights. [222141]
Mr. Woodward: The figures requested, which are expressed in kilometres, are shown in the following tables.
| 2006-07 | |
| Km | |
| 2007-08( 1) | |
| Km | |
| (1) For 2007-08 an additional category for domestic flights was added. | |
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether those staff of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies who are entitled to business class or first class air travel are permitted to (i) travel in a cheaper class to the destination and (ii) benefit in monetary terms or kind from the saving. [222147]
Mr. Woodward: Official travel for the Northern Ireland Office and its agencies is arranged in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code and departmental travel policy. Staff do not benefit in monetary terms or kind from the savings of travelling in a cheaper class.
Departmental Buildings
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the location is of each office occupied by (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies which has been (i) newly occupied and (ii) refurbished in the last 24 months; and what the floor area in square metres is of each. [222140]
Mr. Woodward: Details of the offices newly occupied and refurbished in the last 24 months by my Department are as follows:
| Square metres | |
|
Foyle Chambers, 35 Limavady Road, Londonderry, County Londonderry |
No agency properties were newly occupied and refurbished in the last 24 months.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the five most serious disciplinary breaches in his Department were in the last 12 months; and what steps were taken in response to each breach. [223066]
Paul Goggins: The details of the five most serious breaches cannot be released because to do so might identify the individuals concerned.
The disciplinary offences the Department has dealt with in the past 12 months fall into three broad categories: fraud, email abuse and bad time-keeping.
The Northern Ireland Office takes any breach of discipline seriously and within the last 12 months five civil servants have been dismissed for serious disciplinary offences. When the circumstances of a disciplinary offence have not merited dismissal, individuals have been issued with a written warning. A written warning has a two-year life span during which the individual concerned has restrictions placed on them which include:
not being considered for promotion;
not being considered for temporary promotion opportunities that may arise;
considered not to have satisfactory service if a departmental reference is requested.
The Civil Service Code and the Northern Ireland Office staff handbooks set out the standards of behaviour expected of all staff employed in the Department.
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