Ending Dual Reporting
of Donations: Interim Report
1. There is substantial overlap between the information
which Members are required to include in the Register of Members'
Interests, to satisfy the requirements of the House, and that
which they are required by law to report to the Electoral Commission
for inclusion in its controlled donations[1]
and controlled transactions[2]
registers. This dual reporting requirement causes confusion amongst
Members as to precisely what information must be supplied to which
institution, and irritation at the need to report to two different
bodies.
2. Parliament has recognised these concerns,
which apply similarly to holders of other elective offices. It
has enacted legislation to remove the need for much, but not all,
of the dual reporting. Section 59 of the Electoral Administration
Act 2006 (EAA) will remove the requirement for Members personally
to report recordable donations[3]
to the Electoral Commission, with the Commission getting the information
it needs for its registers from information supplied by them to
the Registrar of Members' Interests. Likewise paragraph 16 of
Schedule 7A, PPERA will remove the corresponding requirement in
respect of recordable transactions,[4]
with the Commission again getting the information it needs from
information supplied by Members to the Registrar. The two provisions
need to be implemented together, as in some circumstances controlled
donations and controlled transactions are aggregated for the purpose
of determining whether the statutory threshold for disclosure
is triggered. The existing statutory obligation on Members of
Parliament and holders of other elective offices to report impermissible
donations[5] to the Electoral
Commission is unaffected by these changes.
3. Following the commencement of these provisions,
Members of Parliament will remain subject to precisely the same
requirements as other holders of 'relevant elective office' and
party members as to the donations they can accept and the transactions
they can enter into in connection with their political activities.
The only structural change in their obligations under the law
will be that they will no longer have to submit reports of recordable
donations and recordable transactions to the Electoral Commission.
The integrity of the information flow to the Commission is protected
as the relevant statutory provisions cannot be brought into effect
until the Electoral Commission has informed the Secretary of State
that it is satisfied that it will receive the information required
for its registers, in the case of the House, through the Registrar
of Members' Interests.
4. As the match between both the scope and the
detail of the statutory reporting requirements and the requirements
of the House is not exact, the House will need to increase the
information it collects in relation to recordable donations and
recordable transactions to the extent necessary to satisfy the
Electoral Commission that the legal requirements can be fully
met. Although this will require Members, in some circumstances,
to provide more detailed information than at present to the Registrar
of Members' Interests, and will introduce new registration requirements,
these will be offset by the removal of the corresponding legal
obligation for Members to report the equivalent information to
the Electoral Commission. So there need be no general increase
in the regulatory burden placed on Members of Parliament, and
the inconvenience of dual reporting will be removed. Members will
be subject to one regulatory reporting regime, that of the House.
5. The registration categories affected are Categories
4 (Sponsorship), 5 (Gifts, benefits and hospitality (UK)), 6 (Overseas
Visits) and possibly 7 (Overseas benefits and gifts). The statutory
framework relating to controlled donations and controlled transactions
is complex, but some broad principles can be laid down as to the
structure of the regulatory framework following commencement of
the relevant provisions:
· in
respect of all controlled donations and controlled transactions
with a value over £1000, (namely, recordable donations and
recordable transactions) determined as set out in PPERA, Members
will need to supply the Registrar of Members' Interests with all
the information specified in PPERA;[6]
· if the
value is above the threshold for inclusion in the Register of
Members' Interests (where different from the statutory threshold)
but below the recordable donation or recordable transaction threshold,
whichever is relevant, there will be no general change in the
information required to be supplied to the Registrar;
· if the
value is below the relevant threshold for the Register of Members'
Interests but above £200, there will be no immediate registration
requirement, but Members will need to retain the relevant details
for the remainder of the calendar year; and
· donations
and transactions of £200 or less can be ignored for the purposes
of PPERA, as they fall outside the statutory control framework.
6. We are preparing a paper setting out the detailed
changes we believe are necessary in the House's reporting requirements
before the statutory provisions can be implemented, and dual reporting
eliminated in respect of recordable donations and recordable transactions.
We shall be sending this to the Electoral Commission, and others,
and publishing it on the Committee's website (www.parliament.uk/sandp).
7. In the light of the Commission's response,
we would hope to be in a position shortly after the Summer Recess
to make firm proposals to the House as to the action it needs
to take to enable the relevant statutory provisions to be commenced
in relation to Members of Parliament. Thereafter, the precise
timing of commencement will be a matter for the Secretary of State.
1 As defined in paragraph 1(3), Schedule 7, Political
Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA). Back
2
As defined in paragraph 2, Schedule 7A, PPERA. Back
3
As defined in paragraph 10 (1A), Schedule 7, PPERA. Back
4
As defined in paragraph 9 (2), Schedule 7A, PPERA. Back
5
See paragraph 11, Schedule 7, PPERA. Back
6
See, in respect of recordable donations, paragraph 10, Schedule
7, PPERA, as amended by section 59 and paragraph 154, Schedule
1, Electoral Administration Act 2006 and, in respect of recordable
transactions, paragraph 9, Schedule 7A, PPERA. Back
| 
