Political Parties and Elections Bill

House of Commons

Session 2008 - 09
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Other Bills before Parliament

Political Parties and Elections Bill

Political Parties and Elections Bill
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A
Bill
To
Make provision in connection with the Electoral Commission; and to make
provision about political donations and expenditure and about elections and
electoral registration.
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and
consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Functions of Electoral Commission
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Compliance with controls imposed by the 2000 Act etc
(1)
In the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) (“the 2000
Act”) section 145 (general function of Commission with respect to monitoring
compliance with controls imposed by that Act etc) is amended as follows.
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(2)
In subsection (1), for the words before paragraph (a) there is substituted “The
Commission shall have the function of monitoring, and taking such steps as
they consider appropriate with a view to securing, compliance with”.
(3)
After subsection (6) there is inserted—
“(6A)
The Commission may prepare and publish guidance setting out, in
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relation to any requirement referred to in subsection (1), their opinion
on any of the following matters—
(a)
what it is necessary, or is sufficient, to do (or avoid doing) in
order to comply with the requirement;
(b)
what it is desirable to do (or avoid doing) in view of the purpose
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of the requirement.”

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Political Parties and Elections Bill
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Investigatory powers of Commission
(1)
For section 146 of the 2000 Act there is substituted—
“146
Investigatory powers of Commission
Schedule 19A makes provision about the investigatory powers of the
Commission.”
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(2)
After Schedule 19 to the 2000 Act there is inserted, as Schedule 19A, the
Schedule set out in Schedule 1 to this Act.
(3)
In Schedule 20 to the 2000 Act the following entries are inserted at the
appropriate place—

“Paragraph 13(1) of Schedule 19A
On summary conviction: Level 5.

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(failure to comply with

investigation requirement)

Paragraph 13(2) of Schedule 19A
On summary conviction: Level 5.

(intentional obstruction of person

exercising investigatory power)

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Paragraph 13(3) of Schedule 19A
On summary conviction in

(providing false information in
England and Wales or Scotland:

purported compliance with
statutory maximum or 12 months.

investigation requirement)

On summary conviction in

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Northern Ireland: statutory

maximum or 6 months.

On indictment: fine or 1 year.”

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Civil sanctions
(1)
For section 147 of the 2000 Act (civil penalty for failure to deliver documents
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etc) there is substituted—
“147
Civil sanctions
Schedule 19B makes provision for civil sanctions in relation to—
(a)
the commission of offences under this Act;
(b)
the contravention of restrictions or requirements imposed by or
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by virtue of this Act.”
(2)
After Schedule 19A to the 2000 Act (inserted by section 2 above) there is
inserted, as Schedule 19B, the Schedule set out in Schedule 2 to this Act.
(3)
In Schedule 20 to the 2000 Act the following entry is inserted at the appropriate
place—
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“Paragraph 14 of Schedule 19B
On summary conviction in

(failure to comply with stop notice)
England and Wales or Scotland:

£20,000 or 12 months.

Political Parties and Elections Bill
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On summary conviction in

Northern Ireland: £20,000 or 6

months.

On indictment: fine or 2 years.”

(4)
In section 156 of the 2000 Act (orders and regulations), after subsection (4) there
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is inserted—
“(4A)
An order under paragraph 16 of Schedule 19B that contains—
(a)
provision made by virtue of paragraph 1(1), (2), (3) or (4),
paragraph 5(1), (2), (3) or (4), paragraph 10(2)(b) or (3)(b) or
paragraph 15(1)(a) of that Schedule, or
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(b)
provision amending an Act,

shall not be made unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing
the order has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each
House of Parliament; and subsection (2) does not apply to such an
order.”
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Electoral Commissioners etc
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Selection of prospective Electoral Commissioners and Commission chairman
(1)
Section 3 of the 2000 Act (appointment of Electoral Commissioners etc) is
amended as follows.
(2)
For subsection (2) there is substituted—
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“(2)
A motion for such an Address may be made only if—
(a)
the Speaker of the House of Commons agrees that the motion
may be made;
(b)
the motion has been the subject of consultation with the
registered leader of each registered party to which two or more
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Members of the House of Commons then belong; and
(c)
each person whose appointment is proposed in the motion has
been selected in accordance with a procedure put in place and
overseen by the Speaker’s Committee.”
(3)
After subsection (5) there is inserted—
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“(5A)
In the case of a re-appointment (or further re-appointment) of an
Electoral Commissioner, the reference in subsection (2)(c) to being
selected in accordance with a procedure put in place and overseen by
the Speaker’s Committee is to be read as including a reference to being
recommended for re-appointment (or further re-appointment) by that
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Committee.”
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Four Electoral Commissioners to be persons put forward by parties
(1)
In section 3 of the 2000 Act, after subsection (4) (political restrictions on
Electoral Commissioners) there is inserted—
“(4A)
Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (4) do not apply to the
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appointment of a person as a nominated Commissioner (within the
meaning of section 3A).”

Political Parties and Elections Bill
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(2)
After that section there is inserted—
“3A
Four Electoral Commissioners to be persons put forward by parties
(1)
Four of the Electoral Commissioners shall each be a person whom the
registered leader of a qualifying party put forward to be considered for
appointment as an Electoral Commissioner (a “nominated
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Commissioner”).
(2)
In subsection (1) “qualifying party” means a registered party with two
or more Members of the House of Commons at the time of the person’s
appointment.
(3)
Three of the nominated Commissioners shall each be a person put
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forward by the registered leader of one of the three largest nominating
parties at the time of the person’s appointment.
(4)
In subsection (3) “nominating party” means a party whose registered
leader—
(a)
has put forward two or more persons to be considered for
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appointment as a nominated Commissioner, or
(b)
previously put forward persons one of whom was appointed as
a nominated Commissioner and is expected to continue to hold
office.
(5)
No appointment may be made that would result in two or more
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nominated Commissioners being persons put forward by the leader of
the same party (and nothing in this section has effect so as to require
that result).
(6)
A nominated Commissioner may not be appointed as the chairman of
the Commission.
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(7)
For the purposes of this section, the relative size of any two or more
registered parties shall be determined according to the number of
Members of the House of Commons belonging to each party at the time
in question (or, in the case of two parties with the same number of
Members, according to the total number of votes cast for persons
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standing for election in the name of each of those parties at the most
recent parliamentary general election).
(8)
A reference in this section to a Member of the House of Commons does
not include any Member of that House who at the time in question—
(a)
has not made and subscribed the oath required by the
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Parliamentary Oaths Act 1866 (or the corresponding
affirmation), or
(b)
is disqualified from sitting and voting in that House.”
(3)
In section 14 of the 2000 Act (Boundary Committees), in subsection (4), for “an
Electoral Commissioner or a deputy Electoral Commissioner” there is
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substituted “an Electoral Commissioner who is not a nominated Commissioner
(within the meaning of section 3A), or a deputy Electoral Commissioner,”.
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Number of Electoral Commissioners
In section 1 of the 2000 Act (establishment of Electoral Commission), in
subsection (3) (number of Commissioners), for “not less than five, but not more
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than nine,” there is substituted “nine or ten”.