House of Commons Amendments

House of Commons

Session 2009 - 10
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Committee of the whole House: 1 February 2010
688

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

As an Amendment to Secretary Jack Straw’s proposed New Schedule

(Parliamentary And Other Pensions) (NS9):—

Sir George Young

Mr Shailesh Vara

(a)

Line  11,  after ‘Service’, insert ‘and persons the IPSA considers to represent those

likely to be affected by the scheme.’.

New clauses and New Schedules relating to the Tax Status of Members of

the House of Commons or Members of the House of Lords

Tax status of MPs and members of the House of Lords

Secretary Jack Straw

Mr Dominic Grieve

Mrs Eleanor Laing

NC85

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Subsection (2) applies if a person is for any part of a tax year—

(a)
a member of the House of Commons, or

(b)
a member of the House of Lords.

(2)
The person is to be treated for the purposes of the taxes listed in subsection (3) as

resident, ordinarily resident and domiciled in the United Kingdom for the whole

of that tax year.

(3)
The taxes are—

(a)
income tax,

(b)
capital gains tax, and

(c)
inheritance tax.

(4)
For the purposes of this section a person—

(a)
becomes a member of the House of Commons when (having been elected

to that House) the person makes and subscribes the oath required by the

Parliamentary Oaths Act 1866 (c. 19) (or the corresponding affirmation),

and

(b)
ceases to be a member of that House when—

(i)
the Parliament to which the person was elected is dissolved, or

(ii)
the person’s seat is otherwise vacated.

(5)
For the purposes of this section and section [Tax status of members of the House

of Lords: transitional provision] a person is a member of the House of Lords if

the person is entitled to receive writs of summons to attend that House.

(6)
In relation to a member of the House of Lords, in subsection (1) the reference to

any part of a tax year excludes any part of the year during which—

(a)
section 137(3) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4) applies to the

member, or

(b)
the member is entitled to receive writs of summons to attend the House

of Lords by virtue of being an archbishop or bishop.

(7)
This section applies in relation to the tax year 2010-11 and subsequent tax years.

Committee of the whole House: 1 February 2010
689

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

(8)
But in applying this section to the tax year 2010-11—

(a)
if the Parliament in which this Act is passed is dissolved in that tax year,

ignore a person’s membership of the House of Commons in that

Parliament, and

(b)
in any event, ignore a person’s membership of the House of Lords at any

time before the end of the period of 3 months beginning with the day on

which section [Tax status of members of the House of Lords: transitional

provision] comes into force.

(9)
In this section, in relation to inheritance tax—

(a)
“tax year” means a year beginning on 6 April and ending on the following

5 April, and

(b)
“the tax year 2010-11” means the tax year beginning on 6 April 2010.

(10)
In determining for the purposes of this section and section [Tax status of members

of the House of Lords: transitional provision] whether a person is entitled to

receive writs of summons to attend the House of Lords, ignore—

(a)
section 2 of the Forfeiture Act 1870 (c. 23);

(b)
sections 426A and 427 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (c. 45);

(c)
any suspension resolution passed in relation to the person under section

31.’.

Tax status of members of the House of Lords: transitional provision

Secretary Jack Straw

Mr Dominic Grieve

Mrs Eleanor Laing

NC86

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
This section applies if, before the end of the period of 3 months beginning with

the day on which this section comes into force, a member of the House of Lords

(“M”) gives written notice to the Clerk of the Parliaments that M does not want

section [Tax status of MPs and members of the House of Lords] to apply to M.

(2)
M shall not be a member of the House of Lords at any time after the notice is

given and accordingly—

(a)
M shall not be entitled to receive writs of summons to attend the House,

and

(b)
any writ of summons previously issued to M has no further effect.

(3)
Section 33 (disclaimer) applies to M as if M were a person to whom section 30

has applied.

(4)
If M is a person excepted from section 1 of the House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34)

by virtue of section 2 of that Act—

(a)
M shall no longer be excepted from section 1 of the 1999 Act, and

(b)
if M counted towards the limit under section 2(2) of the 1999 Act, that

limit is reduced by one.

(5)
If M is not such a person, M ceases to be disqualified by virtue of M’s peerage (or

dignity) for—

(a)
voting at elections to the House of Commons, or

(b)
being, or being elected as, a member of that House.

Committee of the whole House: 1 February 2010
690

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

(6)
In relation to M, any reference in section 1(3) or (4)(b) of the Representation of

the People Act 1985 (c. 50) to a register of parliamentary electors is to be read as

including—

(a)
any register of local government electors in Great Britain, and

(b)
any register of local electors in Northern Ireland,


which was required to be published on any date before the notice is given.

(7)
If, after the notice is given, a peerage under the Life Peerages Act 1958 (c. 21) is

conferred on M, subsection (2) above does not stop M being entitled to receive

writs of summons to attend the House of Lords by virtue of that peerage.

(8)
If, after the notice is given, M becomes the person who is to hold the office of Earl

Marshal or perform the office of Lord Great Chamberlain, subsection (2) above

does not stop M being entitled to receive writs of summons to attend the House

of Lords by virtue of the peerage that led to M becoming the person who is to hold

or perform the office in question.

(9)
A person to whom regulation 4 of the European Parliament (House of Lords

Disqualification) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/1647) applies is to be treated as a

member of the House of Lords for the purposes of this section.’.

Disqualification from membership of the House of Commons and the House of Lords on

grounds of residence and domicile for taxation purposes

Mr Gordon Prentice

Paul Flynn

David Heyes

Mr Andrew Dismore

Kelvin Hopkins

Colin Burgon

NC52

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Subject to the provisions of this section, a person is disqualified from membership

of the House of Commons and House of Lords if he does not comply with the

conditions set out in subsection (2).

(2)
The conditions referred to in subsection (1) are—

(a)
that he was resident in the United Kingdom for the purposes of Part 14 of

the Income Tax Act 2007 (c. 3) for the tax year during which he was

elected or appointed and for each subsequent tax year; and

(b)
in the case of a non-domiciled United Kingdom resident, that he has not

made a claim to be taxed on the remittance basis in respect of the tax year

in which he was first elected or appointed, nor in any of the previous 10

tax years, nor in any subsequent tax year during which he was a Member

of Parliament.

(3)
Members of Parliament must submit a declaration to the relevant authority

indicating that they are in compliance with the conditions set out in subsection

(2).

(4)
A declaration under subsection (3) must be submitted to the relevant authority—

(a)
within 30 days of the date of election or appointment;

(b)
in the case of existing members of the House of Commons, within 30

days of the date on which this Act comes into force, and within 30 days

of their election to any subsequent Parliament; or

Committee of the whole House: 1 February 2010
691

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

(c)
in the case of existing members of the House of Lords, within 30 days of

the date on which this Act comes into force, and subsequently between 1

February and 5 April in each calendar year.

(5)
Declarations must be made in accordance with arrangements made by the

relevant authorities.

(6)
Members of Parliament who do not submit a declaration in accordance with

subsections (4) and (5) shall be liable to disqualification under this section.

(7)
In sections 6 and 7 of the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (c. 24),

references to that Act shall be construed as including references to the

Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

(8)
In this section—

“appointed” means to have received a writ of summons to attend the House

of Lords;

“Member of Parliament” means a member of the House of Commons or a

member of the House of Lords;

“relevant authority” means—

in the case of the House of Commons, the Speaker, and

in the case of the House of Lords, the Lord Speaker.’.

Members of House of Commons and House of Lords to be treated as domiciled in United

Kingdom (No. 2)

Mr Dominic Grieve

Mr Edward Garnier

Mrs Eleanor Laing

NC53

To move the following Clause:—

‘Any person who—

(a)
is (or is elected to serve as) a member of the House of Commons, or

(b)
when this section comes into force is a member of the House of Lords, or

(c)
subsequently becomes a member of the House of Lords,

is to be treated by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as being domiciled,

resident and ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, and will be liable to pay

United Kingdom taxes accordingly in any relevant tax accounting year in which

he holds membership of the House of Commons or the House of Lords.’.

Committee of the whole House: 1 February 2010
692

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

Deemed resignation and suspension on grounds of tax status

David Howarth

Mr David Heath

Chris Huhne

NC54

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
A member of the House of Lords is deemed to have resigned under section 32 if,

after the commencement of this section, he makes a declaration to the effect

that—

(a)
he is not resident in the United Kingdom for the purposes of income tax,

or

(b)
in the previous 12 months he has made a claim to be taxed on the

remittance basis as a non-domiciled resident.

(2)
The date of a resignation under subsection (1) is the day the declaration is made.

(3)
A resignation under this section comes into effect regardless of whether it would

be a valid resignation under section 32.

(4)
Every member of the House of Lords must make a declaration at least once every

calendar year about his residence and domicile for tax purposes.

(5)
A declaration under subsection (4) must state the member’s belief about his

residence for tax purposes and about whether he has made a claim to be taxed on

the remittance basis as a non-domiciled resident.

(6)
A copy of every declaration made under subsection (4) shall be deposited with the

Clerk of the Parliaments.

(7)
A member of the House of Lords who fails to make a declaration under

subsections (4) and (5) by the last day of December of any year is suspended from

the House of Lords from the following day as if a resolution of suspension had

been passed under section 31, such suspension to last until such time as the

member makes a declaration complying with subsection (5).

(8)
A member of the House of Lords who dishonestly makes a false declaration under

this section is guilty of an offence.

(9)
Anyoune found guilty of an offence under subsection (8)—

(a)
shall be disqualified from membership of the House of Lords, and

(b)
shall be liable to imprisonment of up to five years and to an unlimited

fine.

(10)
The offence created by subsection (8) shall be triable on indictment only.’.

Tax status of members of the House of Commons

David Howarth

Mr David Heath

Chris Huhne

NC55

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Every member of the House of Commons must at least once every calendar year

make a declaration about his residence and domicile for tax purposes, which

declaration must state the member’s belief about his residence for income tax

Committee of the whole House: 1 February 2010
693

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

purposes and his belief about whether in the previous 12 months he has made a

claim to be taxed on the remittance basis as a non-domiciled resident.

(2)
A copy of every declaration made under subsection (1) shall be deposited with the

Speaker.

(3)
A member of the House of Commons who makes a declaration to the effect that

he believes that he is not resident in the United Kingdom for income tax purposes

or that in the previous 12 months he has made a claim to be taxed on the

remittance basis as a non-domiciled resident shall be disqualified from

membership of the House.

(4)
A member who has failed to make a declaration complying with subsection (1)

by the last day of December in any year shall be treated as suspended from the

service of the House until he makes a declaration complying with subsection (1).

(5)
A member of the House of Commons who dishonestly makes a false declaration

under this section is guilty of an offence.

(6)
Anyone found guilty of an offence under subsection (5)—

(a)
shall be disqualified from membership of the House of Commons, and

(b)
shall be liable to imprisonment of up to five years and to an unlimited

fine.

(7)
The offence created by subsection (5) shall be triable on indictment only.’.

Sixth Day

Remaining New Clauses

Mental Health Act 1983

Mr Mark Harper

Lynne Jones

Mr Dai Davies

Sandra Gidley

Mr Charles Walker

Miss Anne Begg

NC1

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Mental Health Act 1983 is amended as follows.

(2)
Subsections (2) to (7) of section 141 are deleted.’.

Paragraphs 316-329 of the Final Report of the Speaker’s Conference (on Parliamentary

Representation), Session 2009-10, HC 239-I, are relevant to the new Clause.

Committee of the whole House: 1 February 2010
694

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

Ban on Attorney General directions in individual cases

David Howarth

Mr David Heath

Lynne Featherstone

NC2

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Attorney General’s function of superintendence of the Directors does not

include power to give a direction in relation to an individual case.

(2)
In this section and in section [Protocol for running of prosecution services] “the

Directors” means—

(a)
the Director of Public Prosecutions;

(b)
the Director of the Serious Fraud Office;

(c)
the Director of Revenue and Customs Prosecutions.’.

Protocol for running of prosecution services

David Howarth

Mr David Heath

Lynne Featherstone

NC3

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Attorney General must, in consultation with the Directors, prepare a

statement (a “protocol”) of how the Attorney General and the Directors are to

exercise their functions in relation to each other.

(2)
The protocol may in particular includes provisions as to—

(a)
the general responsibilities of the Attorney General and each of the

Directors;

(b)
the arrangements for ensuring that the Attorney General is properly

advised on matters relating to the strategic direction of the prosecution

services and on matters affecting more than one prosecution service;

(c)
the circumstances in which the Attorney General is to be consulted or

provided with information;

(d)
the objectives of the prosecution services;

(e)
the way in which the objectives are set and the means by which their

achievement or otherwise is reviewed;

(f)
the roles of the Attorney General and the Directors in relation to criminal

justice policy;

(g)
the way in which matters relating to the accountability of the Attorney

General to Parliament for the prosecution services are to be handled;

(h)
the roles of the Attorney General and the Directors in relation to dealings

with representatives of the press and other media;

(i)
procedures for dealing with complaints relating to the prosecution

services.

(3)
The Attorney General must lay the protocol before Parliament.

(4)
The protocol shall come into force when a resolution approving it has been passed

by each House of Parliament.



© Parliamentary copyright 2010	Revised 1 February 2010