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Clause 25: Extension of 21 sitting day period
184. This clause provides a mechanism for Parliament to request extensions to the 21 sitting day period. Extensions are to be granted in blocks of up to 21 sitting days and will be at the discretion of the relevant Minister of the Crown. By subsection (1) the Minister may extend the period by 21 days or less. Subsections (2) and (3) provide that this can be done by laying a statement before Parliament before the expiry of the relevant period that indicates the period to be extended and the length of that extension. Subsection (4) requires the Minister to publish the statement in a way that the Minister thinks appropriate. Subsection (5) provides that the period can be extended more than once.
Clause 26: Section 24 not to apply in exceptional cases
185. This clause makes provision for exceptional cases. This clause provides an alternative procedure for treaties to be scrutinised by Parliament in exceptional cases where it is not possible for a treaty to be laid for the full 21 sitting day period before it is ratified.
186. Subsection (1) provides that the procedure does not apply if a Minister of the Crown is of the view that, for exceptional reasons, a treaty should be ratified without having to meet the conditions for which that clause provides.
187. Subsection (2) provides that subsection (1) may not be invoked where either House has resolved against ratification in accordance with clause 24(1)(c).
188. Subsection (3) provides that if, exceptionally, the treaty is to be, or has been, ratified without fulfilling the conditions in clause 24, the Minister of the Crown must either before, or as soon as practicable after, the treaty is ratified, lay before Parliament a copy of the treaty and a statement indicating why the conditions in clause 24 are not met. The Minister of the Crown must also arrange for the treaty to be published in a way that he or she thinks appropriate.
Clause 27: Section 24 not to apply to certain descriptions of treaties
189. This clause makes provision in respect of those classes of treaties that have traditionally been dealt with outside the Ponsonby Rule, because they are scrutinised by other means. These are (i) treaties covered by the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 and European Union (Amendment) Act 2008, (ii) double taxation conventions and arrangements, and international tax enforcement arrangements and (iii) treaties concluded under an authority given by the UK Government by any of the Channel Islands or of the Isle of Man or any of the Overseas Territories.
190. Subsection (1) states that the procedure does not apply to a treaty covered by section 12 of the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 (which provides for treaties resulting in an increase in the European Parliament’s powers not to be ratified unless approved by Act of Parliament) or by section 5 of the European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 (which provides for amendments to the founding treaties not to be ratified unless approved by Act of Parliament).
191. Subsection (2) exempts treaties in relation to which an Order in Council may be made under section 158 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (double taxation conventions), section 788 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (double taxation arrangements) or section 173 of the Finance Act 2006 (international tax enforcement arrangements).
192. Subsection (3) states that the procedure does not apply to treaties concluded by the government of a British Overseas Territory, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man where that treaty is concluded under the authority given by the United Kingdom Government.
193. Subsection (4) provides for treaties that have already been laid before Parliament for 21 sitting days before the legislation comes into force. It states that these treaties will not be covered by section 24. This means that the legislation does not cover treaties that have already been laid under the Ponsonby Rule.
Clause 28: Meaning of “treaty” and “ratification”
194. This clause defines “ratification” and “treaties”. “Treaty” is defined as being an agreement between states (or between states and international organisations) which is binding under international law. Subsection (2) clarifies that certain instruments made under a treaty are not within the definition given in subsection (1). But amendments to a treaty are within the definition of “treaty”.
195. Subsection (3) provides a definition for “ratification” to include those acts that are considered equivalent to ratification (accession, approval or acceptance, or deposit of a notification that domestic procedures have been completed) and which establish as a matter of international law the consent of the United Kingdom to be bound by the treaty.
PART 3: THE HOUSE OF LORDS
Clause 29: Ending of by-elections for hereditary peers
196. Clause 29 removes the provision for by-elections to elect hereditary peers to make up the number of 90 excepted hereditary peers when one of their number dies. Section 2(2) of the House of Lords Act 1999 provides that 90 hereditary peers shall be excepted from the effect of section 1 of that Act, which ended membership of the House by virtue of a hereditary peerage. Section 2(4) provides the mechanism for replacing excepted hereditary peers when they die, so that the number is maintained. Clause 29 replaces section 2(4) so that instead of the number of 90 being fixed, it is reduced by one every time an excepted hereditary peer dies. It also replaces section 2(4) so that there is no longer a mechanism for selecting new hereditary peers for membership of the House. Subsection (2) makes it clear that if a death occurs before the section comes into force, but the necessary by-election has not yet been held, then the by-election will proceed.
Clause 30: Removal of members of the House of Lords etc
197. Subsection (1) identifies the persons to whom the clause applies. It provides that the clause applies to anyone who is an excepted hereditary or a life peer and who either:
(a) meets a condition set out in Part 1 of Schedule 4 (that is, is convicted of a serious criminal offence, is subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking or debt relief restrictions order or undertaking in England and Wales or the corresponding provisions in Scotland or Northern Ireland); or
(b) is the subject of an expulsion resolution of the House; or
(c) has resigned from the House.
198. Subsection (2) provides that a person to whom the clause applies shall cease to be a member of the House of Lords. Any writ of summons issued to that person shall cease to have effect and no further writs shall be issued to that person. A writ of summons is the mechanism by which an eligible peer takes up his or her seat in the House of Lords. It requires the peer to attend the sitting of the Parliament for which it is issued. It cannot be issued to anyone who is not a peer, but may not be withheld from any peer who is eligible to receive one.
199. Subsection (5) provides definitions of the terms used in the clause. In relation to hereditary peers, it defines those to whom the clause applies as those excepted from the effect of the House of Lords Act 1999. Under that Act, the majority of hereditary peers ceased to be members of the House. However, 90 hereditary peers, to be chosen by ballot, together with the Earl Marshal and the person holding the office of Lord Great Chamberlain, were excepted from the effect of the Act and remained members of the House. Subsection (5) therefore provides that for the purposes of this Bill, the term “excepted hereditary peer” applies only to those 92 peers. It defines life peers as both those appointed to the House under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and those appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 (“the 1876 Act”). The latter, commonly known as the Law Lords, are appointed specifically to carry out the judicial business of the House. They are full members of the House even after they retire from judicial business under the statutory retirement provisions for members of the judiciary. The clause confirms that their appointment to the House counts as a peerage for the purposes of the Bill. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the active judicial members will transfer to the new UK Supreme Court and will be disqualified for sitting and voting in the House while they are members of that Court. However, retired judicial members who were appointed under the 1876 Act will continue to sit as members of the House.
200. Subsection (6) provides that peers in certain categories who are temporarily barred from receiving a writ of summons are not, by virtue of that bar, taken outside the provisions of the Bill. Under the Forfeiture Act 1870, anyone convicted of treason is ineligible to receive a writ of summons until he has served his sentence or received a pardon. Under the Insolvency Act 1986, peers who are subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order or a debt relief restrictions order, or corresponding provision in Scotland and Northern Ireland, are disqualified for sitting and voting in the House and from receiving a writ of summons while so disqualified. Under the European Parliament (House of Lords Disqualification) Regulations 2008, a life peer who is elected as a member of the European Parliament is disqualified for sitting and voting in the House and no writ of summons is to be issued to them while so disqualified. A peer who has not received a writ of summons because he is suspended from the House is also not, by virtue of that, taken outside the provisions of the Bill.
Clause 31: Expulsion and suspension of members of the House of Lords
201. Subsection (1) provides that the House may make Standing Orders under which the House may expel or suspend a member. Although the House of Commons has a power to expel or suspend a member, the consistent view of those who have considered the issue in relation to the House of Lords (for example, in the 1955-6 Report on The Powers of the House in Relation to the Attendance of its Members (HL 67), and the 2009 Report on the Powers of the House of Lords in respect of its Members (First Report 2009-10, HL 87)) is that the House of Lords has lost the power permanently to expel members when sitting in a legislative capacity. The 2009 Report also concluded that the House did have the power to suspend a member temporarily, but only within a lifetime of a Parliament. It had no power to suspend a member in such a way that a writ of summons could be withheld from a member at the beginning of a Parliament. The purpose of the clause is therefore to confer a power on the House to expel a member permanently and to impose a period of suspension which would remove entitlement to receive a writ of summons at the beginning of a Parliament.
202. Subsections (2) and (3) define an expulsion resolution and suspension resolution respectively. They make it clear that the resolution must contain a statement that the resolution is passed on the basis of the conduct of the peer in question.
203. Subsection (4) provides that a writ of summons issued to a person subject to a suspension resolution ceases to have effect for the period of the suspension. If a new Parliament is summoned and therefore a new writ would be issued during the course of the suspension, no writ is to be issued until the period of suspension is completed.
204. Subsection (8) provides that an expulsion or suspension resolution can contain provisions other than those mentioned in subsections (2) and (3).
Clause 32: Resignation from House of Lords
205. There is presently no mechanism by which a peer can resign from the House of Lords. The clause sets in place a mechanism for either an excepted hereditary peer or a life peer to resign from the House.
Clause 33: Disclaimer of peerage
206. Subsection (1) provides for a person who has resigned from the House of Lords, or who has been expelled or disqualified for membership, also to disclaim the peerage by virtue of which he or she had been a member of the House.
207. Subsections (2) to (5) set out the procedure which the peer must follow.
208. Subsection (6) provides that where an excepted hereditary peer disclaims, the peer (and his wife) loses all rights, interest, titles, offices, privileges and precedence associated with the peerage (such as the title of Lady for the wife). It will also relieve the peer of all obligations and disabilities arising under it. The most significant effect of this latter provision is that the peer will cease to be disqualified by virtue of the peerage from voting at elections to the House of Commons and being, or being elected as, a member of that House.
209. Subsection (7) makes related provision to subsection (6) in relation to a life peer who disclaims.
Clause 34: Supplementary provision
210. Subsection (1) provides that the proceedings of the House are not invalidated if a peer who is not a member has taken part in the proceedings. For example, if a peer concealed an overseas conviction that means he or she were not a member of the House, his or her participation in proceedings would not affect their validity.
211. Subsection (2) provides that the Bill does not apply to the Lords Spiritual. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester and the 21 next most senior diocesan bishops in the Church of England are ex officio members of the House of Lords. They are not peers. They lose their seats as Lords Spiritual when they leave episcopal office. There are internal discipline mechanisms within the Church of England which apply in similar circumstances to the mechanisms provided for in the Bill concerning Lords Temporal. A Lord Spiritual adjudged to be unfit to hold episcopal office and deprived of that office will automatically lose his seat in the House of Lords.
SCHEDULE 4: CONDITIONS FOR REMOVAL OF MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS ETC
Part 1: Conditions for removal
Condition 1: serious criminal offence
212. Paragraph 1(1) sets out condition 1 for the purposes of clause 30. Condition 1 is met where a person has been convicted of a criminal offence committed after clause 1 comes into force, has been sentenced to be imprisoned or detained for the offence for more than a year or indefinitely, and is so imprisoned or detained, or would be if the person were not unlawfully at large.
213. Paragraph 1(2) provides that condition 1 is met when the person is first imprisoned or detained after conviction in pursuance of the sentence or order or would have been were the person not unlawfully at large.
214. Paragraphs 1(3) and (4) provide that the Bill applies regardless of whether the offence or the subsequent conviction, sentence or imprisonment have occurred in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.
Condition 2: bankruptcy restrictions orders etc
215. Paragraph 2 sets out the conditions under which a person is disqualified by reason of insolvency. These are where a person is subject to either a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking, in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, or a debt relief restrictions order or undertaking in England and Wales.
Part 2: Supplementary provision for section 30(2)
Supplementary provision relating to expected hereditary peers
216. Paragraph 3 provides that if an excepted hereditary peer is removed from the House under the terms of clause 30 of the Bill, or resigns in accordance with clause 32, then he or she ceases to be excepted from the effect of the House of Lords Act 1999. A vacancy in the number of 90 excepted peers is not created. Instead, the number is reduced by one.
Supplementary provision relating to life peers
217. Paragraph 4(2) provides that where a life peer resigns from the House but does not choose to disclaim his or her peerage, that person ceases to be disqualified by virtue of that peerage from voting at elections to the House of Commons or being, or being elected as, a member of that House. The barrier on peers voting, standing or sitting is a common law one and it applies to the peerage, not to membership of the House. Therefore, unless it is removed, a peer outside the House will be unable either to take part in the deliberations of the House or to take part in elections to the House of Commons. An excepted hereditary peer who ceases to be an excepted hereditary peer through resignation from the House will cease to be disqualified by virtue of that peerage from voting at elections to the House of Commons, or being, or being elected as, a member of that House under the terms of the House of Lords Act 1999.
Representation of the People Act 1985
218. Paragraph 5 provides that where a peer who has resigned from or been permanently excluded from the House wishes to be included on the register of electors as an overseas elector, he may qualify to do so on the basis of previous registration as a local government elector. Ability to register as an overseas elector is otherwise dependent on previous inclusion on the register of parliamentary electors, to which a peer is not entitled.
New peerages
219. Under paragraph 6 anyone who has previously been excluded from the House can have a new peerage conferred on them which will entitle them to sit and vote in the House. The fact of having been removed is not itself a reason for a lifetime bar, if the Appointments Commission concludes that the person is, by reason of the passage of time or for other reasons, a fit and proper person to sit in the House. Paragraph 6(4) makes provision for a hereditary peer who inherits the office of Earl Marshal or Lord Great Chamberlain. Under the terms of the 1999 Act, these hereditary office holders are entitled to membership of the House and the provisions on hereditary by-elections do not apply to them.
Part 3: Reversal of effect of section 30(2)
Claims for reversal
220. Paragraph 7(1) provides that a peer who has been disqualified from the House on the grounds of conviction for a criminal offence can seek reinstatement to the House if the conviction is overturned or quashed, or the sentence is reduced so that the condition is no longer met.
221. Under paragraph 7(2) a peer who has been disqualified from the House on the grounds of insolvency can seek reinstatement to the House if the bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking or the debt relief restrictions order or undertaking is annulled.
222. Paragraph 7(3) to (5) provide that it is for the Lord Chancellor to determine whether a claim for reversal is justified and sets out the procedure which must be followed in making that determination.
223. Paragraph 8 provides for the Lord Chancellor’s powers under this Part to be included in paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. This means that they can be transferred to another minister only with the agreement of Parliament.
Convictions outside the United Kingdom
224. Paragraph 9 provides that the House of Lords may resolve that an overseas conviction and sentence does not have the effect of disqualifying the peer.
PART 4: PUBLIC ORDER
Clause 35: Demonstrations etc in the vicinity of Parliament
225. Subsection (1) repeals sections 132 to 138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (“the 2005 Act”) which regulate demonstrations and the use of loudspeakers in a designated area around Parliament. Repeal of sections 132 to 138 of the 2005 Act means that it will no longer be a requirement to give notice of demonstrations in the designated area and there will no longer be an offence for such demonstrations to be held without the authorisation of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. There will no longer be an offence under the 2005 Act for a person to use a loudspeaker in the designated area; the use of loudspeakers will continue to be governed by section 62 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and section 8 of the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993. Repeal of sections 132 to 138 of the 2005 Act also means that there will no longer be a designated area around Parliament as set out in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Designated Area) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1537). Additionally, repeal will restore the applicability of section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 (imposition of conditions on public assemblies) to a public assembly in the vicinity of Parliament.
226. Subsection (2) gives effect to Schedule 5 which inserts new powers on maintaining access to Parliament into Part 2 of the Public Order Act 1986 and makes other consequential amendments.
SCHEDULE 5: AMENDMENT TO PART 2 OF THE PUBLIC ORDER ACT 1986 ETC
227. Schedule 5 amends Part 2 of the Public Order Act 1986 which regulates public processions and assemblies. Paragraph 1 inserts, after section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, a new section 14ZA which provides the police with discretionary powers to impose conditions to maintain access to and from the Palace of Westminster.
Section 14ZA: Access to and from the Palace of Westminster
228. New section 14ZA (1) applies to public processions which are wholly or partly within the area around Parliament or a public assembly which is held or intended to be held within that area.
229. Subsection (2) provides that the senior officer may give directions imposing conditions on those organising or taking part in a procession or assembly, if it is the officer’s reasonable opinion that such conditions are necessary for ensuring that the specified requirements are met in relation to maintaining access to and from the Palace of Westminster. Subsections (3) and (4) provide the Secretary of State with power to make an order specifying the requirements that must be met. These might include requirements as to the number or location of entrances to the Palace of Westminster which must be kept open, and to and from which there must always be an access route for pedestrians and vehicles through the area around Parliament. Subsection (6) provides that such orders would be subject to the negative resolution procedure.
230. Subsections (7) and (8) apply to section 14ZA the same limitations on the conditions that may be imposed on a public procession and a public assembly as exist in sections 12 (1) and 14 (1) of the Public Order Act 1986. Subsections (9) and (10) apply elements from sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act to section 14ZA. These include the definition of the senior police officer, the requirement for a direction given by a chief officer to be in writing and the offences and penalties for failing to comply with a condition imposed.
Section 14ZB: The area around Parliament
231. Paragraph 1 also inserts a new section 14ZB into the Public Order Act 1986. Subsection (1) of that new section provides for the area around Parliament to be specified in an order made by the Secretary of State. Subsection (3) states that no point in the area around Parliament may be more than 250 metres in a straight line from the point nearest to it in Parliament Square. Subsection (4) provides that the order made by statutory instrument will be subject to the negative resolution procedure.
Section 14ZC: Special provision if a House meeting outside Palace of Westminster
232. New section 14ZC mirrors the powers in new sections 14ZA and 14ZB in the event that either or both Houses of Parliament (including committees) are sitting or conducting meetings outside the Palace of Westminster which may happen should, for example, the Palace of Westminster undergo large-scale refurbishment.
233. Subsection (1) provides that the Secretary of State can, by order, specify a building situated outside the Palace of Westminster and specify an area, which can be no further than 250 metres from the specified building.
234. Subsection (3) makes it clear that the special provisions in new section 14ZC apply to public processions or public assemblies held wholly or partly within the specified area. Subsection (4) provides that a senior officer may give directions imposing on persons organising or taking part in a procession or assembly any conditions which in the officer’s reasonable opinion are necessary to ensure that specified requirements are met. Subsection (5) provides that the Secretary of State may, by order, specify the requirements that must be met in order to maintain access to and from the specified building in relation to a week during which the building is used or planned to be used by a House of Parliament. Subsection (7) provides that the requirements may include requirements as to the number or location of entrances to the specified building which must be kept open and to and from which there must be access routes for pedestrians and vehicles through the specified area. Subsection (9) provides that an order made by statutory instrument will be subject to the negative resolution procedure. Subsection (10) applies subsections (7) to (11) of new section 14ZA to new section 14ZC. This applies the various aspects of the Public Order Act regime to this new provision.
235. Paragraph 2 of Schedule 5 is a consequential amendment which removes the reference to section 137(1) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (loudspeakers in designated area) from paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 2 to the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993. Paragraph 3 is a consequential amendment which removes the entries in the Table in section 175(3) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 relating to the penalties in section 136 of that Act. Section 175 contains transitional modifications to penalties for certain offences committed in England and Wales. Paragraph 4 makes a consequential amendment by omitting paragraph 64 of Schedule 6 to the Serious Crime Act 2007, which deals with penalties for inchoate offences committed in relation to offences under section 136 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Paragraph 5 sets out a transitional provision which makes it clear that the new sections will apply to any public assemblies or processions which started or were being planned before the new sections 14ZA to 14ZC came into force.
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