House of Commons Public Bill Committee Proceedings

House of Commons

Session 2009 - 10
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Other Bills before Parliament

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 1 February 2010
160

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

550

to have effect as if contained in a scheme under that paragraph.

      (5)
If it does so a scheme under paragraph 7 may—

(a)
revoke the provision;

(b)
amend it so that it makes provision which may be contained in a

scheme under that paragraph (but not otherwise amend it).
555
      (6)
The order may provide for any provision of the existing regulations which—

(a)
relates to service to which paragraph 11 applies, but

(b)
could not be contained in a scheme under that paragraph,


to have effect as if contained in a scheme under that paragraph.

      (7)
If it does so a scheme under paragraph 11 may—
560
(a)
revoke the provision;

(b)
amend it so that it makes provision which may be contained in a

scheme under that paragraph (but not otherwise amend it).

      (8)
“The existing regulations” means regulations under section 2 of the

Parliamentary and other Pensions Act 1987.
565
Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 (c. 5)

40
Omit section 6.

Pensions Act 2004 (c. 35)

41
In section 249A(3)(c) (schemes to which section 249A does not apply) for

“section 2 of the Parliamentary and other Pensions Act 1987 (c. 45)” substitute
570
“paragraph 3, 7 or 11 of Schedule [Parliamentary and other pensions] to the

Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010”.

Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 (c. 13)

42  (1)
In section 5(9) (MPs’ allowances scheme does not affect pensions) for “the

Parliamentary and other Pensions Act 1987 (c. 45)” substitute “Schedule
575
[Parliamentary and other pensions] to the Constitutional Reform and

Governance Act 2010”.

      (2)
In paragraph 18 of Schedule 1 (IPSA’s administration and regulation

functions), after sub-paragraph (2) insert—

  “(3)
The IPSA’s functions under the following provisions are also
580
regulation functions—

(a)
sections 3, 4 and 6 of the European Parliament (Pay and

Pensions) Act 1979 (but not any function relating to the

administration of a scheme under section 3 or 4);

(b)
paragraphs 1, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 10 of Schedule [Parliamentary
585
and other pensions] to the Constitutional Reform and

Governance Act 2010 (but not any function relating to the

administration of a scheme under paragraph 3 or 7).”.’.

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 1 February 2010
161

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

Not moved  (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

Added  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 Proceedings: 1 February 2010
162

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

Added  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 Proceedings: 1 February 2010
163

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

Not called  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 Proceedings: 1 February 2010
164

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

Not called  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.’.

Deemed resignation and suspension on grounds of tax status

David Howarth

Mr David Heath

Chris Huhne

Not called  NC54

To move the following Clause:—

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 1 February 2010
165

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

‘(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

Not called  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

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

Committee of the whole House Proceedings: 1 February 2010
166

Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, continued

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.’.

Progress reported.



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