4 Registers of interests for Members,
Members' Secretaries and Research Assistants, Journalists and
All-Party Groups
Introduction
66. The Commissioner's office is responsible
for compiling the four registers of interest required by the House,
which are:
- the Register of Members' Financial
Interests;
- the Register of Interests of Members' Secretaries
and Research Assistants;
- the Register of Journalists; and
- the Register of All-Party Groups.
The registers provide a publicly available record
of the interests which might be thought to influence a Member
in his or her parliamentary capacity, or to influence the actions
of other holders of a parliamentary pass.
67. All four Registers are published electronically
on the parliamentary website. The Members' Register is updated
electronically on the parliamentary website every two weeks while
the House is sitting, and less frequently during recess. The other
three Registers are published every six weeks. Enquirers can also
inspect print-outs of the current edition of each Register, by
appointment, and they can arrange to see earlier editions of the
Registers which do not appear on the parliamentary website.
Register of Members' Financial
Interests
68. The main purpose of this Register is
"to provide information of any financial interest
or other material benefit which a Member receives which might
reasonably be thought by others to influence his or her actions,
speeches or votes in Parliament, or actions taken in his or her
capacity as a Member of Parliament, and such other information
as the House may from time to time require."[23]
69. During 2012-13 my office published 18 online
updates to the Register. The Register is also published in hard
copy once every twelve months, usually in January. The third printed
Register of the 2010 Parliament was published on 18 January 2013.
70. The House has decided that Members should
register changes to their interests within 28 days. We therefore
attach considerable importance to timely and accurate registration.
Late and incomplete registration can result in the House and
the general public lacking relevant information about a Member's
financial interests, and Members are regularly reminded of this.
Since the Electoral Commission draw from the Members' Register
the information which it publishes about donations to Members,
it can also result in inaccuracies and omissions in the information
on the Electoral Commission website.
71. Maintaining the Members' Register involves
checking for completeness the draft entries which Members send
us, which are then formatted and entered in the Register. The
registration team also remove items from the Register when they
are time expired. One-off interests remain in the Register for
twelve months after registration, and continuing interests for
twelve months after the interest has ceased.
72. During the year the registry staff delivered
briefings on registration requirements to four meetings of Members
in party groupings, and to another four seminars for Members'
staff. These briefings were reinforced, when required, by the
circulation of reminders and guidance to Members on topical issues;
and by the individually tailored advice which the Registrar and
her staff provided via e-mail, telephone or in person to individual
Members.
Register of Interests of Members'
Secretaries and Research Assistants
73. Those holding a parliamentary pass as a Member's
secretary or research assistant are required to record their details
in the Register of Interests of Members' Secretaries and Research
Assistants. Such staff are required to register any other occupation
from which they receive income of more than 0.5% of a Member's
salary (£329 until 31 March 2013) in the course of a calendar
year, if that occupation is in any way advantaged by the privileged
access to Parliament afforded by their pass. They also have to
register any tangible gift (e.g. glassware) and any other benefit
(e.g. hospitality, services or facilities provided) which they
receive, if the value of the gift or benefit exceeds that sum
and the gift or benefit relates in any way to their work in Parliament.
74. The number of registered staff on 31 March
2013 was 1857, a slight increase on the 1784 staff who were registered
on 31 March 2012. The number of those staff with registered interests
was 359 on 31 March 2013, again a slight increase on the 352 staff
with registered interests on 31 March 2012. My office published
eight editions of the Staff Register in 2012-13.
RECENT CHANGES TO THE RULES
75. Following security concerns raised by a Member
about the requirement for Members' staff to disclose participation
in the Reserve Forces, the Committee on Standards and Privileges
ruled on 18 December 2012 that the rules should not in future
be interpreted as requiring registration of such participation.
Register of All-Party Groups
76. The membership of All-Party Groups (APGs)
consists mainly of backbench Members of the House of Commons and
Members of the House of Lords but may also include Ministers and
non-parliamentarians. There are two types of groups: subject groups
and country groups.
77. The number of registered groups was 581 on
31 March 2013, of which 134 were country groups (23% of the total)
and 447 were subject groups (77% of the total). This was a slight
increase on the 568 registered groups on 31 March 2012, of which
136 were country groups (24% of the total) and 432 were subject
groups (76% of the total). The number of groups with registered
financial or material benefits was 386 on 31 March 2013, slightly
fewer than the 401 registered with benefits on 31 March 2012.
My office published eight editions of the Groups' Register in
2012-13.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE RULES ON
ALL-PARTY GROUPS
78. In his Report on the financial year 2011-12,
my predecessor said that the Speakers of both Houses had established
a Working Group to review Parliament's arrangements for All-Party
Groups. This Working Group reported in June 2012. In its Report
the Group recommended a number of changes, including:
- the establishment of a panel
of Members from both Houses to advise on possible new Groups;
- the publication of accounts by all those Groups
which receive benefits of more than £3,300 in a calendar
year;
- reducing from £1,500 to £660 (or according
to future registration thresholds in the Members' Register) the
financial thresholds for registering benefits provided to Groups;
- an end to the status of Associate All-Party Group,
which presently allows voting rights to non-parliamentarians;
- increasing the quorum for a Group's meeting from
3 to 5;
- introducing a requirement for Groups to produce
and make available minutes of their meetings;
- a new requirement to elect officers by secret
ballot on any occasion when the election is contested or if any
officer seeks re-election for a third or further term;
- ending the arrangement which allowed Groups to
use the crowned portcullis on their reports, websites and correspondence;
- exploring standard wording for the cover pages
of Groups' reports, in order to minimise the possibility of their
being confused with Select Committee reports;
- introducing a more stringent test of eligibility
before Group staff are given a security pass for the purposes
of their work.
79. In December 2012 the Standards and Privileges
Committee wrote to the Speaker, expressing their agreement with
the Working Group's recommendations on the need for greater transparency
but warning against more stringent monitoring which, in the Committee's
view, and that of the Administration Committee, would run the
risk of appearing to give APGs an official status which they do
not have. The two Committees recommended further fact-finding
in order to establish the impact the Working Group's recommendations
would have on existing Groups. The Standards Committee therefore
launched an inquiry and commissioned a joint electronic survey
in March 2013. At the time of writing the results of the survey
are under consideration. More details about the Committee's inquiry
are available on its web pages.[24]
Register of Journalists' Interests
80. Any individual who holds a pass as a lobby
journalist accredited to the Parliamentary Press Gallery or for
parliamentary broadcasting is required to record in this Register
certain occupations or employment which are advantaged by the
privileged access to Parliament afforded by their pass. The registration
requirement is subject to an income threshold equivalent to more
than 1% of a Member's salary from the same source in the course
of a calendar year (£657 until 31 March 2013).
81. The number of registered journalists on 31
March 2013 was 405, slightly fewer than the 410 registered on
31 March 2012. The number of journalists with registered interests
was 55 on 31 March 2013, again slightly fewer than the 62 who
had registered interests on 31 March 2012. My office published
eight editions of the Journalists' Register in 2012-13.
Complaints relating to the registration
and declaration of interests in the Staff, Journalist and All-Party
Group Registers
82. Complaints alleging that a Member's secretary
or researcher, a parliamentary journalist or an All-Party Group
has breached the rules governing the Registers are in the first
instance considered by the Registrar of Members' Financial Interests.
83. During 2012-13 my office received four complaints
about All-Party Groups. These all related to the remit of one
particular group. None of the complaints was accepted for inquiry
because, under the rules, each Group is free to determine its
own remit. The complaints therefore did not concern a breach of
the rules. We received no complaints about the Registers of Members'
staff or parliamentary journalists.
23 HC Deb 27 March 2008, Cols 382-394 Back
24
http://www.parliament.uk/standards/ Back
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