Annex 1: Proposed new guide to the rules
Introduction
1. The Code of Conduct provides a set of rules to
which Members must adhere.[6]
Some of these rules are supported by more detailed guidance. Those
set out in this Guide relate to the registration and declaration
of interests, and to paid lobbying. The Guide also sets out the
procedure for inquiries by the Parliamentary Commissioner for
Standards.
2. The Guide to the Rules and amendments to it are
approved by means of Resolutions of the House of Commons. This
Guide therefore carries the authority of the House. The House
has agreed that its previous resolutions in relation to the conduct
of Members shall be read and given effect in a way which is compatible
with the Code of Conduct and this Guide to the Rules relating
to the conduct of Members.[7]
3. The Guide is structured as follows:
- Chapter 1 of the Guide explains the requirements
in relation to the registration of Members' financial interests;
- Chapter 2 explains the requirements in relation
to the declaration of interests in proceedings of the House and
on other occasions;
- Chapter 3 sets out the restrictions on Members
engaging in lobbying for reward or consideration;
- Chapter 4 provides an outline of the Commissioner's
remit, and sets out the procedures in relation to the Commissioner's
inquiries.
REGISTRATION AND DECLARATION OF FINANCIAL
INTERESTS (CHAPTERS 1 AND 2)
4. Paragraph 13 of the Code of Conduct provides:
13. Members shall fulfil conscientiously the
requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests
in the Register of Members' Financial Interests. They shall always
be open and frank in drawing attention to any relevant interest
in any proceeding of the House or its Committees, and in any communications
with Ministers, Members, public officials or public office holders.[8]
5. The overall aim of both registration and declaration
is to provide information about any financial interest which might
reasonably be thought by others to influence a Member's actions,
speeches or votes in Parliament, or actions taken in his or her
capacity as a Member of Parliament.[9]
Financial interests include material benefits and payments in
kind.[10] Each Member
is responsible for making a full disclosure of such interests,
which is achieved by registering and declaring them in accordance
with the requirements of the House. The aim of this is openness.
Neither registration nor declaration imply any wrongdoing.
6. Registration requires Members to place information
about relevant financial interests in the Register of Members'
Financial Interests, thus making it available to the public on
a continuing basis. In addition, some of the information required
for the Register reflects the requirements of the Political Parties,
Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), as amended. The Electoral
Commission extracts the information which it needs from the published
Register, or, where the publication timescale of the Register
does not permit this, by accessing from the office of the Parliamentary
Commissioner for Standards the relevant information provided by
Members.
7. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is
responsible for preparing the Register, which is published electronically
under the authority of the Committee on Standards. A printed version
is also produced under the Committee's authority soon after the
beginning of each new Parliament and approximately annually thereafter.
Entries remain in the Register for twelve months, or until they
have appeared in one printed Register, if that is later.
8. The Guide sets out the categories in which Members
are required to register their financial interests and the information
to be provided. These categories are summarised below, together
with the financial thresholds which apply. When considering registration,
Members are also required to keep in mind the overall purpose
of the Register.[11]
If a Member has any financial interests which meet that purpose
but which do not fall clearly into one of the defined categories,
he or she is nonetheless required to register them, normally under
the Miscellaneous category.
| Category
| Financial threshold for registration
|
| 1. Employment and earnings
| Over £100 for individual payments.
Over £300 for the total of multiple payments of whatever size from the same source in a calendar year
|
| 2. Donations and other support
| Over £1,500, either as individual payment, or for the total of multiple donations of more than £500 from the same source in the course of a calendar year
|
| 3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources
| Over £300 for the total of benefits of whatever size from the same source in a calendar year
|
| 4. Visits outside the UK
| Over £300 if not wholly borne by Member or public funds
Threshold also applies to the total of benefits of whatever size from the same source in a calendar year
|
| 5. Gifts and benefits from sources outside the UK
| Over £300 for the total of benefits of whatever size from the same source in a calendar year
|
| 6. Land and property in the UK and elsewhere
| Total value of property held: over £100,000 Income derived from property: over £10,000 in a calendar year
|
| 7. Shareholdings | Greater than 15% of issued share capital (on preceding 5 April), or if 15% or less of issued share capital (on preceding 5 April), greater in value than £70,000
|
| 8. Miscellaneous | No threshold.
|
| 9. Family members employed and remunerated through parliamentary expenses
| Remuneration of over £700 in a calendar year
|
| 10. Family members engaged in lobbying
| No threshold. |
9. The requirement for the declaration of interests,
set out in Chapter 2, applies in almost every aspect of a Member's
activities, in the Chamber, in Committee and in their contacts
with others, including Ministers, other Members, public officials
and public office holders. It covers, as well as registrable interests,
other financial interests which meet the test of relevance but
which do not require registration, including past interests and
expected future interests, and the indirect financial interests
of a spouse, partner or family member. Members may also declare
non-financial interests if they consider these meet the same test
of relevance. The test is whether those interests might reasonably
be thought by others to influence his or her actions or words
as a Member.
10. Members are not required to register or declare
benefits available to all Members, such as their parliamentary
salaries, or expenses met from parliamentary sources, or from
a scheme for parliamentary expenses. Nor are they required to
register or declare benefits provided by their own political party,
except as required under registration Category 2: Donations and
other support for activities as a Member of Parliament.
LOBBYING FOR REWARD OR CONSIDERATION
(CHAPTER 3)
11. Paragraph 11 of the Code of Conduct provides:
11. No Member shall act as a paid advocate in
any proceeding of the House.[12]
12. A Member may, however, still hold a remunerated
outside interest as a director, consultant or adviser or in any
other capacity. Members who receive such financial benefits may
take part in parliamentary proceedings or in meetings and discussions
with Ministers, other Members and public officials which could
affect that interest, provided they do so in accordance with the
provisions set out in Chapter 3 of this Guide. But such Members
must not initiate proceedings or meetings which would provide
a financial or material benefit to any organisation or individual
from whom they have received, are receiving or expect to receive
reward or consideration.
PROCEDURE FOR INQUIRIES (CHAPTER
4)
13. Paragraphs 17 and 18 of the Code of Conduct provide:
17. The application of this Code shall be a matter
for the House of Commons, and particularly for the Committee on
Standards and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards acting
in accordance with Standing Orders Nos 149 and 150 respectively.
18. The Commissioner may investigate a specific
matter relating to a Member's adherence to the rules of conduct
under the Code. Members shall cooperate, at all stages, with any
such investigation by or under the authority of the House. No
Member shall lobby a member of the Committee in a manner calculated
or intended to influence its consideration of an alleged breach
of this Code.[13]
14. Allegations about failure to register or declare
a relevant interest in accordance with the rules of the House,
failure to abide by the rules on lobbying for reward or consideration,
or any other alleged failure to meet the rules set out in the
Code of Conduct are considered by the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards who reports to the Committee on Standards.
15. Complaints about the misuse of the scheme for
parliamentary expenses since May 2010 are a matter for the Independent
Parliamentary Standards Authority. However, if the Independent
Parliamentary Standards Authority or its Compliance Officer consider
that a Member's conduct justifies it, they shall refer that Member,
with the relevant evidence, to the Commissioner for him or her
to decide whether to inquire into a potential breach of the Code
of Conduct and its associated rules.
MINISTERS OF THE CROWN
16. Ministers of the Crown who are Members of the
House of Commons are subject to the rules on registration and
declaration of interests in the same way as all other Members
(although Ministerial office is not registrable and salaried Ministers
may still speak in support of Government policies without breaching
the restrictions on lobbying for reward or consideration). Members
are not required to register either Ministerial office or benefits
received in their capacity as a Minister. But Ministers are subject
to the further guidelines and requirements laid down by successive
Prime Ministers in the Ministerial Code, available from the Cabinet
Office. These are not enforced by the House of Commons and so
are beyond the scope of this Guide.
SOURCES OF ADVICE
17. No written guidance can provide for all circumstances,
and the references in this Guide should not be regarded as exhaustive.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards ("the Commissioner")
and the Registrar of Members' Financial Interests ("the Registrar")
are available to give advice, as is the Electoral Commission as
regards the permissibility of donations, and the requirements
of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA).[14]
COMMENCEMENT
18. The provisions of this Guide apply to all actions,
by or required of the Member from the commencement date or dates
of the Guide agreed by the House. Actions undertaken by or requirements
of Members before that commencement date or dates are governed
by the previous version of the Guide in force at the material
time.
6 Members are personally responsible for their adherence
to the Code including when breaches may have been caused by the
actions of a member of staff Back
7
This is subject to the House's agreement when considering any
motion in these terms. Back
8
The Code of Conduct together with the Guide to the rules
relating to the conduct of Members 2012, HC 1885 Back
9
This reflects the recommendations in the First Report of the Select
Committee on Members' Interests, Session 1991-92, Registration
and Declaration of Financial Interests, HC 236, paragraph
72 Back
10
The terms "financial interests" should be read in this
way throughout this Guide. Back
11
The purpose of the Register is set out as paragraph 5 above. Back
12
The Code of Conduct together with the Guide to the rules
relating to the conduct of Members 2012, HC 1885 Back
13
Ibid. Back
14
Please contact the Electoral Commission on 020 7271 0616 Back
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