Twelfth Report Contents

Twelfth Report

Instruments of interest

Draft European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2017

Draft European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2017

1.The next poll for the European Parliament is expected to be held in May/June 2019, and the UK is not expected to be taking part. However, as long as the UK remains a member of the EU, we are obliged to return Members to the European Parliament and to fill any MEP vacancies that may arise. Seats in each of the nine electoral regions are allocated to parties in proportion to the number of votes they receive using the D’Hondt formula and assigned according to the order in which the candidates appear on each party’s list. Under the current procedure any vacant seat is filled by the next (unelected) candidate on the list of the party of the departing MEP.1 These Regulations propose amendments so that where the list used at the previous European Parliamentary election is exhausted, the party that holds the seat may instead nominate a person to be the new MEP. Only where the departing MEP is an independent or no nomination is received within 28 days will a by-election be held. This approach is modelled on the practice already in place in Northern Ireland for filling MEP vacancies. The Explanatory Memorandum states that this proposal is justified by the significant financial costs of holding a by-election and concerns that the turnout at such a poll could be low due to the imminence of Brexit. (UK law already provides that if a MEP vacancy occurs less than six months before the next general European Parliamentary election the seat remains vacant until that poll. That position will be maintained.)

Draft Transparency of Donations and Loans etc. (Northern Ireland Political Parties) Order 2018

2.This Order will provide for the full publication of information relating to political donations and loans received by Northern Ireland political parties and regulated donees on or after 1 July 2017. This was agreed with all parties during consultation2 and announced by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 3 July 2017.3 These provisions are in line with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, which requires the details of donations above certain thresholds received by political parties to be reported to the Electoral Commission, which then publishes information relating to those donations. This regulatory system was not immediately introduced to Northern Ireland because of concerns over intimidation. The subsequent Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provided for limited publication of information on donations but excluded “protected information” which is defined in section 15B as meaning information (a) which relates to a donation received before 1 January 2014, and (b) from which it is possible to identify the donor. Although information on individual donations received prior to 1 July 2017 will not be published, the aggregation provisions set out in the Order do take donations made before 1 July 2017 into account, for example, when calculating whether the publication threshold has been reached.

Air Navigation (Amendment) Order 2017 (SI 2017/1112)

3.The main effect of this Order is to increase significantly the fines for aircraft that fail to make two-way communication with Air Traffic Control. The current maximum fine available for the offence is £2,500, this Order changes the level of penalty to allow for unlimited fines in England and Wales, and a maximum of £5,000 in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The change aims to deter the disruptive intrusion of aircraft with their flight communication system turned off or otherwise inoperable. The Department for Transport states that there are over 100 cases each year in UK airspace, which, post 9/11, cause considerable security concerns. While a majority of these cases are resolved before aircraft enter UK airspace, they can on occasion require expensive military interceptions that could be potentially lethal. The Civil Aviation Authority wishes to have proportionate enforcement action available for the occasions where it prosecutes a particularly egregious offence. This Order also makes minor corrections and consequential changes to enable the UK to enforce the European Aviation Safety Agency Air Operations Regulations fully. In particular it introduces new offences under the section on ‘special operations’ (e.g. aerial photography, surveys, pipe line inspection, parachuting). The Order applies to UK registered aircraft wherever they may be, and to non-UK aircraft within UK airspace.

Police (Conduct, Complaints and Misconduct and Appeal Tribunal) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1134)

Police Barred List and Police Advisory List Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/1135)

4.Currently, where a complaint or allegation of gross misconduct comes to light after an officer has left the police force, it cannot lead to disciplinary proceedings. These Regulations will allow complaints or allegations made against a person who has ceased to serve with the police to be investigated and, where appropriate, for former police officers to be held to account where they have a case to answer for gross misconduct. This instrument applies the regime to both former police constables and former special constables. These Regulations address concerns that the previous arrangements, which prevented officers under investigation from resigning or retiring until the investigation was completed, had the side effect of retaining those officers on, often lengthy, suspension at public expense. These new Regulations mean that a police officer cannot now evade responsibility by retiring and they are supported by revised barring arrangements which prevent former officers found guilty of misconduct from working for any police force or other specified law enforcement bodies. It should be noted, however, that this disciplinary regime only applies to conduct while the police officer was still serving.


1 Set out in the European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/293).

2 Responses to Secretary of State on Donations and Loans: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/625637/Responses_to_SoS__on_Donations___Loans.pdf [accessed 29 November 2017]

3 HC Deb, 3 July 2017, col 900




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