Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41)

(The document as of February, 2008)

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(b) which by virtue of section 90A(1) below fall to be regarded as election expenses by reason of the property, services or facilities in respect of which they were incurred being used for the purposes of the candidate's election.

(2) The candidate's election agent shall make a declaration of the amount (determined in accordance with section 90B below) of any election expenses falling within subsection (1) above.

(3) In this section "for the purposes of the candidate's election" has the same meaning as in sections 90A to 90C below. "

6 (1) Section 78 (time for sending in and paying claims) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In subsections (1) and (2) for "within" wherever it occurs there shall be substituted "not later than".

Returns of election expenses

7 (1) Section 81 (return as to election expenses) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (1) for the words from "in the form" onwards there shall be substituted " containing as respects that candidate--

(a) a statement of all election expenses incurred by or on behalf of the candidate; and

(b) a statement of all payments made by the election agent together with all bills or receipts relating to the payments. "

(3) For subsection (2) there shall be substituted--

" (2) A return under this section must--

(a) specify the poll by virtue of which the return is required;

(b) specify the name of the candidate to whom the return relates and of the candidate's election agent; and

(c) deal under a separate heading with any expenses in respect of which a return is required by virtue of section 75(2) above. "

(4) In subsection (3)--

(a) for paragraph (a) there shall be substituted--

" (a) a statement of all payments made--

(i) by the candidate in accordance with section 74(1) or (1B) above, or

(ii) by any other person in accordance with section 74(3) above,

together with all bills or receipts relating to any such payments made in accordance with section 74(1B) or 74(3); " , and

(b) for paragraph (d) there shall be substituted--

" (d) any declarations of value falling to be made by the candidate's election agent by virtue of section 74A(2) above or 90C(2) below;

(da) a declaration of the amount of expenses which are to be regarded as election expenses incurred by or on behalf of the candidate by virtue of section 90A(5)(b) below;

(e) a statement of donations made to the candidate or his election agent which complies with the requirements of paragraphs 11 and 12 of Schedule 2A to this Act; and

(f) a statement of the amount, if any, of money provided by the candidate from his own resources for the purpose of meeting election expenses incurred by him or on his behalf. "

(5) Subsection (4) shall be omitted.

(6) In subsection (7), the words from "; and" onwards shall be omitted.

(7) After subsection (10) there shall be inserted--

" (10A) The Electoral Commission may, by regulations, prescribe a form of return which may be used for the purposes of making any (or any description of) return required by this section. "

(8) Subsection (11) shall be omitted.

8 Section 82(4) (person before whom declaration as to elections expenses may be made) shall be omitted.

9 After section 87 there shall be inserted--

" 87A Duty of appropriate officer to forward returns and declarations to Electoral Commission

(1) Where the appropriate officer receives any return or declaration under section 75, 81 or 82 above in respect of --

(a) a parliamentary election, or

(b) an election of the Mayor of London,

he shall as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving the return or declaration deliver a copy of it to the Electoral Commission and, if so requested by the Commission, he shall also deliver to them a copy of any accompanying documents.

(2) Where the appropriate officer receives any return or declaration under section 75, 81 or 82 in respect of any election other than one mentioned in subsection (1) above, he shall, if so requested by the Electoral Commission, deliver to them a copy of the return and any accompanying documents. "

10 For section 89(1) (inspection of returns and declarations) there shall be substituted--

" (1) Where the appropriate officer receives any return or declaration under section 75, 81 or 82 above he shall--

(a) as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving the return or declaration make a copy of it, and any accompanying documents, available for public inspection at his office, or some other convenient place chosen by him, for a period of two years beginning with the date when the return is received by him;

(b) if requested to do so by any person, and on payment of the prescribed fee, supply that person with a copy of the return or declaration and any accompanying documents.

(1A) If any such return contains a statement of donations in accordance with section 81(3)(e) above, the appropriate officer shall secure that the copy of the statement made available for public inspection under subsection (1)(a) above or (as the case may be) supplied under subsection (1)(b) above does not include, in the case of any donation by an individual, the donor's address. "

11 In section 90 (election expenses at elections where election agent not required)--

(a) in subsection (1)(a), for "section 76(1) above has" there shall be substituted "section 76(1B) above and sections 90A(5) and 90C below have";

(b) in subsection (1)(b), for "sections 72 to 75 and 78 to 89 above" there shall be substituted "sections 71A to 75 and 78 to 89 above, and Schedule 2A to this Act,";

" (c) section 76A(2) has effect as if it referred, in substitution for the provisions set out in paragraphs (a) to (c) of that subsection, to paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 to this Act. " ; and

(d) in subsection (2) for "sections 72 to 89" there shall be substituted "sections 71A to 89".

Conveyance of voters to and from the poll

12 Sections 101 to 105 (conveyance of voters to and from the polls) shall be omitted.

Illegal practices, payments, employments and hirings

13 Section 108 (premises not to be used as committee rooms) shall be omitted.

14 For section 110 there shall be substituted--

" 110 Details to appear on election publications

(1) This section applies to any material which can reasonably be regarded as intended to promote or procure the election of a candidate at an election (whether or not it can be so regarded as intended to achieve any other purpose as well).

(2) No material to which this section applies shall be published unless--

(a) in the case of material which is, or is contained in, such a document as is mentioned in subsection (4), (5) or (6) below, the requirements of that subsection are complied with; or

(b) in the case of any other material, any requirements falling to be complied with in relation to the material by virtue of regulations under subsection (7) below are complied with.

(3) For the purposes of subsections (4) to (6) below the following details are "the relevant details" in the case of any material falling within subsection (2)(a) above, namely--

(a) the name and address of the printer of the document;

(b) the name and address of the promoter of the material; and

(4) Where the material is a document consisting (or consisting principally) of a single side of printed matter, the relevant details must appear on the face of the document.

(5) Where the material is a printed document other than one to which subsection (4) above applies, the relevant details must appear either on the first or the last page of the document.

(6) Where the material is an advertisement contained in a newspaper or periodical--

(a) the name and address of the printer of the newspaper or periodical must appear either on its first or last page; and

(b) the relevant details specified in subsection (3)(b) and (c) above must be included in the advertisement.

(7) The Secretary of State may, after consulting the Electoral Commission, by regulations make provision for and in connection with the imposition of requirements as to the inclusion in material falling within subsection (2)(b) above of the following details, namely--

(a) the name and address of the promoter of the material; and

(b) the name and address of any person on behalf of whom the material is being published (and who is not the promoter).

(8) Regulations under subsection (7) above may in particular specify--

(a) the manner and form in which such details must be included in any such material for the purpose of complying with any such requirement;

(b) circumstances in which--

(i) any such requirement does not have to be complied with by a person of any description specified in the regulations, or

(ii) a breach of any such requirement by a person of any description so specified is not to result in the commission of an offence under this section by that person or by a person of any other such description;

(c) circumstances in which material is, or is not, to be taken for the purposes of the regulations to be published or (as the case may be) published by a person of any description so specified.

(9) Where any material falling within subsection (2)(a) above is published in contravention of subsection (2), then (subject to subsections (11) and (12) below)--

(a) the promoter of the material,

(b) any other person by whom the material is so published, and

shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(10) Where any material falling within subsection (2)(b) above is published in contravention of subsection (2), then (subject to regulations made by virtue of subsection (8)(b) above and to subsections (11) and (12) below)--

(a) the promoter of the material, and

(b) any other person by whom the material is so published,

shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(11) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove--

(a) that the contravention of subsection (2) above arose from circumstances beyond his control; and

(b) that he took all reasonable steps, and exercised all due diligence, to ensure that that contravention would not arise.

(12) Where a candidate or his election agent would (apart from this subsection) be guilty of an offence under subsection (9) or (10) above, he shall instead be guilty of an illegal practice.

(13) In this section--

"print" means print by whatever means, and "printer" shall be construed accordingly;
"the promoter", in relation to any material to which this section applies, means the person causing the material to be published;
"publish" means make available to the public at large, or any section of the public, in whatever form and by whatever means.

(14) For the purpose of determining whether any material is material such as is mentioned in subsection (1) above, it is immaterial that it does not expressly mention the name of any candidate. "

Election expenses

15 In section 118 (interpretation of Part II)--

(a) for the definition of "election expenses" there shall be substituted--

" "election expenses", in relation to an election, shall be construed in accordance with sections 90A to 90D above; " , and

(b) in the definition of "money", for "sections 113 and 114 above" there shall be substituted "sections 71A, 113 and 114 above and Schedule 2A to this Act".

16 In Schedule 3--

(a) the form of return, and

(b) in the form of declarations--

(i) in paragraph 3, the words "in relation to my [the candidate's] personal expenses", and

(ii) paragraph 4,

shall be omitted.

17 In Schedule 4 (election expenses in connection with certain local elections), in paragraph 3, for "and receipts" there shall be substituted "or by receipts".

Jurisdiction and procedure

18 (1) The following provisions shall be omitted--

(a) section 78(6);

(b) section 79(3);

(d) section 106(8);

(e) section 122(8);

(f) section 167(4); and

(g) section 174(6).

(2) For section 78(7) there shall be substituted--

" (7) Article 60 of the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (appeals from county courts) shall apply in relation to any order of a county court in Northern Ireland made by virtue of subsection (4) above as it applies in relation to any such decree of a county court as is mentioned in paragraph (1) of that Article. "

(3) For section 86(10) and (11) there shall be substituted--

" (10) Article 60 of the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (appeals from county courts) shall apply in relation to any order of a county court in Northern Ireland made by virtue of this section as it applies in relation to any such decree of a county court as is mentioned in paragraph (1) of that Article. "

(4) For section 106(9) there shall be substituted--

" (9) Article 60 of the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (appeals from county courts) shall apply in relation to any order of a county court in Northern Ireland made by virtue of subsection (3) above as it applies in relation to any such decree of a county court as is mentioned in paragraph (1) of that Article. "

(5) For section 167(5) there shall be substituted--

" (5) Article 60 of the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980 (appeals from county courts) shall apply in relation to any order of a county court in Northern Ireland made by virtue of this section as it applies in relation to any such decree of a county court as is mentioned in paragraph (1) of that Article. "

References to documents used in legal proceedings

19 (1) In section 69 (office of election agent and sub-agent)--

(a) in subsection (1), for "writs, summonses and" substitute "legal process and other"; and

(b) in subsection (3), for "writ, summons or" substitute "legal process or other".

(2) In section 85(4) (penalty for sitting or voting where no return and declarations transmitted), for--

(a) "the writ or other process" (in both places), and

(b) "a writ or other process",

substitute "legal process".

(3) In section 121(5) (presentation and service of parliamentary election petition), for the words from "as nearly" to "such other" substitute "in such".

(4) In section 136(2) (security for costs), in paragraphs (a) and (b), for "on summons, directs" substitute "directs on an application made by the petitioner".

(5) In section 184(1) (service of notices), for "summons, notice or" substitute "notice, legal process or other".

(6) In section 202(1) (general provisions as to interpretation), after the definition of "legal incapacity" insert--

" "legal process" means a claim form, application notice, writ, summons or other process; " .

(7) In Schedule 4 (election expenses at certain local elections in England and Wales), in paragraph 4(3) (penalty for sitting or voting where no return and declarations transmitted), for "a writ or other process" substitute "legal process".

Section 139.

SCHEDULE 19 Control of political donations by companies: new Part XA of Companies Act 1985

" Part XA Control of political donations

347A Introductory provisions

(1) This Part has effect for controlling--

(a) contributions and other donations made by companies to registered parties and other EU political organisations; and

(b) EU political expenditure incurred by companies.

(2) The following provisions have effect for the purposes of this Part, but subsections (4) and (7) have effect subject to section 347B.

(3) "Director" includes shadow director.

(4) "Donation", in relation to an organisation, means anything that would constitute a donation for the purposes of Part IV of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 in accordance with sections 50 to 52 of that Act (references in those sections to a registered party being read as applying equally to an organisation which is not such a party); and--

(a) subsections (3) to (8) of section 50 of that Act shall apply, with any necessary modifications, for the purpose of determining whether something is a donation to an organisation for the purposes of this Part as they apply for the purpose of determining whether something is a donation to a registered party for the purposes of Part IV of that Act; and

(b) section 53 of that Act shall similarly apply for the purpose of determining, for the purposes of this Part, the value of any donation.

(5) "EU political expenditure", in relation to a company, means any expenditure incurred by the company--

(a) in respect of the preparation, publication or dissemination of any advertising or any other promotional or publicity material--

(i) of whatever nature, and

(ii) however published or otherwise disseminated,

which, at the time of publication or dissemination, is capable of being reasonably regarded as intended to affect public support for any EU political organisation, or

(b) in respect of any activities on the part of the company such as are mentioned in subsection (7)(b) or (c).

(6) "EU political organisation" means--

(a) a registered party; or

(b) any other organisation to which subsection (7) applies.

(7) This subsection applies to an organisation if--

(a) it is a political party which carries on, or proposes to carry on, activities for the purpose of or in connection with the participation of the party in any election or elections to public office held in a member State other than the United Kingdom;

(b) it carries on, or proposes to carry on, activities which are capable of being reasonably regarded as intended to affect public support for--

(i) any registered party,

(ii) any other political party within paragraph (a), or

(iii) independent candidates at any election or elections of the kind mentioned in that paragraph; or

(c) it carries on, or proposes to carry on, activities which are capable of being reasonably regarded as intended to influence voters in relation to any national or regional referendum held under the law of any member State.

(8) "Organisation" includes any body corporate and any combination of persons or other unincorporated association.

(9) "Registered party" means a party registered under Part II of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

(10) "The relevant time", in relation to any donation or expenditure made or incurred by a company or subsidiary undertaking, means--

(a) the time when the donation or expenditure is made or incurred; or

(b) if earlier, the time when any contract is entered into by the company or undertaking in pursuance of which the donation or expenditure is made or incurred.

(11) "Subsidiary undertaking" has the same meaning as in Part VII.

347B Exemptions

(1) Section 347A(4) does not extend to a subscription paid to an EU trade association for membership of the association, and accordingly such a payment is not a donation to the association for the purposes of this Part.

(2) In subsection (1)--

"EU trade association" means any organisation formed for the purpose of furthering the trade interests--
(a)
of its members, or
(b)
of persons represented by its members,

which carries on its activities wholly or mainly in one or more of the member States;
"subscription", in relation to a trade association, does not include any payment to the association to the extent that it is made for the purpose of financing any particular activity of the association.

(3) Section 347A(7) does not apply to any all-party parliamentary group composed of members of one or both of the Houses of Parliament (or of such members and other persons), and accordingly any such group is not an EU political organisation for the purposes of this Part.

(4) For the purposes of this Part--

(a) a company does not need to be authorised as mentioned in section 347C(1) or section 347D(2) or (3), and

(b) a subsidiary undertaking does not need to be authorised as mentioned in section 347E(2),

in connection with any donation or donations to any EU political organisation or organisations made in a particular qualifying period, except to the extent (if any) that the amount or aggregate amount of any such donation or donations made in that period exceeds £5,000.

(5) The restrictions imposed by sections 347C(1), 347D(2) and (3) and 347E(2) accordingly have effect subject to subsection (4); and, where a resolution is passed for the purposes of any of those provisions, any amount of donations in relation to which, by virtue of subsection (4), no authorisation is needed shall accordingly not count towards the sum specified in the resolution.

(6) In subsection (4) "qualifying period" means--

(a) the period of 12 months beginning with the relevant date for the company or (in the case of a subsidiary undertaking) the parent company; and

(b) each succeeding period of twelve months.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (6) the relevant date for a company is--

(a) if an annual general meeting of the company is held within the period of 12 months beginning with the date of the coming into force of this section, the date of that meeting; and

(b) otherwise, the date immediately following the end of that period.

(8) For the purposes of this Part--

(a) a company does not need to be authorised as mentioned in section 347C(1) or section 347D(2) or (3), and

(b) a subsidiary undertaking does not need to be authorised as mentioned in section 347E(2),

in connection with any EU political expenditure in relation to which an exemption is conferred on the company or (as the case may be) subsidiary undertaking by virtue of an order made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument.

(9) The restrictions imposed by sections 347C(1), 347D(2) and (3) and 347E(2) accordingly have effect subject to subsection (8); and, where a resolution is passed for the purposes of any of those provisions, any amount of EU political expenditure in relation to which, by virtue of subsection (8), no authorisation is needed shall accordingly not count towards the sum specified in the resolution.

(10) An order under subsection (8) may confer an exemption for the purposes of that subsection in relation to--

(a) companies or subsidiary undertakings of any description or category specified in the order, or

(b) expenditure of any description or category so specified (whether framed by reference to goods, services or other matters in respect of which such expenditure is incurred or otherwise),

or both.

(11) An order shall not be made under subsection (8) unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing the order has been laid before and approved by each House of Parliament.

347C Prohibition on donations and political expenditure by companies

(1) A company must not--

(a) make any donation to any registered party or to any other EU political organisation, or

(b) incur any EU political expenditure,

unless the donation or expenditure is authorised by virtue of an approval resolution passed by the company in general meeting before the relevant time.

This subsection has effect subject to section 347D(3).

(2) For the purposes of this section an approval resolution is a qualifying resolution which authorises the company to do either (or both) of the following, namely--

(a) make donations to EU political organisations not exceeding in total a sum specified in the resolution, or

(b) incur EU political expenditure not exceeding in total a sum so specified,

during the requisite period beginning with the date of the resolution.

(3) In subsection (2)--

(a) "qualifying resolution" means an ordinary resolution or, if the directors so determine or the articles so require--

(i) a special resolution, or

(ii) a resolution passed by any percentage of the members greater than that required for an ordinary resolution;

(b) "the requisite period" means four years or such shorter period as the directors may determine or the articles may require;

and the directors may make a determination for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) above except where any provision of the articles operates to prevent them from doing so.

(4) The resolution must be expressed in general terms conforming with subsection (2), and accordingly may not purport to authorise particular donations or expenditure.

(5) Where a company makes any donation or incurs any expenditure in contravention of subsection (1), no ratification or other approval made or given by the company or its members after the relevant time is capable of operating to nullify that contravention.

(6) Nothing in this section enables a company to be authorised to do anything that it could not lawfully do apart from this section.

347D Special rules for subsidiaries

(1) This section applies where a company is a subsidiary of another company ("the holding company").

(2) Where the subsidiary is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of the holding company--

(a) it must not make any donation or incur any expenditure to which subsection (1) of section 347C applies unless the donation or expenditure is authorised by virtue of a subsidiary approval resolution passed by the holding company in general meeting before the relevant time; and

(b) this requirement applies in addition to that imposed by that subsection.

(3) Where the subsidiary is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the holding company--

(b) this requirement applies in place of that imposed by that subsection.

(4) For the purposes of this section a subsidiary approval resolution is a qualifying resolution of the holding company which authorises the subsidiary to do either (or both) of the following, namely--

(a) make donations to EU political organisations not exceeding in total a sum specified in the resolution, or

(b) incur EU political expenditure not exceeding in total a sum so specified,

during the requisite period beginning with the date of the resolution.

(5) Subsection (3) of section 347C shall apply for the purposes of subsection (4) above as it applies for the purposes of subsection (2) of that section.

(6) The resolution must be expressed in general terms conforming with subsection (4), and accordingly may not purport to authorise particular donations or expenditure.

(7) The resolution may not relate to donations or expenditure by more than one subsidiary.

(8) Where a subsidiary makes any donation or incurs any expenditure in contravention of subsection (2) or (3), no ratification or other approval made or given by the holding company or its members after the relevant time is capable of operating to nullify that contravention.

(9) Nothing in this section enables a company to be authorised to do anything that it could not lawfully do apart from this section.

347E Special rule for parent company of non-GB subsidiary undertaking

(1) This section applies where a company ("the parent company") has a subsidiary undertaking which is incorporated or otherwise established outside Great Britain.

(2) The parent company shall take all such steps as are reasonably open to it to secure that the subsidiary undertaking does not make any donation or incur any expenditure to which subsection (1) of section 347C applies except to the extent that the donation or expenditure is authorised by virtue of a subsidiary approval resolution passed by the parent company in general meeting before the relevant time.

(3) For the purposes of this section a subsidiary approval resolution is a qualifying resolution of the parent company which authorises the subsidiary undertaking to do either (or both) of the following, namely--

(a) make donations to EU political organisations not exceeding in total a sum specified in the resolution, or

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