Recommendations & Conclusions
19 items
1
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
It has been twenty years since the Electoral Commission was established and we believe it still plays a fundamental role in overseeing free and fair elections and referendums and regulating political finance, and should continue to do so. However, its ability to effectively fulfil its statutory functions is directly impacted …
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It has been twenty years since the Electoral Commission was established and we believe it still plays a fundamental role in overseeing free and fair elections and referendums and regulating political finance, and should continue to do so. However, its ability to effectively fulfil its statutory functions is directly impacted by the unnecessary complexity of the law governing this area. There is a consensus that the law is in urgent need of rationalisation and simplification, and the Government missed an opportunity with the Elections Act 2022 to build an elections framework fit for the modern day. We are concerned by the reluctance from the Government to prioritise the necessary reform of electoral law. Changes to the way the Electoral Commission works will only go so far without a consolidated legal framework for elections and referendums for it to operate within.
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Government response AI summary
The Government agrees that simplifying and consolidating electoral law would be desirable and remains committed to ensuring that electoral law is fit for purpose, but states the process will be a long-term project.
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2
Recommendation
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Government should prioritise implementing the Law Commission’s recommendations to rationalise electoral law and immediately start work towards setting out a long-term strategy, with cross-party support, ahead of the next General Election.
Government response AI summary
The Government agrees that simplifying and consolidating electoral law would be desirable and remains committed to ensuring that electoral law is fit for purpose, but notes it will be a long-term project that will take significant consideration and policy development and is not something to …
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5
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Electoral Commission should demonstrate greater awareness of the specific nature of referendums, particularly the short-lived existence of many campaign groups and be sensitive to the stressful nature of the duties required to be fulfilled by Responsible Persons or other nominated individuals after such groups have been wound up.
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The Electoral Commission should demonstrate greater awareness of the specific nature of referendums, particularly the short-lived existence of many campaign groups and be sensitive to the stressful nature of the duties required to be fulfilled by Responsible Persons or other nominated individuals after such groups have been wound up.
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Government response AI summary
The government notes that this recommendation is addressed to the Electoral Commission.
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7
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Electoral Commission invests significant resources into providing guidance to candidates, parties, and non-party campaigners to support their understanding of complex legislation, and this is largely welcomed by those it regulates. However, as a matter of priority, further action is required to address issues such as ambiguous advice, slow responses …
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The Electoral Commission invests significant resources into providing guidance to candidates, parties, and non-party campaigners to support their understanding of complex legislation, and this is largely welcomed by those it regulates. However, as a matter of priority, further action is required to address issues such as ambiguous advice, slow responses to requests for information during elections and referendum campaigns, and a gap in support for smaller and newer parties and campaigners.
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Government response AI summary
The government will consider expanding the Strategy and Policy Statement to specify parties and campaigners of all sizes when referencing the importance of the Commission engaging with stakeholders.
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8
Recommendation
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Committee welcomes the proposed steps from the Electoral Commission to improve guidance provision, including a strategy to support smaller parties, reviewing response times, exploring the viability of ‘account managers’, increasing consultation with parties and campaigners on draft guidance, and delivering more training. As part of the training offer, we …
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The Committee welcomes the proposed steps from the Electoral Commission to improve guidance provision, including a strategy to support smaller parties, reviewing response times, exploring the viability of ‘account managers’, increasing consultation with parties and campaigners on draft guidance, and delivering more training. As part of the training offer, we recommend interactive modules on the relevant legislation and including case studies in the guidance for both parties and non-party campaigners to support volunteers. We recommend the inclusion of the Government’s view in the draft Strategy and Policy Statement that the Electoral Commission should be seeking regular feedback from stakeholders when preparing guidance should be maintained in the final iteration of the Statement. Furthermore, stakeholder engagement should extend to parties and campaigners of all sizes, in addition to larger parties through the four party panels, to ensure the training and guidance meets the needs of its users.
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Government response AI summary
The government notes the recommendations are primarily addressed to the Electoral Commission, and they will consider the suggestion to expand the Strategy and Policy Statement to specify parties and campaigners of all sizes, and make any changes deemed necessary before laying the draft Statement before …
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10
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Committee recognises the complexity of the dual regimes for candidates under the Representation of the People Act 1983 and parties and campaigners under the Political Parties, Elections, and Referendums Act 2000. Consolidating the law into one regulatory framework should be within the scope of the Government’s work on the …
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The Committee recognises the complexity of the dual regimes for candidates under the Representation of the People Act 1983 and parties and campaigners under the Political Parties, Elections, and Referendums Act 2000. Consolidating the law into one regulatory framework should be within the scope of the Government’s work on the long-term strategy to rationalise electoral law recommended by this Committee.
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Government response AI summary
The government will consider the committee's comments about the Strategy and Policy Statement alongside the views of statutory consultees and remains committed to ensuring that electoral law is fit for purpose.
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11
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Committee recognises the rationale behind advocating an expansion of the Electoral Commission’s investigatory and enforcement powers to provide maximum transparency to voters, incentivise regulatory compliance, and increase the pace of investigations and enforcement action. However, we believe more evidence is needed to ensure that any expanded powers for the …
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The Committee recognises the rationale behind advocating an expansion of the Electoral Commission’s investigatory and enforcement powers to provide maximum transparency to voters, incentivise regulatory compliance, and increase the pace of investigations and enforcement action. However, we believe more evidence is needed to ensure that any expanded powers for the Electoral Commission, such as powers to monitor and investigate in real-time and impose civil sanctions for breaches of candidate finance law, would not place disproportionate burdens on the largely voluntary workforce that support political campaigns.
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Government response AI summary
The government will consider the committee's comments about the Strategy and Policy Statement alongside the views of statutory consultees and remains committed to ensuring that electoral law is fit for purpose.
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12
Recommendation
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
We welcome the Government’s view in the draft Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission that the Commission’s enforcement of political finance rules should be proportionate to the voluntary nature of political parties’ infrastructure. We recommend this is maintained in the final iteration.
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We welcome the Government’s view in the draft Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission that the Commission’s enforcement of political finance rules should be proportionate to the voluntary nature of political parties’ infrastructure. We recommend this is maintained in the final iteration.
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Government response AI summary
The government will consider the committee's comments about the Strategy and Policy Statement alongside the views of statutory consultees and remains committed to ensuring that electoral law is fit for purpose.
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13
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Committee notes the concerns from non-party campaigners that the lower tier of registration with the Electoral Commission, introduced under the Elections Act 2022, may have the unintended consequence of deterring political campaigning by small groups that lack the resources to comply with the transparency requirements. If this is the …
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The Committee notes the concerns from non-party campaigners that the lower tier of registration with the Electoral Commission, introduced under the Elections Act 2022, may have the unintended consequence of deterring political campaigning by small groups that lack the resources to comply with the transparency requirements. If this is the case, it will be important not to exacerbate the issue further.
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Government response AI summary
The Government recognises the important role third-party campaigners play in the political process. It notes the increased transparency is important, but it should not act as a barrier to campaigners’ participation and that the new “lower tier” of third-party campaigner registration has been designed to …
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17
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
Although the Electoral Commission has an overall strong record in relation to monitoring, investigations and enforcement, we were concerned by the individual cases of extremely lengthy investigations and poor communication raised throughout this inquiry. The Electoral Commission has said it will factor in the conclusions from this inquiry into its …
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Although the Electoral Commission has an overall strong record in relation to monitoring, investigations and enforcement, we were concerned by the individual cases of extremely lengthy investigations and poor communication raised throughout this inquiry. The Electoral Commission has said it will factor in the conclusions from this inquiry into its updated Enforcement Policy, due for consultation in the coming months, and we expect the issues raised by these individuals to be considered. We welcome the reforms the Electoral Commission has set out to its regulatory approach to date, including mandatory case reviews if a case approaches six months in duration; new evidence trackers to aid disclosure of used evidence when proposing sanctions; accelerating the process of identifying and citing relevant evidence; and moving away from the practice of expanding existing cases when new potential offences arise. However, it is disappointing that the Electoral Commission has resisted calls to impose fixed time limits on investigations.
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Government response AI summary
The Government agrees it is important to resolve investigations within a reasonable time period and will continue to keep under review aligning the PPERA regime with the RPA regime.
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18
Recommendation
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
We agree with the Committee on Standards in Public Life that investigations under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 should be opened within 12 months of the date of the potential offence being committed or, from the date the Electoral Commission was aware of the potential offence, with …
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We agree with the Committee on Standards in Public Life that investigations under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 should be opened within 12 months of the date of the potential offence being committed or, from the date the Electoral Commission was aware of the potential offence, with ability to be extended by application to a court. There should also be a 12-month limit on the duration of investigations, with the possibility of a court extension where appropriate. Throughout investigations, the Electoral Commission should improve its communication and explain clearly to those being investigated all actions and decisions. The Electoral Commission should report back to this Committee within a year setting out its progress in implementing its proposed changes to its regulatory approach.
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Government response AI summary
The Government agrees with the importance of resolving investigations within a reasonable time period and will keep under review aligning the PPERA regime with the RPA regime, considering evidence and findings from the CSPL Report.
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19
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
We believe the Electoral Commission should be sensitive to the role of volunteers in campaigns and the potential for inadvertent reporting errors to occur. We welcome the Electoral Commission’s proposed changes to the Political Finance Online platform to support individuals to input their financial returns accurately. We agree with witnesses …
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We believe the Electoral Commission should be sensitive to the role of volunteers in campaigns and the potential for inadvertent reporting errors to occur. We welcome the Electoral Commission’s proposed changes to the Political Finance Online platform to support individuals to input their financial returns accurately. We agree with witnesses to our inquiry that the current maximum sanction of £20,000 for breaches of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 may not act as an effective deterrent for well resourced political parties and non-party campaigners. However, we also believe a larger fine would need to be carefully enforced to ensure it does not disproportionately impact smaller groups.
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Government response AI summary
The government considers the existing levels of penalties available to the Commission suitable and states that any extension to the Commission’s fining powers would need to be considered carefully to assess the necessity and proportionality.
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21
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
Digital technology is allowing more parties, campaigners, and voters than ever to participate in political debate. While we view this as a positive step for democracy, we must recognise that it has created a more complex regulatory environment for the Electoral Commission. The framework for regulating political campaign spending during …
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Digital technology is allowing more parties, campaigners, and voters than ever to participate in political debate. While we view this as a positive step for democracy, we must recognise that it has created a more complex regulatory environment for the Electoral Commission. The framework for regulating political campaign spending during elections and referendums has not kept pace with the challenges presented by the growth of social media, targeted advertising using big data, and viral online marketing campaigns. We are concerned by the fact a significant amount of transparency for digital campaigning comes from voluntary initiatives by social media platforms to create “advert libraries” and that there is no standard definition of a political advert.
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Government response AI summary
The Government acknowledges the importance of cooperation between national regulatory authorities and welcomes the steps taken by social media companies to create “advert libraries” and institute advert labelling on political advertising but does not propose mandating advert libraries.
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26
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Electoral Commission has an effective governance structure. Commissioners, including those who are nominated by political parties, play a useful role in the governance of the organisation. However, this system only works if Commissioners abide by the clear standards of behaviour set out in the Board Code of Conduct and …
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The Electoral Commission has an effective governance structure. Commissioners, including those who are nominated by political parties, play a useful role in the governance of the organisation. However, this system only works if Commissioners abide by the clear standards of behaviour set out in the Board Code of Conduct and refrain from public activity that may damage their perceived impartiality, particularly in and around electoral events. The Electoral Commission should be mindful of the fact that any detriment to public trust in its independence and impartiality could diminish the perceived legitimacy of elections and the democratic process as a whole.
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Government response AI summary
The government notes that this recommendation is addressed at the Electoral Commission.
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27
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
It is vital that the impartiality and independence of the Electoral Commission is maintained at all times. Commissioners must act in accordance with the Board Code of Conduct and refrain from expressing any personal opinions that may suggest political bias. In the event of a future referendum, the Electoral Commission …
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It is vital that the impartiality and independence of the Electoral Commission is maintained at all times. Commissioners must act in accordance with the Board Code of Conduct and refrain from expressing any personal opinions that may suggest political bias. In the event of a future referendum, the Electoral Commission should produce specific guidance for Commissioners on how biases can and will be managed, and impartiality maintained.
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Government response AI summary
The government notes that this recommendation is addressed at the Electoral Commission.
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28
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Committee believes that periodic parliamentary scrutiny of the work of the Electoral Commission, in the form of inquiries such as this, dovetails effectively with the ongoing oversight by the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission.
Government response AI summary
The government defends the Strategy and Policy Statement, stating it will not undermine the Electoral Commission's statutory duties and welcomes engagement from stakeholders and parliamentarians.
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29
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
Operational independence is a fundamental aspect of the Electoral Commission. The Government’s ability to set the strategic direction of the Electoral Commission through the issuance of a Strategy and Policy Statement, as set out in the Elections Act 2022, significantly alters the Electoral Commission’s relationship to Government as an independent …
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Operational independence is a fundamental aspect of the Electoral Commission. The Government’s ability to set the strategic direction of the Electoral Commission through the issuance of a Strategy and Policy Statement, as set out in the Elections Act 2022, significantly alters the Electoral Commission’s relationship to Government as an independent body. We welcome the three month statutory consultation period for the draft Strategy and Policy Statement and will continue to take an active interest in this area of constitutional significance, supporting the statutory consultees where appropriate. Following the consultation, it is vital that the Statement is afforded appropriate scrutiny through super-affirmative parliamentary scrutiny. As highlighted in our Fifth Report of Session 2021–22 on the Elections Bill, the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, as the body that will scrutinise the Electoral Commission’s compliance with the Statement going forward, must be seen to exercise its powers impartially, with cross-party support. We note the support from witnesses to our inquiry that no single party should exercise a majority on the Speaker’s Committee.
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Government response AI summary
The government welcomes the engagement of the statutory consultees and parliamentarians with the draft Statement through the consultation period and states the draft Statement will be scrutinised according to the requirements set out in the Elections Act 2022.
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30
Conclusion
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
We welcome the timetable provided by the Government to scrutinise the draft Strategy and Policy Statement and recommend a commitment is made that the same timeframe should apply to future Strategy and Policy Statements.
Government response AI summary
The government describes the scrutiny process for the Strategy and Policy Statement, stating it will be subject to approval of the UK Parliament and consultation with statutory consultees. However, they note that the duration of the consultation period with statutory consultees will be set on …
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31
Recommendation
Second Report - The Work of the Elector…
Acknowledged
The Committee welcomes that the Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission will be subject to super-affirmative parliamentary procedure, in line with our previous recommendation. The Government must now ensure a motion is tabled for the draft Statement to be debated on the floor of both Houses, before it …
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The Committee welcomes that the Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission will be subject to super-affirmative parliamentary procedure, in line with our previous recommendation. The Government must now ensure a motion is tabled for the draft Statement to be debated on the floor of both Houses, before it is brought forward for final approval. (Paragraph 109) 44 The Work of the Electoral Commission
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Government response AI summary
The government describes the scrutiny process for the Strategy and Policy Statement, stating it will be subject to approval of the UK Parliament and consultation with statutory consultees. However, they note that the duration of the consultation period with statutory consultees will be set on …
Read full response →