Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Deferred
Paragraph: 65
The Government should commit to reviewing the impact of the lower tier of registration for...
Recommendation
The Government should commit to reviewing the impact of the lower tier of registration for third party campaigners as part of its statutory review of the Elections Act 2022, due in four to five years› time, to be published and laid before Parliament. Any future reform to the regulatory powers of the Electoral Commission by the Government should consider the potential impact of deterring political engagement. We agree with the recommendations from the Committee on Standards in Public Life that the reporting timelines for parties and campaigners spending over £250,000 should be reduced from six to four months and that the Electoral Commission should publish returns within two months of receipt. However, these timeframes should be kept under review with regular feedback from parties and campaigners. Additionally, it is important that transparency goes both ways and, therefore, the Electoral Commission should ensure it communicates on its website any expected delays in this timeline.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the recommendation to review the lower tier of registration for third-party campaigners and consider reducing reporting timelines, but defers action. It states that the statutory duty for post-legislative scrutiny of the Elections Act 2022 already ensures the impact of the Act, including the lower tier of registration, will be assessed within four years.
Paragraph Reference:
65
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The Government recognises the important role third-party campaigners play in the political process. Our democracy is strengthened by people campaigning for what they believe in. Of course, the existing rules and those introduced by the Elections Act 2022 only apply to qualifying election expenditure, not wider, non-electoral campaigning that groups may undertake. Increased transparency is important, but it should not act as a barrier to campaigners’ participation. Therefore, the new “lower tier” of third-party campaigner registration has been designed to be proportionate to the level of campaign spending and will place a minimal regulatory burden on campaigners that fall within the scope of the new requirement. Those campaigners will be required to register with the more on election campaigning. For example, they will not be subject to donation reports or required to submit spending returns. potential administrative impact, that the Government considers proposals to reduce the reporting timelines for those spending over £250,000 and the time frame during which the Electoral Commission must publish these returns. The Government recognises the balance needed between providing information about election spending to the public in a timely manner and political parties and other campaigners having a reasonable amount of time to prepare their spending returns. The current law seeks to achieve that balance and these recommendations would require careful consideration and stakeholder engagement to determine whether they would be workable, identify any unintended consequences and ensure the rules strike the right balance. The Government introduced a statutory duty for post-legislative scrutiny to the Elections Act, in response to PACAC’s recommendation in its Fifth Report of Session 2021–22 on ‘The Elections Bill’.3 This provision already ensures that the impact of the Elections Act 2022, including the impact of section 28 (the lower tier of registration), is assessed within four years of the Act being passed.