Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 68
Although the Electoral Commission has an overall strong record in relation to monitoring, investigations and...
Conclusion
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.
Government Response 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.
Paragraph Reference:
68
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government agrees with the Committee’s view that it is important to resolve investigations within a reasonable time period. Currently, prosecutors have six months from receiving sufficient evidence to bring such proceedings in relation to summary offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) (and within a period of three years post-offence), but more serious offences (and the Commission’s use of civil sanctions) are not subject to a time limitation. By contrast, under the Representation of the People Act 1983 (RPA) prosecutions of an offence under that Act must be commenced within 12 months of an offence being committed (with the potential to extend the deadline by 12 months by making an application to a court). As set out in the Government’s response to the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s (CSPL) ‘Regulating Election Finance’ Report, we will continue to keep under review the potential benefits in aligning the PPERA regime with the RPA regime, given the RPA court application regime has worked effectively where necessary.4 The Government notes the Commission’s written evidence to your Committee’s Report which sets out that the majority of its investigations are currently completed in less than six months (98% in 2021– 2021) and that since it was given powers to conduct investigations in 2010, it is not aware of any investigation which has lasted over 24 months.5 The Government will consider this alongside the evidence given by some witnesses to your Committee who welcomed the idea of fixed time limits on investigations, as well as the findings from the CSPL Report that prolonged investigations can cause potentially unwarranted reputational damage (including during electoral campaigns) and distress to those that are under investigation.6