Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 70
We believe the Electoral Commission should be sensitive to the role of volunteers in campaigns...
Conclusion
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.
Government Response 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.
Paragraph Reference:
70
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
4 Cabinet Office, Corporate report – “Government response to ‘Regulating Election Finance’ ”, 15 September 2021 (last accessed 9 January 2023) 5 Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Written evidence, Electoral Commission, TEC0051, pp.4–5 6 Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Oral evidence, ‘The Work of the Electoral Commission’, 29 June 2021, HC 43; Committee on Standards in Public Life, ‘Regulating Election Finance’, July 2021, para. 961, p121 The Commission already has extensive investigatory powers for offences under PPERA. As part of its civil sanctioning powers, where a campaigner is found to have committed an offence under PPERA, the Commission is able to issue fines ranging from £200 for a fixed monetary penalty to between £250 and £20,000 per offence for a variable monetary penalty depending on the type of the offence committed. Criminal matters can be, and are, referred to the police and in certain cases taken to a criminal prosecution. The courts have the power to levy unlimited fines for some offences and impose custodial sentences. The Commission should be consistent and provide a clear explanation in relation to sanctioning decisions, which is why the draft Statement contains guidance for the Commission to that effect (paragraph 20(a)). The Government considers the existing levels of penalties available to the Commission suitable to ensure that the sanctioning regime is effective but does not cause a chilling effect on electoral participation and campaigning. Any extension to the Commission’s fining powers would need to be considered carefully to assess the necessity and proportionality. We agree with the Committee’s view that minor, administrative reporting errors should be dealt with proportionally by the enforcement authorities. It is for this reason that the draft Statement also includes guidance requiring the Commission to have regard to the need to ensure robust, consistent, transparent and proportionate enforcement of the rules legislated by Parliament, by balancing the need to engage constructively with campaigners to support compliance, with the need to sanction breaches of the rules (paragraph 20(a)).