Legalize / United Kingdom / Public General Act

Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014

Type Public General Act

Publication 2014-01-30

State In force

Department Statute Law Database

Source legislation.gov.uk

Reform history JSON API

Part 1 — Registration of consultant lobbyists

Requirement to register

Prohibition on consultant lobbying unless registered

1

(1) A person must not carry on the business of consultant lobbying unless the person is entered in the register of consultant lobbyists.

(2) Sections 3 to 7 make provision about the keeping and publication of the register.

Meaning of consultant lobbying

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(1) For the purposes of this Part, a person carries on the business of consultant lobbying if—

(a) in the course of a business and in return for payment, the person makes communications within subsection (3) on behalf of another person or persons,

(b) the person is registered under the Value Added Tax Act 1994, and

(2) Part 2 of that Schedule makes provision about the meaning, for the purposes of this Part of this Act, of terms used in subsection (1).

(3) The communications within this subsection are oral or written communications made personally to a Minister of the Crown or permanent secretary relating to—

(a) the development, adoption or modification of any proposal of the government to make or amend primary or subordinate legislation;

(b) the development, adoption or modification of any other policy of the government;

(c) the making, giving or issuing by the government of, or the taking of any other steps by the government in relation to,—

(i) any contract or other agreement,

(ii) any grant or other financial assistance, or

(iii) any licence or other authorisation; or

(d) the exercise of any other function of the government.

(4) It does not matter whether the person to whom the communication is made, or the person making it, or both, are outside the United Kingdom when the communication is made.

(5) Regulations may amend subsection (3) so as to provide that communications made personally to a special adviser are within that subsection.

(6) In this section—

“the government” means Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom;

“Minister of the Crown” means the holder of an office in the government, and includes the Treasury;

“permanent secretary” means a person serving the government in—the position of permanent secretary or second permanent secretary in the civil service of the State, ora position listed in Part 3 of Schedule 1 (positions equivalent to those mentioned in paragraph (a));

“special adviser” means a person who serves the government in a position in the civil service of the State and whose appointment to that position meets the requirements applicable to that position set out in section 15(1) of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

Keeping the register

The Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists

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(1) There is to be a Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists.

(2) Schedule 2 makes provision about the Registrar.

The register

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(1) The Registrar must keep and publish a register of consultant lobbyists.

(2) The entry for each registered person must include—

(a) in the case of a company—

(i) its name, its registered number and the address of its registered office, and

(ii) the names of its directors and of any secretary and any shadow directors;

(b) in the case of a partnership (including a limited liability partnership), the names of the partners and the address of its main office or place of business;

(c) in the case of an individual, the individual's name and the address of the individual's main place of business (or, if there is no such place, the individual's residence);

(d) in the case of any other person (including persons outside the United Kingdom), the equivalent information as specified in regulations;

(e) any name or names, not included under paragraphs (a) to (d), under which the person carries on business as a consultant lobbyist;

(f) such other information regarding the identity of the person as may be determined by the Registrar;

(g) a statement of—

(i) whether there is in place an undertaking by the person to comply with a relevant code of conduct, and

(ii) if so, where a copy of the code may be inspected;

(h) such other information as may be specified in regulations.

(3) Each entry must also include—

(a) for each quarter in which the registered person has been entered in the register, the person's client information (see section 5(3)) or the statement under section 5(5), and

(b) if the person received payment in the pre-registration quarter to engage in lobbying, the name of the person or persons on whose behalf the lobbying was or is to be done.

(4) The pre-registration quarter is the period of 3 months ending on the date on which the person applied to be entered in the register.

(5) Regulations may make further provision in connection with the register; and in particular may—

(a) specify other information about the persons mentioned in subsection (3)(b) which must be included in the register;

(b) make provision about applications to be entered in the register, including the form and content of those applications.

(6) In this section—

(a) any expression which is used in subsection (2)(a) and in the Companies Acts has the meaning which it has in those Acts (see, in particular, Schedule 8 to the Companies Act 2006);

(b) a “relevant code of conduct” (in subsection (2)(g)) is a code of conduct which governs the carrying on of the business of consultant lobbying (whether or not it also governs other activities) and is open to inspection by members of the public.

Notification of client information and changes

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(1) A registered person must submit an information return to the Registrar for each quarter.

(2) The information return for a quarter must contain—

(a) either the client information for that quarter or a statement under subsection (5), and

(b) details of any change in that quarter in the particulars included in the register under section 4(2).

(3) The client information for a quarter is—

(a) if the registered person engaged in lobbying in the quarter in return for payment (whether or not the payment has been received), the name of the person or persons on whose behalf the lobbying was done, and

(b) if the registered person received payment in the quarter to engage in lobbying (whether or not the lobbying has been done), the name of the person or persons on whose behalf the lobbying is or was to be done.

(4) Regulations may specify other information about the persons mentioned in subsection (3) which must be included in an information return.

(5) A statement under this subsection is a statement that, in the quarter in question, the registered person neither engaged in lobbying in return for payment nor received payment to engage in lobbying.

(6) The information return for a quarter must be submitted before the end of the period of 2 weeks beginning immediately after the end of the quarter.

Duty to update register

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(1) The Registrar must keep the register up to date.

(2) In particular, the Registrar must comply with subsections (3) and (4).

(3) Where a person applies, in accordance with regulations, to be entered in the register, the Registrar must register the person before the end of the period of 4 working days beginning with the day after the day on which the application is received.

(4) The Registrar must update the register to include any information or change which is notified in an information return.

(5) The Registrar must comply with subsection (4)—

(a) if the return is received before the end of the period specified in section 5(6), before the end of the period of 4 working days beginning with the day after the day on which the return is received, or

(b) if the return is received after the end of that period, before the end of the period of 8 working days beginning with the day after the day on which the return is received.

(6) If the Registrar has reasonable grounds for believing that a registered person is not (or is no longer) a consultant lobbyist, the Registrar may decide that—

(a) the person's entry should include a statement to that effect, or

(b) the person's entry should be removed from the register.

(7) In this section “working day” means any day other than—

(a) a Saturday or Sunday, or

(b) a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.

Publication of register

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(1) The Registrar must publish the register as kept in accordance with section 6.

(2) The Registrar may publish such entries, or parts of entries, as the Registrar considers appropriate in respect of persons who were, but are no longer, entered in the register.

(3) Publication under this section is to be—

(a) on a website, and

(b) in such other form or forms as the Registrar considers appropriate.

Compliance

Duty to monitor

8

The Registrar must monitor compliance with the obligations imposed by or under this Part.

Notice to supply information

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(1) In connection with the duty under section 8, the Registrar may serve a notice (an “information notice”) on a person mentioned in subsection (2) requiring the person to supply information specified in the notice.

(2) The persons are—

(a) any registered person;

(b) any person who is not entered in the register but whom the Registrar has reasonable grounds for believing to be a consultant lobbyist.

(3) Regulations may specify descriptions of information which the Registrar may not require a person to supply under this section.

(4) An information notice must—

(a) specify the form in which the information must be supplied,

(b) specify the date by which the information must be supplied, and

(5) The date specified under subsection (4)(b) must not be before the end of the period within which an appeal under section 11 can be brought.

(6) Section 10 sets out limitations on—

(a) what information is required to be supplied under a notice, and

(b) how information which is supplied may be used.

(7) Where an information notice has been served on a person, the Registrar may cancel it by serving written notice to that effect on the person.

Limitations on duty to supply information and use of information supplied

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(1) An information notice does not require a person to supply information if—

(a) doing so would disclose evidence of the commission of an offence, other than an offence excluded by subsection (2), and

(b) the disclosure would expose the person to proceedings for that offence.

(2) The following offences are excluded from subsection (1)—

(a) an offence under this Part;

(b) an offence under section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911 (false statements made otherwise than on oath);

(c) an offence under section 44 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (false statements made otherwise than on oath);

(d) an offence under Article 10 of the Perjury (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1714 (N.I. 19)) (false statutory declarations etc).

(3) Any relevant statement made by a person (“P”) in response to a requirement in an information notice may not be used in evidence against P on a prosecution for an offence under this Part (except section 12(4)) unless the conditions in subsection (4) are met.

(4) The conditions are that in the proceedings—

(a) in giving evidence P provides information inconsistent with the relevant statement, and

(b) evidence relating to the statement is adduced, or a question relating to it is asked, by P or on P's behalf.

(5) In subsection (3) “relevant statement”, in relation to a requirement in an information notice, means—

(a) an oral statement, or

(b) a written statement made for the purposes of the requirement.

Right to appeal against information notice

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(1) A person on whom an information notice has been served may appeal to the Tribunal against the notice.

(2) If an appeal is brought under this section, the person is not required to supply the information until the date on which the appeal is finally determined or withdrawn.

(3) Regulations may make provision for and in connection with the determination of appeals under this section.

Offences

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(1) If a person carries on the business of consultant lobbying in breach of section 1(1) (lobbying whilst unregistered), an offence is committed by—

(a) the person, and

(b) any individual who, not being entered in the register, engages in lobbying in the course of that business.

(2) It is an offence for a registered person to engage in lobbying if—

(a) the person's entry in the register is inaccurate or incomplete in a material particular, and

(b) the person has failed, when required to submit an information return under section 5, to provide sufficient information in or accompanying the return to enable the inaccuracy or omission to be rectified.

(3) Where a person is required to submit an information return under section 5, it is an offence for the person—

(a) to fail to do so within the period specified in section 5(6), or

(b) to provide information which is inaccurate or incomplete in a material particular.

(4) Where an information notice has been served on a person, it is an offence for the person—

(a) to fail to supply the required information on or before the date by which the person is required to do so, or

(b) to provide information which is inaccurate or incomplete in a material particular.

(5) It is a defence for a person charged under any of subsections (1) to (4) to show that the person exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.

(6) A person is taken to have shown the fact mentioned in subsection (5) if—

(a) sufficient evidence of the fact is adduced to raise an issue with respect to it, and

(b) the contrary is not proved beyond reasonable doubt.

(7) A person guilty of an offence under any of subsections (1) to (4) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction in Scotland or Northern Ireland, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b) on summary conviction in England and Wales, or on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(8) In the case of a summary conviction in England and Wales for an offence committed before the coming into force of section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, the fine under subsection (7) must not exceed the statutory maximum.

(9) Proceedings for an offence under this Part may be instituted—

(a) in England and Wales, only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions;

(b) in Northern Ireland, only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

Bodies corporate and Scottish partnerships

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(1) Where an offence under this Part is committed by a body corporate and is proved—

(a) to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer, or

(b) to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any such individual,

the individual as well as the body corporate is guilty of the offence and is liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) applies in relation to the acts and omissions of a member in connection with that management as if the member were a director of the body corporate.

(3) Where an offence under this Part is committed by a partnership constituted under the law of Scotland and is proved—

(a) to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a partner, or

(b) to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any such individual,

the individual as well as the partnership is guilty of the offence and is liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Civil penalties

14

(1) The Registrar may impose a civil penalty on a person (in accordance with sections 15 to 18) if the Registrar is satisfied that the person's conduct amounts to an offence under any of subsections (1) to (4) of section 12.

(2) For this purpose—

(a) section 12(5) (defence of due diligence) is to be ignored, and

(b) a person's conduct includes a failure to act.

Notice of intention to impose civil penalty

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(1) Before imposing a civil penalty on a person, the Registrar must serve on that person a notice stating that the Registrar proposes to impose the penalty.

(2) The notice must—

(a) set out the conduct on which the proposal to impose the penalty is based,

(b) set out the reasons why the Registrar is satisfied that the person has engaged in that conduct,

(d) inform the person that the person may, within a period specified in the notice, make written representations in relation to the proposal.

(3) The Registrar must not impose the penalty before the end of the period specified under subsection (2)(d).

(4) The Registrar must consider any written representations received before the end of that period.

Imposition of penalty

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