Electoral Administration Bill

moved Amendment No. 55:"Page 75, line 3, at end insert—" ““(c)   in Northern Ireland, the county court.”” The noble Baroness said: My Lords, in moving Amendment No. 55, I wish to speak also to Amendments Nos. 63 and 64. These amendments fulfil a commitment made by my noble and learned friend the Lord Chancellor on re-commitment of the Bill on 8 May when he introduced the main tranche of amendments regulating loans to political parties. He said then:"““It will also be necessary to consider the most appropriate means by which to extend the provisions to Northern Ireland. Amendments will be brought forward for that purpose””.—[Official Report, 8/5/06; col. 753.]" These are those amendments. The regime for loans and other regulated transactions is modelled closely on that for donations which already exists in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, departing from it only where necessary to take account of the different nature of donations and loans. In considering how to apply the new provisions to Northern Ireland we naturally looked at how donations are dealt with there, both currently and in future plans. As noble Lords will be aware, the donations regime has been disapplied in Northern Ireland since 2000 by orders made under the 2000 Act. However, the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill currently before this House contains provisions which mean that the disapplication of the regime will expire on 31 October 2007. After this point, the permissibility and reporting requirements of the donations regime will apply in Northern Ireland. However, modifications will be made to that regime. In relation to the reporting requirements, for a transitional period due to end on 31 October 2010—but subject to extension by order—details of donations reported to the Electoral Commission will be held confidentially. A permanent change will also be made to the permissibility requirements. Irish citizens and bodies who can donate to Irish parties will be permitted to donate to political parties in Northern Ireland. The amendments before us today extend the loans regime to Northern Ireland, but confer an order-making power on the Secretary of State. The order-making power will allow the loans regime to be modified as it applies in Northern Ireland, in a way that allows it to mirror the approach to be adopted in relation to donations as provided for in the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. As noble Lords will recognise from the loans provisions already in the Electoral Administration Bill, the detail is great and complex. In the case of Northern Ireland further detailed and technical consideration is necessary before the provisions can be finalised. The scope of the order-making power is restricted in that it only allows the Secretary of State to make provisions which correspond to, or are similar to, those in the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, and it will, of course, be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. Further details have been provided in a memorandum to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. These are appropriate and necessary amendments to further complete the set of provisions to regulate the giving of loans to political parties. I beg to move. On Question, amendment agreed to.