Political Parties and Elections Bill

In moving Amendment 11, I shall also speak to government Amendments 12 to14, 24 and 25. Paragraph 4 of new Schedule 19B enables the commission, in cases where a person has already refused to provide documents, to apply to a court for an order to enforce the commission's earlier notice issued under paragraph 3 of that schedule requiring documents to be produced. Government Amendment 14 would provide an equivalent power to seek a court order so that it may be used to compel information or an explanation in circumstances where an earlier request has not been complied with. Government Amendment 14 inserts a new paragraph 4A to Schedule 19B to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Paragraph 4A provides the commission with the power, in cases where a person has already refused to provide information or explanation in response to a notice issued by the commission under paragraph 3(2) of the same schedule, to apply to a High Court—or in Scotland to the Court of Session—for an order to enforce the commission’s earlier notice requiring disclosure of information or explanation. In that event, failure to comply with the court order would be contempt of court or a criminal offence, but could not be both. The amendment is intended to address the concerns raised by the commission that the court order power is too narrow in that it can be used only to compel documents. In particular, we appreciated the commission's concern that there might be instances when it seeks information or explanation on specific issues or in response to written questions, a person refuses to comply, and the commission then has no recourse other than perhaps to ask the police to intervene. In the light of that, we believe that the amendment is necessary to ensure that the court order powers are wide enough to effectively enhance the commission's investigatory capacity, in circumstances where they reasonably believe that there has been an offence under, or breach or contravention of, the Act. The court order provision is intended to add an extra and very important layer of compulsion to the commission’s power to issue a notice to request documents, information or explanation. It is vital that the initial request from the commission is not the end of the story from someone who may have documents or information relevant to an investigation. In providing for a court order power that may be used to compel information or explanations, we have been mindful to retain the safeguards already in place to ensure that the power is used appropriately. A court order would not be issued automatically on an application being made by the commission. The commission must first demonstrate to the satisfaction of the court that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that there has been an offence or contravention under the Act; that there is information or explanation referred to in the notice under paragraph 3 which has not been provided; that this information is reasonably required by the commission for the purposes of investigating the suspected offence or contravention; and that the person against whom the order is issued is able to provide the information. Government Amendments 11 to 13 are consequential amendments that replace all references to disclosure orders in paragraph 4 with references to document disclosure orders, to differentiate between document disclosure orders and information disclosure orders. Government Amendments 24 and 25 are also consequential. Amendment 24 amends paragraph 14 of Schedule 19B to require the commission to prepare and publish guidance as to circumstances in which the commission is likely to apply for an information disclosure order under new paragraph 4A. Amendment 25 amends paragraph 15 of Schedule 19B to require the commission to include information about information disclosure orders in the report on the use of its investigatory powers. With that explanation, I hope that noble Lords will agree that the court order powers will assist the commission to regulate effectively. Having said that, the commission must use the investigatory powers at its disposal responsibly. It is for this reason that the Government tabled several amendments in another place to require the commission to issue guidance on its investigatory powers and to provide information in its annual report on its use of them. These safeguards are still in place. I beg to move.