Political Parties and Elections Bill

This amendment and Amendment 71 grouped with it both relate to provisions in the Bill for the commission to offer early payment discounts and late payment penalties. Amendment 61 removes reference to early payment discounts or late payment penalties for compliance with discretionary requirements. Amendment 71 would remove paragraph 18 (1)(a), which allows the Secretary of State to make a supplementary order to allow the commission to offer, ""provision for early payment discounts"," for any of the monetary penalties contained in the Bill. These incentives are replicated from the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008, which give those on whom a sanction is imposed an incentive to accept it, and deal with it in a timely fashion. This may encourage compliance, reduce the workload that late payment would create for the commission, and is a proportionate mechanism to help encourage compliance with these penalties. While the Bill may provide for these procedural discounts and penalties, the commission is not compelled by the Bill to offer them in all instances. It is a matter for the commission’s judgment, to apply its expertise and experience to decide where and when they would be appropriate. We believe that the availability of these options provides a tool that they may decide to use to ensure this. Indeed, as the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, suggested, the commission has said that it does not support Amendment 61 because, ""such penalties are likely to encourage prompt settlement and reduce the need to use public funds to pursue payment"." I do not believe that the availability of these provisions degrades these sanctions in any way. It is important to see the financial penalties contained in the Bill as just part of an overall package. The commission will also have access to other discretionary requirements of a non-financial nature—for instance by requiring a person to take particular actions to ensure compliance, or by entering into an enforcement undertaking with the person concern, or, in extreme cases, by using a stop notice. Again, we are following closely the provision of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008, which includes provisions for early payment discounts and late payment penalties. We have sought to provide the commission with a proportionate and flexible system which is available for a range of other regulators. It is precisely to ensure that the commission is able to act in a proportionate way according to the facts of the circumstances of individual cases that we have followed this model and we think that there are no compelling arguments, on balance, to move away from it in this case.