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

Keeping the register

3 The Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists

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

(2) Schedule 2 makes provision about the Registrar.

4 The register

(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.

5 Notification of client information and changes

(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.

6 Duty to update register

(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.

7 Publication of register

(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.