Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

96 Returns as to controlled expenditure. U.K.

[F1 (1) Subsection (1A) applies where—

(a) during a regulated period, any controlled expenditure is incurred by or on behalf of a recognised third party in a relevant part of the United Kingdom, and

(b) the incurring of that expenditure would, if the third party had not been recognised, have been an offence under section 94(4) (whether because it was incurred in excess of a limit mentioned in section 94(5) or 94(5ZA)).

(1A) The responsible person must prepare a return in respect of the controlled expenditure incurred by or on behalf of the third party during that period in each relevant part of the United Kingdom.]

(2) A return under this section must specify the poll for the relevant election (or, as the case may be, the polls for the relevant elections) that took place during the regulated period in question, and must contain—

(a) a statement of all payments made in respect of controlled expenditure incurred by or on behalf of the third party during that period in the relevant part or parts of the United Kingdom;

[F2 (aa) a statement listing each constituency (if any) in which the controlled expenditure incurred by or on behalf of the third party during that period exceeded 0.04% of the total of the maximum campaign expenditure limits in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;

(ab) a statement showing, for each constituency listed under paragraph (aa), all payments made in respect of controlled expenditure incurred by or on behalf of the third party during that period in that constituency;]

(b) a statement of all disputed claims (within the meaning of section 93) of which the responsible person is aware;

(c) a statement of all the unpaid claims (if any) of which the responsible person is aware in respect of which an application has been made, or is about to be made, to a court under section 92(4); and

(d) F3 ... a statement of relevant donations received by the third party in respect of the relevant election or elections which complies with the requirements of paragraphs 10 and 11 of Schedule 11.

(3) A return under this section must be accompanied by—

(a) all invoices or receipts relating to the payments mentioned in subsection (2)(a) [F4 or (ab)]; and

(b) in the case of any controlled expenditure treated as incurred by the third party by virtue of section 86, any declaration falling to be made with respect to that expenditure in accordance with section 86(6).

(4) Where, however, any payments or claims falling to be dealt with in a return by virtue of subsection (2) have already been dealt with in an earlier return under this section—

(a) it shall be sufficient for the later return to deal with those payments or claims by specifying overall amounts in respect of them; and

(b) the requirement imposed by subsection (3) does not apply to any invoices, receipts or declarations which accompanied the earlier return and are specified as such in the later return.

(5) Subsections (2) to (4) do not apply to any controlled expenditure incurred at any time before the third party became a recognised third party, but the return must be accompanied by a declaration made by the responsible person of the total amount of such expenditure incurred at any such time.

(6) The Commission may by regulations prescribe a form of return which may be used for the purposes of this section.

(7) Where subsection [F5 (1A)] applies in relation to a recognised third party and any regulated period—

(a) the requirements as to the preparation of a return under this section in respect of controlled expenditure F6 ... shall have effect in relation to the third party despite the third party ceasing to be a recognised third party at or after the end of the regulated period by virtue of the lapse of the third party’s notification under section 88(1); and

(b) for the purposes of, or in connection with, the discharge of obligations of the responsible person under this section and sections 98 and 99 in relation to any such return, references to the responsible person shall be read as references to the person who was the responsible person in relation to the third party immediately before that notification lapsed.

(8) In this section “relevant donation” has the same meaning as in Schedule 11.

[F7 (9) This section does not apply in relation to a recognised third party that is subject to the lower-tier expenditure limits.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 96(1)(1A) substituted for s. 96(1) (30.1.2014) by Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (c. 4), ss. 34(2), 45(3)(b) (with s. 46(1)(2))

F2 S. 96(2)(aa)(ab) inserted (30.1.2014) by Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (c. 4), ss. 29(3)(a), 45(3)(b) (with s. 46(1)(2))

F3 Words in s. 96(2)(d) omitted (24.11.2022) by virtue of Elections Act 2022 (c. 37), ss. 24(9), 67(1); S.I. 2022/1226, reg. 2(c)

F4 Words in s. 96(3)(a) inserted (30.1.2014) by Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (c. 4), ss. 29(3)(b), 45(3)(b) (with s. 46(1)(2))

F5 Word in s. 96(7) substituted (30.1.2014) by Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (c. 4), ss. 34(3)(a), 45(3)(b) (with s. 46(1)(2))

F6 Words in s. 96(7)(a) omitted (30.1.2014) by virtue of Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 (c. 4), ss. 34(3)(b), 45(3)(b) (with s. 46(1)(2))

F7 S. 96(9) inserted (24.11.2022) by Elections Act 2022 (c. 37), ss. 28(12), 67(1) (with s. 28(13)(14)); S.I. 2022/1226, reg. 2(c)

Commencement Information

I1 S. 96 wholly in force at 16.2.2001; s. 96 partly in force at Royal Assent, see s. 163(3); s. 96 in force at 16.2.2001 by S.I. 2001/222, art. 2, Sch. 1 Pt. I (subject to transitional provisions in Sch. 1 Pt. II)