The Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016

SCHEDULES

Regulation 9

SCHEDULE 1 SUPPLY OF REGISTER

Supply of copy of register of parliamentary electors to petition officer: England and Wales and Scotland

1.—(1) As soon as practicable after the registration officer is notified by the petition officer that the petition officer has received a Speaker’s notice under section 5 of the Act (Speakers notice), that registration officer must supply the petition officer with as many printed copies of the following as the petition officer may reasonably require for the purposes of the petition —

(a) the latest revised version of the register of parliamentary electors for the constituency to which the petition relates published under section 13(1) or (3) of the 1983 Act; and

(b) any notice published under section 13A(2), 13B(3B) or (3D), 13BA(9) or 13BC(3) of that Act setting out an alteration to the latest version of that register.

(2) The registration officer must also supply the petition officer with as many printed copies of any notices issued under section 13BC(6) of the 1983 Act as the petition officer may reasonable require for the purposes of the petition as soon as practicable after any such notice is issued.

(3) Where the registration officer is under a duty to supply a petition officer with printed copies of a register or notice under this paragraph, the registration officer must also supply a copy of the register or notice in data form.

(4) A copy of a register or notice supplied under this paragraph is to be supplied free of charge.

(5) A person to whom a copy of a register or notice has been supplied under this paragraph must not, other than for the purposes of the petition—

(a) supply a copy of that register or those notices to any other person;

(b) disclose any information contained in them that is not contained in the edited register; or

(c) make use of any such information.

Supply of record of anonymous entries to petition officer: England and Wales and Scotland

2.—(1) Whenever the registration officer supplies a copy of the register or notice in accordance with paragraph 1 to a petition officer, the registration officer must also supply a copy of the record of anonymous entries so far as it relates to that register.

(2) The petition officer to whom a copy of the record has been supplied under this paragraph must not, other than for the purposes of a petition—

(a) supply a copy of the record to any other person;

(b) disclose any information contained in it; or

(c) make use of such information.

(3) The petition officer supplied with a copy of the record under this paragraph must take proper precautions for its safe custody.

Supply of register on request and specific restrictions

3.—(1) The petition officer must supply free of charge a copy of the register and any notices issued under section 13BC(6) of the 1983 Act upon request to—

(a) a registered party other than a minor party, within the meaning of section 160(1) of PPERA 2000 (general interpretation);

(b) the MP to whom a petition relates;

(c) the Electoral Commission;

(d) the Security Service, Government Communications Headquarters and the Secret Intelligence Service;

(e) any police force in Great Britain, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (Reserve), the National Crime Agency and any body of constables established under an Act of Parliament; and

(f) an accredited campaigner within the meaning of Part 5 of Schedule 3 to the Act.

(2) A request under subparagraph (1) must be made in writing and must—

(a) specify the documents requested;

(b) state whether the request is made only in respect of the current documents or whether it includes a request for the supply of any subsequent document on publication for so long as the person making the request falls within the category of persons entitled to receive the documents requested; and

(c) state whether a printed copy of any of the documents is requested instead of the version in data form.

(3) Unless a request has been made in advance of supply under subparagraph (2)(c), the copy of a document supplied under this paragraph is to be in data form.

(4) The petition officer must supply the documents referred to in subparagraph (2) in accordance with a request that has been duly made.

(5) A person or body to whom this paragraph applies who has been supplied with a copy of a register or notices under this paragraph must not, other than for purposes set out in subparagraph (6)—

(a) supply a copy of that register or those notices to any other person;

(b) disclose any information contained in them that is not contained in the edited register; or

(c) make use of any such information.

(6) Those purposes are—

(a) in the case of a person or body falling within subparagraph (1)(a) or (b)—

(i) the purposes of the petition, or

(ii) the purposes of complying with the control on donations under Schedule 4 to the Act;

(b) in the case of the Electoral Commission, purposes in connection with their functions under, or by virtue of, PPERA 2000;

(c) in the case of a person or body falling within subparagraph (1)(d) or (e)—

(i) the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the criminal law (whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere),

(ii) the vetting of a relevant person (within the meaning of regulation 109(5) of the 2001 Regulations and regulation 108(5) of the 2001 (Scotland) Regulations) for the purposes of safeguarding national security;

(d) in the case of an accredited campaigner within the meaning of Part 5 of Schedule 3 to the Act—

(i) purposes in connection with the campaign in respect of the accreditation notice delivered to the petition officer under paragraph 17(1)(b) of Schedule 3 to the Act (accredited campaigners and responsible persons); or

(ii) the purposes of complying with the controls on donations in Schedule 4 to the Act (control of donations to accredited campaigners).

Regulation 10(3)

SCHEDULE 2 FORMS

PART 1 United Kingdom

PART 2 Welsh Forms

PART 3 Northern Ireland

Regulation 48

SCHEDULE 3 ACCESS TO MARKED REGISTERS AFTER A PETITION

Interpretation of this Schedule

1.—(1) In this Schedule references to the “marked register or lists” means any part of the marked copies of—

(a) the register,

(b) notices issued under section 13BC(6) of the 1983 Act (alteration of registers),

(c) the postal signers list,

(d) the list of proxies, and

(e) the proxy postal signers list,

which were—

(i) for England and Wales and Northern Ireland, forwarded to the registration officer under regulation 44 (delivery of documents to the registration officer: England and Wales and Northern Ireland), regulation 114 (forwarding of documents) or regulation 141 (public notice of early termination),

(ii) for Scotland, retained by the petition officer under regulation 47 (retention and disposal of documents in Scotland), regulation 114 or regulation 141.

(2) In this Schedule, a reference to “the registration officer” is a reference to—

(a) for England and Wales—

(i) the registration officer of the local authority in whose area the constituency of the MP to whom the petition relates is situated, or

(ii) if the constituency includes any part of the area of more than one local authority, the registration officer of the local authority in whose area the greatest number of electors is registered;

(b) for Northern Ireland, the Clerk of the Crown for Northern Ireland;

(c) for Scotland, the petition officer.

(3) In this Schedule—

“processor” means a person who provides a service which consists of putting information into data form, and any reference to a processor includes a reference to the processor’s employees;

“relevant conditions” has the same meaning as in section 33(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998(1);

and any reference to an employee of any person who has access to a copy of the register includes a reference to any person working or providing services for the purposes of that person or employed by or on behalf of, or working for, any person who is so working or who is supplying such a service.

Supply of marked registers and lists after a petition

2.—(1) Any person or body referred to in subparagraph (2) is entitled to request that the registration officer supply copies of any parts of the marked register or lists in respect of a particular petition which the registration officer is required to keep in respect of that petition.

(2) Those persons or bodies are—

(a) any police force in England and Wales or Scotland;

(b) the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (Reserve);

(c) the National Crime Agency;

(d) any body of constables established under an Act of Parliament;

(e) the Electoral Commission.

(3) A request under subparagraph (1) must be made in writing and must—

(a) specify which of the marked register or lists (or the relevant part of the register or lists) is requested;

(b) state whether a printed copy is requested or a copy in data form; and

(c) state the purposes for which the marked register or lists will be used and why those marked registers and lists would be sufficient to achieve those purposes.

(4) The registration officer must supply a copy of the relevant part of the marked register or lists where a request is duly made, and the registration officer—

(a) is satisfied that the requestor needs to see the marks on the marked register or lists in order to achieve the purpose for which it is requested; and

(b) has received payment of a fee calculated in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Schedule.

(5) If the registration officer is not satisfied in accordance with subparagraph (4)(a) that officer must inform the requestor of that decision and—

(a) where the request relates to the marked register or marked copies of notices referred to in paragraph (1), provide the requestor with information concerning the availability of the published register or notices for inspection in accordance with regulation 7 (publication of register); and

(b) where the request relates to the marked lists, provide information concerning the availability of the unmarked lists in accordance with regulation 80 (records and lists kept under this Part).

(6) A person who obtains a copy of any part of a marked register or list under this paragraph may use it only for the permitted purposes specified in paragraph 5(3) of this Schedule and any conditions specified in that paragraph are to apply.

(7) Any person who has obtained or is entitled to obtain a copy of the marked register or lists under this paragraph may—

(a) supply a copy of the marked register or lists to a processor for the purpose of processing the information it contains, or

(b) procure that a processor processes and supplies to the person any copy of the information in the marked register or lists which the processor has obtained under this paragraph, for use in respect of the purposes for which that person is entitled to obtain such copy or information (as the case may be).

(8) A processor may not disclose the marked register or lists or the information contained in them except to the person who supplied it to the processor or any other person, or an employee of such a person, who is entitled to obtain a copy of the marked register or lists under this Schedule.

Inspection of documents open to public inspection

3.—(1) Any person is entitled to request that the registration officer make available for inspection a copy of any of the following documents (“the documents open to public inspection”)—

(a) the marked register or lists;

(b) such other documents relating to a petition as the registration officer is required by or under any enactment to retain for any period except—

(i) signing sheets,

(ii) completed corresponding number lists,

(iii) certificates as to employment during the signing period,

(iv) lists required to be completed under regulation 110(4) (lists of rejected postal signing sheets).

(2) A request under subparagraph (1) must be made in writing and must specify—

(a) which documents are requested;

(b) the purposes for which the information in any document will be used;

(c) where the request is to inspect the marked register or lists, details relating to any suspected fraud which the person has reason to believe may have taken place in respect of a petition;

(d) who will inspect the documents;

(e) the date on which they wish to inspect the documents; and

(f) whether they would prefer to inspect the documents in printed or data form.

(3) Subject to subparagraph (4), the registration officer must make the documents open to public inspection available for inspection under supervision not later than 10 working days after the date of receipt of a request that has been duly made.

(4) Where a request has been made to inspect copies of the marked register or lists under subparagraph (2), the registration officer is only required to make those documents available for inspection if that officer is satisfied that fraud may have taken place in respect of the petition to which the documents relate.

(5) A person who obtains a copy of or information in any document open to public inspection under this paragraph may use it only for the permitted purposes specified in paragraph 5(3) and any conditions specified in that paragraph are to apply.

(6) Where inspection takes place by providing the records or lists on a computer screen or otherwise in data form, the registration officer must ensure that the manner in which, and equipment on which, that copy is provided do not permit any person consulting that copy to—

(a) search it by electronic means by reference to the name of any person; or

(b) copy or transmit any part of that copy by electronic or any other means.

(7) Subject to subparagraph (8), a person who inspects a copy of a document open to public inspection, whether a printed copy or in data form, may not—

(a) make copies of any part of it, or

(b) record any particulars in it,

except that a person who inspects a copy of the marked register or lists may make hand-written notes.

(8) The registration officer must, on request, supply free of charge copies of any documents open to public inspection—

(a) to the Security Service, the Government Communications Headquarters, or the Secret Intelligence Service; or

(b) to a person who has inspected those documents and who is entitled to be supplied with a copy of the marked register or lists by virtue of being a person to whom paragraph 2(2)(a) to (d) applies.

Restrictions on use, supply and disclosure of documents by the registration officer, Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland and staff

4.—(1) This paragraph applies to—

(a) the registration officer;

(b) any deputy registration officer; and

(c) any person appointed to assist the registration officer or who in the course of that person’s employment is assigned to assist the registration officer.

(2) A person to whom this paragraph applies must not—

(a) supply to any person a copy of the documents open to public inspection,

(b) disclose information contained in those documents (and not contained in the edited register), or

(c) make use of any such information,

otherwise than in accordance with an enactment, including these Regulations.

(3) Nothing in subparagraph (2) applies to the supply or disclosure by a person (“P”) to whom this paragraph applies to another such person in connection with P’s registration duties or for the purposes of a petition.

Other restrictions on use of documents or information contained in them

5.—(1) This paragraph applies to any person who has obtained access to a copy of the documents open to public inspection or information contained in them by any means.

(2) No person to whom this paragraph applies may—

(a) supply a copy of the documents open to public inspection or any part of those documents,

(b) disclose any information contained in those documents (that is not contained in the edited register), or

(c) make use of any such information,

other than for a permitted purpose specified in subparagraph (3).

(3) The permitted purposes are—

(a) where a copy of any information was supplied to a person or body referred to in the circumstances to which paragraph 3(8) applies—

(i) the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the criminal law (whether in England and Wales or elsewhere), or

(ii) the vetting of a relevant person (within the meaning of regulation 109(5) of the 2001 Regulations and regulation 108(5) of the 2001 (Scotland) Regulations for the purpose of safeguarding national security;

(b) where a copy of any information was supplied to the Electoral Commission, the purposes in connection with their functions under, or by virtue of, PPERA 2000;

(c) in any other case, the purposes of a petition.

Calculating the fee for supply of marked registers or lists

6.—(1) The fee to be paid in accordance with paragraph 2(4)(b) by a person making a request for a copy of the whole or of any part of the marked register or lists is set out in subparagraph (2).

(2) The fee is to be the sum of £10, plus for a copy—

(a) in printed form, £2 for each 1,000 entries (or remaining part of 1,000 entries) covered by the request; and

(b) in data form, £1 for each 1,000 entries (or remaining part of 1,000 entries) covered by the request.

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph, a request for a copy of the whole or the same part of the marked register or lists in both a printed and data form may be treated as two separate requests.

Regulation 140

SCHEDULE 4 LEGAL PROCEEDINGS: APPLICATION TO RECALL PETITIONS OF EXISTING PROVISIONS

PART 1 REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT 1983, PART 3

1.—(1) Part 3 of the 1983 Act (legal proceedings) applies for the purposes of a petition and has effect—

(a) with the modifications made by this Part of this Schedule, and

(b) with any other necessary modifications.

(2) Sections 204 and 205 of the 1983 Act (Scotland and Northern Ireland) have effect for the purposes of the provisions applied by this Part, with the following modifications to section 204 (general application to Scotland)—

(a) in subsection (1), omit “, and accordingly” to the end;

(b) omit subsections (2), (4), (7), (9) and (10).

(3) Except where the context requires otherwise—

(a) a reference to a provision that is applied by this Part has effect as a reference to that provision as so applied;

(b) expressions are to be construed in accordance with regulation 3 (interpretation) of these Regulations.

General modifications

2.  A reference, however expressed, in a provision applied by this Schedule or in the heading to such a provision—

(a) to a parliamentary election petition, other than the reference in section 123(1)(a) (rota of judges), has effect as if it were a reference to a recall petition complaint;

(b) to any term in the first column of the following table has effect as if it were a reference to the corresponding term in the second column.

Term referred to	Modification
Candidate at an election A corrupt or illegal practice Election Petitioner	The MP to whom a recall petition relates A corrupt or illegal practice under the Recall of MPs Act 2015 or the Recall of MPs (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016 Petition Complainant

Questioning of a recall petition

3.  For section 120 (method of questioning recall petition), substitute—

“A recall petition may not be questioned except by a complaint that there was an undue outcome to the petition (“a recall petition complaint”) presented in accordance with this Part of this Act.”

4.  In section 121 (presentation and service of a recall petition complaint)—

(a) for subsections (1), (1A) and (2) substitute—

“(1) A recall petition complaint may be presented by one or more of the following persons—

(a) a person who signed the petition or was entitled to do so; or

(b) the MP in relation to whom the petition was held.

(2) The respondent to a complaint shall be—

(a) where the complaint relates to the conduct of the petition officer, that officer;

(b) where the complaint is made by a person other than the MP in relation to whom the petition was held, that MP;

(c) otherwise, the petition officer.”;

(b) in subsection (3), for “to which it relates” substitute “of the MP to whom the recall petition related”;

(c) in subsection (4), for “returning officer of the constituency to which the petition related” substitute “petition officer”.

5.  In section 122 (time for presentation or amendment of a recall petition complaint)—

(a) for subsection (1), substitute—

“(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a recall petition complaint must be presented within 21 days after the day on which public notice of the outcome of the petition is given in accordance with section 14(2)(c) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (determination of whether recall petition successful).”;

(b) in subsection (2)—

(i) for “election or return” substitute “outcome of the petition”,

(ii) for “since the time of that return” substitute “after the day referred to in subsection (1)”;

(c) in subsections (3) and (5), for “election or return” substitute “outcome of the petition”;

(d) in subsection (3), in paragraph (b)—

(i) for “to whose election the petition relates or an agent of his” substitute “to whom the recall petition related”,

(ii) omit “or his election agent”;

(e) for subsection (4) substitute—

“(4) The day referred to in subsection (3) is the tenth day after the end of the time allowed for delivering to the petition officer the recall petition return required by Schedule 5 to the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (recall petition returns) or, if later—

(a) that on which the petition officer receives the return and all documents required by that Schedule to accompany it;

(b) where the return and those documents are received on different days, the last of those days;”;

(f) in subsection (6), omit “; and” and paragraph (b);

(g) in subsection (7), for “an election” substitute “the outcome of a petition”.

6.  In section 123 (constitution of the election court and place of trial), in subsection (3), for “for which the election was held” substitute “of the MP in relation to whom the recall petition was held”.

7.  Omit sections 127 to 135A (questioning of a local election).

Procedure on recall petition complaints

8.  In section 136(2) (security for costs)—

(a) omit paragraph (b) and “and” following it;

(b) in paragraph (i), omit “and the amount” to “the sheriff directs”.

9.  In section 138 (list of petitions)—

(a) in subsection (1), omit the words after paragraph (b);

(b) for subsection (2), substitute—

“(2) Where more than one recall petition complaint is made in relation to the same petition, those complaints shall be dealt with as one complaint.”;

(c) omit subsections (3) to (5).

10.  In section 139 (trial of petition)—

(a) in subsection (1), for “, in the case of” to the end substitute “14 days before the day of trial”;

(b) in subsection (3)—

(i) for “respondent” substitute “the MP to whom the petition related”;

(ii) omit the words after “prorogation of Parliament”;

(c) in subsection (4), omit the second paragraph;

(d) for subsection (5), substitute—

“(5) On the trial of a complaint of an undue result in a recall petition, the respondent may give evidence to prove that the result was not undue in the same manner as if the respondent had presented a petition.”;

(e) omit subsection (6).

11.  In section 140 (witnesses), in subsection (1), omit the words after “the High Court”.

12.  In section 143 (expenses of witnesses), in subsection (2), omit the second paragraph.

13.  In section 144 (conclusion of trial of recall petition complaint)—

(a) for subsection (1), substitute—

“(1) Subject to subsection (3A), at the conclusion of the trial of a recall petition complaint, the petition court shall determine whether the outcome of the recall petition should be upheld, and the determination so certified shall be final to all intents as to the matters at issue in the complaint.”;

(b) for subsection (3), substitute—

“(3) If the judges constituting the petition court—

(a) differ as to whether the outcome of the recall petition should be upheld, they shall certify that difference and the outcome of the petition shall be deemed to be upheld;

(b) determine that the outcome of the petition should not be upheld but differ as to any part of the rest of the determination, they shall certify that difference and the outcome of the petition shall be deemed to be void.

(3A) A determination under this section of a complaint in relation to a petition that was successful shall avoid the outcome of that petition only if the complaint was made within the period of 21 days after the day on which public notice of the outcome of the petition is given in accordance with section 14(2)(c) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (determination of whether recall petition successful).”;

(c) in subsection (7), omit “in their Journals” to the end;

(d) after subsection (7), insert—

“(8) If the determination of the petition court under this section is that the outcome of the recall petition is void, section 5(1) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Speaker’s notice) applies in relation to the MP in respect of whom the petition was held as if—

(a) a petition had not been held, and

(b) receipt by the Speaker of the court’s certificate is the moment the Speaker becomes aware that the recall condition giving rise to the original petition has been met in relation to that MP,

and the remainder of the Act (including the remainder of that section), applies in relation to that MP accordingly.”.

14.  Omit sections 145 (conclusion of trial of local election petition) and 145A (determination in respect of election of Mayor of London or constituency member of London Assembly).

15.  In section 146 (special case for determination of High Court)—

(a) omit subsection (3),

(b) in subsection (5), omit the words after “shall be final” to the end.

16.  In section 147 (withdrawal of complaint)—

(a) in subsection (1), omit the second paragraph;

(b) in subsection (2), omit “or local government area”.

17.  In section 155 (neglect or refusal to pay costs), in subsection (1)(a), omit “, and” to the end of paragraph (b).

18.  In section 157 (appeals and jurisdiction)—

(a) in subsection (1), after “this Act” insert “or the Recall of MPs Act 2015”;

(b) in subsection (2)—

(i) for “and of the rules made under it” substitute “, the rules made under it and the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”;

(ii) in paragraph (c), for “, and” to the end of the subsection, substitute “shall be observed.”;

(c) in subsection (4)—

(i) omit “in relation to parliamentary elections”;

(ii) after “this Part” insert “as applied by the Recall of MPs Act 2015”;

(d) omit subsection (6);

(e) in subsection (7), omit “to (6) above and, in relation to elections of councillors, subsection (3),”;

(f) in subsection (8), omit the reference to subsection (5).

Consequences of finding by petition court of corrupt or illegal practice

19.  In section 158 (report as to whether MP guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice)—

(a) in subsection (1), omit “or section 145”;

(b) in subsection (3)—

(i) for the first paragraphs (a) and (b) substitute—

“(a) that no corrupt or illegal practice was committed at the recall petition by the MP to whom the petition relates or with his knowledge or consent and the offences mentioned in the report were committed without the sanction or connivance of that MP, and

(b) that all reasonable means for preventing the commission of corrupt and illegal practices at the petition were taken by and on behalf of that MP.”;

(ii) omit the second paragraph.

20.  In section 159 (MP reported guilty of corrupt or illegal practice)—

(a) for subsections (1) and (3) substitute—

“(1) If the MP in relation to whom an unsuccessful recall petition is held is reported guilty of any corrupt or illegal practice that petition shall be void.”;

(b) in subsection (4), after “this Act” insert “and the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”.

21.  In section 160 (persons reported personally guilty of corrupt or illegal practices)—

(a) in subsection (1), omit “or section 145”, “, or” and paragraph (b);

(b) in subsection (4A), for the words after “reported” to the end substitute—

“personally guilty of—

(a) a corrupt practice under regulation 118 (personation) or 120 (offences relating to applications for postal and proxy signing) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016, or

(b) an illegal practice under regulation 119 of those Regulations (other signing offences).”;

(c) omit subsection (7), after “this Act” insert “and the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”.

Further provision as to avoidance of recall petitions and striking off signatures

22.  In section 164 (avoidance of election for general corruption etc)—

(a) for subsection (1) substitute—

“(1) Where on a recall petition complaint it is shown that corrupt or illegal practices or illegal payments or hirings committed in reference to the petition for the purpose of promoting or procuring a particular outcome in that petition have so extensively prevailed that they may reasonably be supposed to have affected the result, that petition shall be void.”;

(b) omit subsection (3).

23.  Omit section 165 (avoidance of election for employing corrupt agent).

24.  In section 166 (signatures to be struck off for corrupt or illegal practices)—

(a) for subsection (1) substitute—

“(1) Where, on a recall petition complaint, it is shown that a person has been guilty of bribery, treating or undue influence in respect of any other person who signed the petition there shall, on scrutiny, be struck off from the petition one signature for every person who signed it and is proved to have been so bribed, treated or unduly influenced.”;

(b) in subsection (2), for the words after “hiring at” substitute “a recall petition signs that petition, that signature is void”;

(c) in subsection (3), for the words after “Parliamentary election” to the end substitute “and, by reason of that incapacity, is not entitled to sign a recall petition signs that petition, that signature is void.”.

Power to except innocent act from being illegal practice, payment, employment or hiring

25.  Omit section 167 (application for relief).

Prosecutions for corrupt or illegal practices

26.  In section 168 (prosecutions for corrupt practices), in subsection (1)—

(a) in paragraph (a)(i), for “section 60 or 62A” substitute “regulation 118 (personation) or 120 (offences relating to applications for postal or proxy signing) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”;

(b) in paragraph (b), omit “not exceeding the statutory maximum”.

27.  In section 169 (prosecutions for illegal practices), for England and Wales omit “not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale”.

28.  In section 173 (incapacities on conviction of corrupt or illegal practice)—

(a) in subsection (1), after “subsection (2)” insert “and (2A)”;

(b) in subsection (2), for “section 60” to the end substitute “a corrupt practice under regulation 118 (personation) or 120 (offences relating to applications for postal and proxy signing) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016, or an illegal practice under regulation 119 of those Regulations (other signing offences).”;

(c) after subsection (2), insert—

“(2A) A court before which a person is convicted of an offence referred to in subsection (2B) may, if they think it just in the special circumstances of the case, mitigate or entirely remit any incapacity imposed by virtue of this section.

(2B) Those offences are any offence under the following provisions of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016—

(a) regulation 119 (other signing offences),

(b) regulation 125 (broadcasting from outside the United Kingdom),

(c) regulation 126 (imitation official petition notice cards).”.

Illegal payments, employments or hirings

29.  Omit section 175 (illegal payments, etc).

General provisions as to prosecutions

30.  In section 176 (time limit for prosecutions)—

(a) in subsection (1), for “this Act” substitute “this Part of this Act or in the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”;

(b) in subsection (2C), for “rule 57 of the parliamentary elections rules” substitute “regulations 46 and 47 (retention of documents) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”;

(c) in subsection (2D), for “rule 57” substitute “regulations 46 and 47 of those Regulations”.

31.  Omit section 177 (local election offences punishable summarily).

32.  In section 178 (prosecution of offences committed outside the United Kingdom), for “this Act” substitute “this Part of this Act or the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”.

33.  In section 179 (offences by associations)—

(a) for “section 100 or 110A above” substitute “regulation 131 (details to appear on recall petition publications) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”;

(b) after “this Act” insert “or those Regulations”.

34.  In section 180 (evidence by certificate of holding of recall petition)—

(a) in paragraph (a), omit “, and”;

(b) omit paragraph (b);

(c) for “returning officer” to the end of paragraph (ii) substitute—

“petition officer—

(i) that the petition mentioned in the certificate was duly held, and

(ii) that the person named in the certificate was the MP to whom the petition related,”.

35.  In section 181 (Director of Public Prosecutions), in subsection (1), after “this Act” insert “or the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”.

Supplemental

36.  In section 182 (rules of procedure), in subsection (1) and in subsection (3), at the end insert “as it has effect for the purposes of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 and the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”.

37.  In section 183 (costs), for “Part 2 or this Part of this Act” substitute “this Part of this Act or the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”.

38.  In section 184 (service of notices)—

(a) in subsection (1), after “this Act” insert “or the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”;

(b) in paragraph (a), omit “or, as the case may be, the area of the authority for which the election was held”.

39.  In section 185 (interpretation of Part 3)—

(a) omit the definitions of “appropriate officer”, “candidate”, “date of the allowance of an authorised excuse”, “declaration as to election expenses” and “return as to election expenses”;

(b) in the definition of “Licensing Acts”, for “means” to the end substitute “means the Licensing Act 2003 and the Acts amending that Act, or the corresponding enactments forming part of the law of Scotland or Northern Ireland;”.

PART 2 THE ELECTION PETITION RULES 1960

40.—(1) The Election Petition Rules 1960 apply for the purposes of a recall petition and have effect—

(a) with the modifications made by this Part of this Schedule, and

(b) with any other necessary modifications.

(2) Except where the context requires otherwise—

(a) a reference to a provision that is applied by this Schedule has effect as a reference to that provision as so applied;

(b) expressions are to be construed in accordance with regulation 3 (interpretation) of these Regulations.

(3) A reference in a provision of the Rules as applied by this Part of this Schedule—

(a) to a parliamentary election petition (however expressed), other than the reference in the definition of “rota judge” in rule 2(2), has effect as if it were a reference to a recall petition complaint;

(b) to a returning officer has effect as if it were a reference to the petition officer (within the meaning of section 6 of the Act) for the recall petition to which a petition complaint relates;

(c) to a petitioner, has effect as if it were a reference to a complainant.

41.  In rule 2 (definitions)—

(a) omit the definitions of “local election petition” and “constituency”;

(b) for the definition of “petition” substitute ““complaint” means a recall petition complaint within the meaning of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”;

(c) omit paragraph (3);

(d) in paragraph (4), for “and these Rules” substitute “these Rules and the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”.

42.  In rule 4 (form of petition), in paragraph (1)—

(a) in subparagraph (a), omit “or section 128(1)”;

(b) in subparagraph (b), for the words after “showing” to the end substitute “the date on which public notice of the outcome of the petition was given in accordance with section 14(2)(c) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (determination of whether recall petition was successful)”;

(c) in subparagraph (c), omit “or subsection (2), (3) or (4) of section 129”.

43.  In rule 6 (notice to be given to respondent and DPP), in paragraph (1), omit “or section 128(2)”.

44.  In rule 9 (display etc of notice of time and place of trial), in paragraph (3), for the words from the beginning to “seven days” substitute “Not less than fourteen days”.

45.  In rule 10 (duty to specify matters in issue in certain complaints)—

(a) for paragraphs (1) and (2), substitute—

“(1) Where a recall petition complaint is of an undue result in a petition, every party shall, not less than seven days before the date fixed for trial, file a list of the signatures which that party contends were wrongly admitted or rejected, stating in respect of each such signature the grounds for that contention, and serve a copy of the list on every other party and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(2) Where the respondent to such a complaint intends to give evidence under section 139(5) of the 1983 Act (trial of petition) that the outcome of the petition was not undue, the respondent shall, not less than seven days before the day fixed for the trial of the petition, file a statement of the grounds for that contention and serve a copy of those grounds on the complainant and the Director of Public Prosecutions.”;

(b) in paragraph (4)—

(i) in subparagraph (a), for “vote” substitute “signature”;

(ii) in subparagraph (b), for “objection to a person’s election which is not specified in a list” substitute “ground of contention not included in a statement”.

46.  Omit rules 14 (petition abated in the event of a complainant’s death), and 16 (withdrawal and replacement of respondents before trial) and 18 (appointments in connection with trials of local election petitions).

47.  In rule 19 (computation of time)—

(a) in paragraph (1), for “section 119 of the Act” substitute “section 22(1) of the Act (definition of working day) and regulation 145 (time) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016”;

(b) in paragraph (2), omit “(not being a day mentioned in section 119(2) of the Act)”.

48.  In the Schedule (form of recall petition complaint), for the form of petition, up to the end of paragraph (1) substitute—

“IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION

In the matter of the Recall of MPs Act 2015

And in the matter of the recall petition held in respect of [state name of MP in relation to whom the petition was held] and [state name of constituency] … beginning on the … day of … 20 … and ending on the …day of … 20 …

The complaint of A. B. of … (and C. D. of …) shows:

1

That the Complainant A. B. is a person who signed (or was entitled to sign) the above petition (or was the MP in relation to whom the petition was held) and the Complainant C. D. (state similarly the capacity in which C. D. presents the complaint).

2

That the petition was available for signing from the … day of … 20… to the … day of … 20 … and on the … day of … 20… the petition officer notified the Speaker of the House of Commons that the petition was successful (or unsuccessful).

3

That (state the facts on which the Complainant relies).

4

That (in the case of a complaint mentioned in section 122(2) or (3) of the Representation of the People 1983, as it has effect for the purposes of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 by virtue of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016, state the event on which time for the presentation of the complaint depends and its date).

The complainant claims—

That it may be determined that the outcome of the petition was void (or as the case may be).”

(1)

1998 c. 29.