- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (08/05/2003)
- Original (As enacted)
Version Superseded: 31/12/2020
Point in time view as at 08/05/2003.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003,
SCHEDULE.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
Section 7
Commencement Information
I1Sch. wholly in force at 10.3.2004, Sch. in force for E.W.S.N.I. at Royal Assent, see s. 28(3); Sch. in force for Gibraltar at 10.3.2004 by S.I. 2004/700, art. 2(b)(i)
1
1(1)As soon as possible after 1st May in a pre-election year the Electoral Commission (“the Commission”) must, subject to paragraph 2—
(a)carry out a review (“the periodic review”) of the distribution of MEPs between the electoral regions; and
(b)report its conclusions to the Secretary of State.
(2)In carrying out the periodic review the Commission must consider whether (assuming that each region is entitled to be allocated at least three MEPs) the ratio of electors to MEPs is as nearly as possible the same for every electoral region.
(3)If the Commission concludes that the result mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) is not achieved by the current distribution of MEPs, it must include in its report a recommendation specifying a distribution that would achieve that result.
(4)The report must be published by the Commission and laid before Parliament by the Secretary of State.
2
2(1)The Commission may not take any step (or further step) under paragraph 1 if a 2003 Act order is made or a suspension notice is given to the Commission—
(a)within the period of 12 months ending with 1st May in the pre-election year in question or,
(b)after the end of that period but before the Commission makes its report,
unless and until the duties under paragraph 1 revive by virtue of sub-paragraph (2).
(2)If the Secretary of State withdraws a suspension notice more than nine months before the date of the poll for the next general election of MEPs, the duties under paragraph 1 revive (but subject again to this paragraph).
(3)In this Schedule—
“2003 Act order” means an order under section 5 of the European Parliament (Representation) Act 2003 (orders implementing changes in the number of United Kingdom MEPs) which takes effect in relation to the next general election of MEPs after it is made; and
“suspension notice” means a notice stating that the Secretary of State considers it likely that a 2003 Act order will be made before the next general election of MEPs.
3
3(1)Where a recommendation under paragraph 1(3) is made to him, the Secretary of State must—
(a)lay before Parliament a draft of an order giving effect to the recommendation by amending any of the numbers specified in section 1(3); and
(b)if the draft is approved by resolution of each House, make an order in the terms of the draft.
(2)An order under this paragraph may make consequential, transitional or saving provision.
(3)Provision made under sub-paragraph (2) may modify any enactment.
(4)The Secretary of State must consult the Commission before laying an order under this paragraph before Parliament.
(5)This paragraph has effect subject to paragraphs 4 and 5.
4
4(1)If a motion for the approval of a draft of an order under paragraph 3 is rejected by either House or withdrawn by leave of the House, the Secretary of State may, after consulting the Commission, alter the draft order and lay it before Parliament for approval.
(2)But the Secretary of State may not, without the consent of the Commission, alter a draft order so as to propose a distribution of MEPs other than that recommended under paragraph 1(3).
(3)The Commission may not give its consent under sub-paragraph (2) unless it is satisfied that the distribution of MEPs could have been recommended under paragraph 1(3).
(4)If an altered draft order is approved by both Houses the Secretary of State must make an order under paragraph 3 in the terms of the altered draft.
(5)This paragraph has effect subject to paragraph 5.
5
5(1)The Secretary of State may not take any step (or further step) under paragraph 3 or 4 if a 2003 Act order is made before he would otherwise have taken it.
(2)Subject to that, the Secretary of State is not required to take any step (or further step) under paragraph 3 or 4 if and so long as he is of the opinion that it is likely that a 2003 Act order will be made before the next general election of MEPs.
(3)But if he ceases to be of that opinion, the Secretary of State—
(a)may not make an order under paragraph 3 on or after the relevant day; and
(b)is not required to take any other step under paragraph 3 or 4 if he does not consider that it will be practicable to make an order under paragraph 3 before the relevant day.
(4)In sub-paragraph (3) “the relevant day” means the first day of the period of four months ending with the day on which the poll for the next general election of MEPs is to be held.
6
6(1)In this Schedule—
“general election of MEPs” means an election required to be held in the United Kingdom by virtue of Article 10(2) of the Act annexed to Council Decision 76/787;
“pre-election year” means a year (including 2003) which immediately precedes a year in which a general election of MEPs is to be held; and
“relevant register” means—
a register of parliamentary electors;
a register of local government electors;
a register of peers maintained under section 3 of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (c. 50) (peers resident outside the United Kingdom); and
a register maintained under regulation 5 of the European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/1184) (citizens of the European Union other than Commonwealth and Republic of Ireland citizens).
(2)For the purposes of paragraph 1(2) a person is an “elector”, in relation to an electoral region, if his name appears on 1st May in the pre-election year concerned in (or in any part of) a relevant register which relates to the region.
(3)In calculating the total number of electors for any electoral region—
(a)persons who are registered but have not attained the age of 18 are to be counted as electors;
(b)a citizen of the European Union (not being a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland) who is registered only for the purposes of local government elections is to be disregarded; and
(c)the Electoral Commission may assume that each relevant register is accurate and that names appearing more than once on registers (or parts of registers) which relate to an electoral region are the names of different electors.”
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: