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

Compliance

8 Duty to monitor

The Registrar must monitor compliance with the obligations imposed by or under this Part.

9 Notice to supply information

(1) In connection with the duty under section 8, the Registrar may serve a notice (an “information notice”) on a person mentioned in subsection (2) requiring the person to supply information specified in the notice.

(2) The persons are—

(a) any registered person;

(b) any person who is not entered in the register but whom the Registrar has reasonable grounds for believing to be a consultant lobbyist.

(3) Regulations may specify descriptions of information which the Registrar may not require a person to supply under this section.

(4) An information notice must—

(a) specify the form in which the information must be supplied,

(b) specify the date by which the information must be supplied, and

(c) contain particulars of the right to appeal under section 11.

(5) The date specified under subsection (4)(b) must not be before the end of the period within which an appeal under section 11 can be brought.

(6) Section 10 sets out limitations on—

(a) what information is required to be supplied under a notice, and

(b) how information which is supplied may be used.

(7) Where an information notice has been served on a person, the Registrar may cancel it by serving written notice to that effect on the person.

10 Limitations on duty to supply information and use of information supplied

(1) An information notice does not require a person to supply information if—

(a) doing so would disclose evidence of the commission of an offence, other than an offence excluded by subsection (2), and

(b) the disclosure would expose the person to proceedings for that offence.

(2) The following offences are excluded from subsection (1)—

(a) an offence under this Part;

(b) an offence under section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911 (false statements made otherwise than on oath);

(c) an offence under section 44 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (false statements made otherwise than on oath);

(d) an offence under Article 10 of the Perjury (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 (S.I. 1979/1714 (N.I. 19)) (false statutory declarations etc).

(3) Any relevant statement made by a person (“P”) in response to a requirement in an information notice may not be used in evidence against P on a prosecution for an offence under this Part (except section 12(4)) unless the conditions in subsection (4) are met.

(4) The conditions are that in the proceedings—

(a) in giving evidence P provides information inconsistent with the relevant statement, and

(b) evidence relating to the statement is adduced, or a question relating to it is asked, by P or on P’s behalf.

(5) In subsection (3) “relevant statement”, in relation to a requirement in an information notice, means—

(a) an oral statement, or

(b) a written statement made for the purposes of the requirement.

11 Right to appeal against information notice

(1) A person on whom an information notice has been served may appeal to the Tribunal against the notice.

(2) If an appeal is brought under this section, the person is not required to supply the information until the date on which the appeal is finally determined or withdrawn.

(3) Regulations may make provision for and in connection with the determination of appeals under this section.