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

Forwarding of documents

114.—(1) The petition officer must forward to the registration officer at the same time as the petition officer forwards the documents mentioned in regulation 44 (delivery of documents to the registration officer)—

(a) any packets referred to in regulation 92 (sealing up of corresponding number lists), regulations 94 and 95 (spoilt postal signing sheets), regulations 96 and 97 (lost signing sheets), regulation 98 (cancellation of postal signing sheets), regulation 104 (opening of covering envelopes) and regulation 112 (sealing of receptacles) and subject to regulation 113, endorse on each packet a description of its contents and the name of the petition signing place; and

(b) a completed statement of the number of postal signing sheets issued, which is to be in the form of Form L in Schedule 2 (forms).

(2) Where—

(a) any covering envelopes are received by the petition officer after the end of the signing period (apart from those delivered in accordance with the provisions of regulation 99(3) (alternative means of returning postal signing sheets, postal petition statements and declarations of identity),

(b) any envelopes addressed to postal signers are returned as undelivered too late to be readdressed, or

(c) any spoilt postal signing sheets are returned too late to enable other postal signing sheets to be issued,

the petition officer must put them unopened in a separate packet, seal up such packet and endorse and forward it at a subsequent date in the manner described in paragraph (1).

(3) A petition officer, must at the same time as forwarding the documents mentioned in paragraph (1)—

(a) forward the list required to be compiled under regulation 110(4) (lists of rejected postal signing sheets) to the registration officer; and

(b) where the constituency comprises any part of the area of more than one local authority, the petition officer must also forward a copy of such extract of the list required to be compiled under regulation 110(4) as are relevant to each of the other registration officers concerned.

(4) Regulation 45 (orders for the production of documents) and regulation 46 (retention of documents) are to apply to any packet or document forwarded under this regulation except that in applying those provisions the list compiled and any extracts from it under regulation 110(4) (lists of rejected postal signing sheets) must be treated in the same manner as a counted signing sheet.

(5) In the application of this regulation to Scotland, the petition officer is not required to forward the documents mentioned to the registration officer but instead the petition officer must retain those documents and regulation 47 (retention and disposal of documents: Scotland) is to apply to those documents as it applies to documents retained under that regulation.

(6) A copy of the statement referred to in paragraph (1)(b) is to be provided by the petition officer to the Secretary of State and the Electoral Commission in the period which starts 10 days after the last day of the signing period and ends 15 days after that date.

(7) In the application of this regulation to Northern Ireland, in paragraph (6) the copy of the statement mentioned in that paragraph is to be provided to the Electoral Commission only.

(8) In the application of this regulation to England and Wales and Northern Ireland, 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.