Sections 41 and 42 of the Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012 inserted a new Part IX into the Electoral Act 1997. This places a requirement on political parties to prepare and submit an audited statement of accounts annually to the Standards in Public Office Commission for publication. The Act provides that the accounts be based on guidelines published by the Commission. Section 89(2) of the 1997 Act provides that before publication, the Commission shall, following a consultation process, submit the draft guidelines to the Minister for his or her consent to publication, with or without modification.
The Standards in Public Office Commission, in a letter of 14 November 2013, requested my consent, as Minister, to the publication of draft guidelines. Having examined and considered the draft guidelines and having taken legal advice, I wrote to the Commission on 17 December 2013 to advise that consent could not be given to the draft guidelines as they went beyond the statutory remit of Part IX of the Electoral Act 1997. Provision was made for the inclusion within the scope of the guidelines of the local branches of political parties, or ‘accounting units’ as they are called in the 1997 Act. This is not provided for in the legislation. A further letter was sent from the Commission, in response, on 20 December 2013.
On 12 February 2014, I wrote to the Standards in Public Office Commission, elaborating on the reasons why I, as Minister, was not in a position to consent to the publication of the guidelines drafted by the Commission. Further to that letter there has been contact between officials in my Department and the Commission’s Secretariat with a view to clarifying any issues arising.
The provision contained in Part IX of the 1997 Act represents an important measure to improve the transparency of political funding and expenditure. The measure, as framed, will capture the vast bulk of the income and expenditure of political parties in a manner that is administratively proportionate. I hope that it will be possible to progress matters with a view towards achieving an outcome whereby the provision is fully implemented.
