The Acting Returning Officer Parliamentary Constituencies in England and Wales
The Returning Officer Local Government Areas in England and Wales
The Electoral Registration Officer District and London Boroughs in England and Wales
The Election Publications Bill received Royal Assent on 10 April 2001 and came into force on the same day. The Act, and accompanying explanatory notes, will shortly be available on the Stationery Office website. This letter is to inform you about the reasons for this Act being passed and about its effects.
2. The Act postpones the operation of the new requirements relating to the imprint on election publications introduced by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums (PPER) Act 2000. Those requirements will be re-commenced at a later date (but not before the next general election). In the meantime, compliance with either the new requirements or the old ones (in section 110 of the Representation of the People Act 1983) will satisfy the law so far as concerns controls on publications used in constituency contests. Pending re-commencement, the new requirements concerning national election material are in abeyance.
Background: changes made by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
3. Prior to the PPER Act, section 110 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 required material promoting or procuring the election of a candidate to include an imprint detailing the name and address of the printer and publisher of the material. There was no equivalent requirement in respect of national election material.
4. Paragraph 14 of Schedule 18 to the PPER Act substituted a new section 110 in the RPA 1983, replacing the requirement to name the "publisher" with a requirement to identify the "promoter" (defined in the Act as the person who caused the material to be published) and the person on behalf of whom the material is being published. The PPER Act also applied the same requirements to national election material (section 143) and to referendum material (section 126).
5. These provisions of the PPER Act, along with others, were brought into force on 16 February 2001 by a Commencement Order.
6. Subsequent to the making of the Commencement Order, however, the Government received representations from the three main political parties that none of them were in a position to comply fully with the new requirements. In particular, doing so would require them to abandon considerable quantities of election material already printed or commissioned. The new Act responds to these representations by, in effect, undoing the Commencement Order.
7. Section 1 of the Act rescinds the commencement of section 143 and paragraph 14 of Schedule 18 to the PPER Act. It restores the operation of the old section 110 of the RPA 1983 in relation to material published on behalf of candidates or third parties at local level. A copy of the old section 110 is attached.
8. As a result of the postponement of the commencement of section 143 of the PPER Act, no specific imprint requirements will apply to national election material. However, the Newspapers, Printers, and Reading Rooms Repeal Act 1869 remains in force. Under the 1869 Act, "any paper or book whatsoever which shall be meant to be published or dispersed" is required to have the name and address of the printer imprinted on the front (if it is a single-sided document) or on either the first or last page (in any other case).
9. Section 2 of the Act enables the Secretary of State to re-commence, by order, section 143 of and paragraph 14 of Schedule 18 to the PPER Act. Ministers have undertaken to consult with the Electoral Commission and the political parties before exercising the order-making power.
10. Section 3 of the Act includes a saving for any material complying with the new section 110 in the period beginning 16 February 2001 and ending with the date on which the new section 110 is brought back into force. Candidates and third parties who have succeeded in making arrangements to comply with the PPER Act provisions will not, therefore, have to change back again.
11. Candidates and third parties producing new material have the option of complying with either the old or the new section 110. If there is any possibility of stocks produced for this year’s elections being left over for further use, however, it is recommended that they comply with the new section 110. Political parties and third parties operating at the national level, and producing material which may be re-used later, may similarly wish to ensure that it meets the requirements of section 143 of the PPER Act.
12. Returning officers should note that while the old section 110 caught notices (such as the notice of election) issued by them, new section 110 does not as it relates only to documents promoting or procuring the election of a candidate. Nonetheless, returning officers will wish to continue to ensure that the provenance of any documentation issued by them is clear.
13. Any enquiries about matter covered in this circular should be addressed to:
Charles Goldie 020 7273 3631
Nigel Varney 020 7273 3280
14. We understand that the Electoral Commission intend to issue advice to registered parties and recognised third parties about how the new section 110 of the RPA 1983 and section 143 of the PPER Act could best be complied with.
Nigel Varney
Head of Party Funding Unit