Enforcement

As the regulator of party and election finance one of our primary objectives is to monitor compliance with the controls and requirements set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA). We also have a role monitoring candidate expenses incurred under the Representation of the People Act 1983 (RPA).

Wherever possible we seek to use advice and guidance in order to secure compliance with the law.

We also currently have powers to impose civil penalties and investigate breaches of the law.

To find out more about the legislation on political parties, regulated donees and other regulated entities, please follow this link.

Click on the links below to know more about:

Enforcement policy consultation

During 2009 we consulted on our draft enforcement policy. The consultation explained how we intend to use the new powers and sanctions granted to us by the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009. We have documented this process in our report on the consultation. We also commissioned independent research to gather views from members of the public and volunteer treasurers about the Commission's regulatory approach to party and election finance.

We have published the following documents to inform Parliament's consideration of the draft statutory instrument that must be debated before we can access to our regulatory powers and sanctions

Debate of the draft Political Parties Elections and Referendums (Civil Sanctions) Order 2010 is likely to happen in the autumn we expect these powers to take effect from 1 December 2010.

We will publish the final enforcement policy later this year alongside a series of practice notes and guidance for those we regulate which will explain in greater detail what these changes mean and how we will work with these new powers and sanctions. We will also publish information on allegation handling; interview process; disclosure policy, and each of the new civil sanctions.

Further information...

Following Royal Assent of the Political Parties and Elections Act in July 2009 we published Better regulation of party and election finance (PDF) and Better Regulation (Welsh/Cymraeg) PDF, a consultation document setting out our proposed future regulatory enforcement policy.

As part of the consultation process, we wrote to and met with a wide range of those organisations and individuals we regulate, including MPs, registered political parties (including volunteer treasurers and regional staff) as well as organisations who share an interest in ensuring effective regulation of party finance. We also presented at panels comprised of political parties with representation in UK legislatures.

We are particularly grateful to those we met for sharing their views with us. We have also commissioned independent research to gather views from members of the public and volunteer treasurers about the Commission's regulatory approach to party and election finance. We will be publishing the findings from this research alongside a report on the consultation in early 2010.

Submissions which consultees have provided for publication are available here: