The Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 (PPE Act) provides us with new powers and civil sanctions relating to our enforcement provisions and investigative work which come into effect on 1 December 2010. The changes will help us to operate in a way that is effective, fair and proportionate, recognising that many of those responsible for compliance with the law are volunteers.
The changes include new civil sanctions that we will be able to use instead of pursuing a breach of the law as a criminal offence. For instance, we could require an organisation that has broken the rules to take certain steps that will help them to comply in future, rather than referring the case to the police for criminal investigation.
We can only use the new sanctions where it is clear beyond reasonable doubt that the law has been broken - and we will only consider using them in cases where we need to take enforcement action in order to achieve our objectives as a regulator. Wherever possible we will continue to use other methods, such as providing advice and guidance, to encourage compliance and ensure the transparency of party and election finance
The civil sanctions apply to most breaches of Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA), including many that could previously only be sanctioned by criminal prosecution. Some breaches will however remain subject to criminal prosecution only.
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Civil sanctions
In summary, the civil sanctions available from 1 December 2010 are set out below. The frequently asked questions (FAQs) have been designed to supplement our existing statutory guidance.
Fixed monetary penalty
- A £200 fine
Variable monetary penalty, a fine ranging between
- £250-£5,000 for prescribed contraventions and for offences triable in a magistrates’ court
- £250 - £20,000 for offences triable in either a magistrates’ or crown court
- A variable monetary penalty can be used either on its own or together with a compliance notice or restoration notice
- Variable monetary penalty - FAQs
Compliance notice (discretionary requirement)
- A notice setting out action that must be taken by the person or organisation that has breached the law so that the breach does not continue or recur. A compliance notice may be used either on its own or together with a variable monetary penalty and / or restoration notice
- Compliance notice - FAQs
Restoration notice (discretionary requirement)
- A notice setting out actions that must be undertaken to restore the position, as far as possible, to what it would have been had no breach occurred.
- A restoration notice may be used either on its own or together with a variable monetary penalty and / or compliance notice
- Restoration notice - FAQs
Stop notice
- A notice which prohibits a person or organisation from carrying on or beginning a specified activity until the steps set out in the notice are met
- Stop notice - FAQs
Enforcement undertaking
- An agreement proposed by a regulated organisation or individual to undertake specified actions which will bring it into compliance or restore the position, as far as possible, to what it would have been had no breach occurred.
- Enforcement undertaking - FAQs
Sanctions available for all offences occurring before 1 December can be viewed by clicking on the link below:
Forfeitures
Regulated organisations and individuals can only accept donations and loans above £500 from permissible donors.
We can, under Section 58 of PPERA, seek forfeiture of an amount equivalent to the donation where a regulated organisation or individual has accepted a donation from either an unidentifiable source or a source that was not permissible, and has not returned it within 30 days of receipt.
Court proceedings
When a political party or any other regulated entity refuses to pay a fine or to forfeit voluntarily the money of a donation/loan, we may decide to pursue the action through the courts.
