Part 4: Regulation of Expenditure Controlled Expenditure etc Section 26: Restriction on which third parties may incur controlled expenditure
Section 26 subsection (1) inserts new section 89A(1) of PPERA. Subsection (1) of which prevents any third party from incurring controlled expenditure (including notional controlled expenditure) during a reserved regulated period, unless it is either eligible to register under section 88(2) of PPERA or an unincorporated association with the requisite UK connection. Subsections (4) and (5) of 89A make it an offence for a third party to incur controlled expenditure when not listed in section 88(2) or exempt. .
	Section 89A(6) of PPERA provides that unincorporated associations have the ‘requisite UK connection’ if they are composed solely of registered overseas electors (defined in new subsection (7)); these associations are a separate category of unincorporated associations that are not eligible to notify the Electoral Commission because they do not fall into the unincorporated association category in section 54(2)(h) of PPERA.
	Third-party campaigner controlled expenditure is only regulated during a regulated period. Therefore, the offence under new section 89A(4) or (5) will only apply during a regulated period. New section 89A(2) ensures that 89A(1) will not apply to third-party campaigners spending below £700 during a regulated period; this mirrors section 75(1ZZB)(a) and (1ZA) of the RPA 1983.
	Section 89A applies only to reserved regulated periods. Subsection (7) of that section defines reserved regulated periods by reference to paragraphs 3, 7,, 9, 10 and 11 of Schedule 10 of PPERA. The regulated period before devolved elections fall within the devolved legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament or Welsh Senedd, except where regulated periods for UK Parliamentary elections overlap/are combined with those periods. It is possible that this combination of regulated periods could happen retrospectively, if a general election is called before the expected end of a parliament. In this scenario, the entire combined regulated period (as defined by paragraphs 9 to 11 of the Schedule) is reserved. In these circumstances, spending by a third party could be captured, assuming it meets the controlled expenditure definition, after it has actually been incurred, and a third party spending in excess of permissible limits could be liable for a criminal offence.
	Third parties that are not eligible to register with the Electoral Commission under section 88(2) PPERA but incur controlled expenditure during a devolved regulated period are liable for an offence under new subsections (4) and (5) of section 89A PPERA if the regulated period is subsequently combined with a regulated period for a parliamentary general election.