Part 4: Regulation of Expenditure Controlled Expenditure etc Section 29 (code of practice on controls relating to third parties)
Section 29 subsection (1) inserts new sections 100A and 100B into Part VI of PPERA placing a duty on the Electoral Commission to produce a statutory code of practice on the application of expenditure controls for third party campaigners contained within that Act; specifying the particular matters which must be included in the code; creating a defence for third parties charged with offences under Part VI of PPERA; and setting out a consultation process and procedural requirements relevant to the production of the code.
	Subsection (5) provides that compliance with any code issued under this section is a potential defence where the offence relates to expenditure incurred or treated as incurred by a third party during a reserved regulated period. This means where a ‘responsible person’, for example, is charged with an offence in relation to controlled expenditure (or where expenditure is treated as controlled expenditure) and they determine what is or is not controlled expenditure (or is to be treated as such) in accordance with an issued code then there is a defence open to them.
	The consultation process for the statutory code is set out in subparagraph (1)(c) of paragraph 100B stating that the Electoral Commission must consult with "other persons as… consider[ed] appropriate" on a draft code. This may include, for example, civil society organisations eligible to notify the Electoral Commission under section 88.