Schedule 3: Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority Sections 11-15: Final provisions
103.Section 11(1) provides that the Speaker, after consulting the Commissioner and the Committee on Standards and Privileges, may agree with the IPSA that the IPSA is to carry out agreed registration functions. These registration functions are functions performed by the Standards Commissioner which relate to registration. This section would permit the IPSA to take over the functions of the Standards Commissioner concerning other registers held by the Standards Commissioner, for example, the Register of Interests of Members’ Secretaries and Research Assistants.
104.Section 11(4) provides a similar power by which the Speaker, after consulting the IPSA and the Committee on Standards and Privileges, may agree with the Commissioner that the Commissioner is to carry out agreed functions. Those functions are functions of the Standards Commissioner and which the Commissioner could not carry out under any provision of this Act. This subsection permits the Commissioner to take on additional functions which are at present exercised by the Standards Commissioner.
105.Section 12 sets out the interpretation of terms used in the Act. It provides for the Speaker to make the final determination of which body would best be substituted for certain bodies named in the Act if one of those bodies changes its name or if the functions of the body become functions of a different body.
106.Section 13 sets out the powers to make transitional provision. It confers the functions on a Minister of the Crown so that it is possible for them to be exercised by the Leader of the House of Commons.
107.Section 13(1) provides that a Minister of the Crown may by order make supplementary, incidental, transitional, transitory or saving provision in connection with this Act.
108.Section 13(2) provides that an order made under this section may include certain transitional provisions to facilitate the transition from the current system of allowances and rules governing financial interests to the new system. Subsection (2)(a) enables an order to provide that the current rules of the House of Commons relating to allowances are to have effect for specified purposes as if they were set out in accordance with the provisions of this Act. This is to ensure that there is a valid system of rules relating to allowances in place as soon as possible after the IPSA is established.
109.Subsection (2)(b) makes similar provision for the current rules relating to the registration of members’ interests. Subsection (2)(c) makes similar provision for the current rules concerning the prohibition of paid advocacy.
110.Subsection (3) makes clear that the specified purposes for which any of the current rules are to have effect, does not include the purposes of section 10 (offence of providing false or misleading information for allowances claims). This means that the offence set out in section 10 cannot take effect in relation to allowances under subsection (2).
111.Subsection (4) enables consequential changes to be made to the relevant existing rules to substitute the Commissioner or the IPSA for references to an officer or committee of the House of Commons.
112.Subsection (5) enables provision to be made whereby payments of allowances to which a member of the House of Commons was not entitled may be set off against other claims for allowances made by that member. This would mean that where previous overpayments were being recouped against later claims for allowances under the current scheme, this setting off could continue even after the transition to the new scheme.
113.Subsection (6) enables provision to be made to transfer staff, property, rights, liabilities, documents and information from the House of Commons to the IPSA in accordance with a scheme. Such a scheme would be made by a Minister of the Crown and would have to be agreed with the Speaker in his or her capacity as the chair of the House of Commons Commission.
114.Subsections (8) and (9) provide that an order under section 13 is to be made by statutory instrument and may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.
115.Section 15 set out a review mechanism for the Act. It provides that two years after section 8 comes into force, sections 3(3) and (4) and 8 to 11 (and Schedule 2) will expire. These provisions relate to the Commissioner, the functions of the Commissioner, the code of conduct relating to financial interests and the offence. A Minister of the Crown may by order extend these provisions for a further period (or periods) of two years. Such an order is subject to the affirmative procedure in both Houses.