Schedule 2
Political Parties and Elections Bill
2:45 pm
Michael Wills (Minister of State, Ministry of Justice; North Swindon, Labour)
I am sure that the hon. Gentleman refers to fixed monetary penalties. We are talking about encouragement for early payment, and that principle applies whether there is a small or a large number of people to whom the measure applies. In all circumstances, if we can find a simple and effective way of encouraging people to pay up quickly we should do so, otherwise the commission will have a lot of problems pursuing the debt. Where we can simply and easily avoid that difficulty, and provide some encouragement to pay up quickly, we have done so. We see no reason here not to bring across the requirements of the 2008 Act. If the hon. Gentleman can make a compelling case for why Members of Parliament and other people who would be subject to the sanctions should be excluded from that general provision, we will, as always, consider it.