{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/recall-of-mps-act-2015-recall-petition-regulations-2016/regulation-122A",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/recall-of-mps-act-2015-recall-petition-regulations-2016/regulation-122A.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2016/295",
  "legislation_title": "The Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/recall-of-mps-act-2015-recall-petition-regulations-2016",
  "path": "regulation/122A",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "122A",
  "heading": "Handling of postal petition documents by political campaigners",
  "text": "(1) A person who is a political campaigner in respect of a petition commits an offence if the person handles a postal petition document that has been issued to another person for use in that petition.\n(2) But a person who handles a postal petition document for use in a petition does not commit the offence if—\n(a) the person is responsible for, or assists with, the conduct of that petition (for example as a petition officer or a person working under the direction of a petition officer),\n(b) the person is engaged in the business of a postal operator, or\n(c) the person is employed or engaged in a role the duties of which include the handling of postal packets on behalf of members of an organisation or the occupants of a communal building,\nand the handling is consistent with the person’s duties in that capacity.\n(3) Nor does a person commit the offence if the person—\n(a) is the other person’s spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild, or\n(b) provides regular care for, or is employed or engaged by an organisation which provides care for, the other person.\n(4) It is a defence for a person charged with the offence to show that the person did not dishonestly handle the postal petition document for the purpose of promoting a particular outcome of a petition.\n(5) Where sufficient evidence is adduced to raise an issue with respect to the defence under paragraph (4), the court must assume that the defence is satisfied unless the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that it is not.\n(6) A person is guilty of a corrupt practice if the person—\n(a) commits the offence under paragraph (1), or\n(b) aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of that offence.\n(7) For the purposes of this regulation a person is a political campaigner in respect of a petition if any of the following applies—\n(a) the person is the MP who is subject to the petition process;\n(b) the person is employed or engaged by the MP who is subject to the petition process for the purposes of their activities as an MP;\n(c) the person is a member of a registered political party and carries on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome of the petition;\n(d) the person is employed or engaged by a registered political party in connection with the party’s political activities;\n(e) the person is employed or engaged by a person within any of sub-paragraphs (a) to (d) to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome of the petition;\n(f) the person is employed or engaged by a person within sub-paragraph (e) to carry on an activity designed to promote a particular outcome of the petition;\n(g) the person is an accredited campaigner within the meaning of Part 5 of Schedule 3 to the Act.\n(8) In this regulation—\n“postal operator” has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the Postal Services Act 2011;\n“postal petition document” includes an envelope that has been issued to a person for the purpose of enabling the person to sign a petition by post.\n(9) For the purposes of this regulation, an envelope—\n(a) that is not a postal petition document, but\n(b) that contains a postal signing sheet, postal petition statement or declaration of identity that has been issued to a person for the purpose of enabling the person to sign a petition by post,\nis to be treated as if it were a postal petition document that has been issued to the person for use in the petition.\n(10) In this regulation, any reference to a person who is “engaged” by another person, or to a person who provides care for another person, includes a reference to a person who is engaged or provides care otherwise than for payment or promise of payment.\n(11) For the purposes of paragraph (3)(a), two people living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners are treated as if they were spouses or civil partners of each other.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Reg. 122A inserted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Representation of the People (Postal Vote Handling and Secrecy) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1225), reg. 10(19)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/295/regulation/122A",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T23:26:13.164279+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}