# The Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016, Regulation 123: Requirement of secrecy

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(1) A person to whom this paragraph applies must maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the proceedings in connection with the signing of a petition and must not, except for some purpose authorised by law, communicate to any person before the end of the signing period any information as to—
(a) the name of any elector or proxy for an elector who has or has not applied for a signing sheet or signed the petition;
(b) the number on the register of electors of any elector who, or whose proxy, has or has not applied for a signing sheet or signed the petition; or
(c) the official mark.
(2) Paragraph (1) applies to—
(a) a petition officer, petition clerk or assistant attending at a petition signing place;
(b) any representative of the Electoral Commission so attending.
(3) A person attending at the counting of signing sheets relating to a petition must maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of such proceedings and must not—
(a) ascertain or attempt to ascertain the number or other unique identifying mark on the back of any signing sheet; or
(b) communicate any information obtained when so attending as to the number of signing sheets which have been signed.
(4) A person must not—
(a) interfere with or attempt to interfere with a person signing a petition; or
(b) communicate to any person the number or other unique identifying mark on the back of the signing sheet issued to a person at a petition signing place.
(4A) No person may—
(a) except for some purpose authorised by law, obtain or attempt to obtain information, or communicate at any time to any other person any information, as to the number or other unique identifying mark on the back of a postal signing sheet issued to a person for signing a petition by post;
(b) except for some purpose authorised by law, obtain or attempt to obtain information, or communicate at any time to any other person any information, as to the official mark on a postal signing sheet issued to a person for signing a petition by post;
(c) obtain or attempt to obtain information, in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (4B), as to whether a person issued with a postal signing sheet for signing a petition by post (“P”) has or has not signed the petition;
(d) communicate at any time to any other person information obtained in contravention of sub-paragraph (c).
(4B) The circumstances referred to in paragraph (4A)(c) are where P is about to mark, or is in the process of marking, or has just marked, a postal signing sheet issued to P for signing a petition by post.
(4C) But—
(a) a person (“E”) who is signing a petition by proxy does not contravene paragraph (4A) by obtaining or attempting to obtain from the person entitled to sign the petition as E’s proxy information as to a matter mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of that paragraph that relates to E’s signing of the petition, and
(b) a person who is entitled to sign a petition as E’s proxy does not contravene paragraph (4A) by communicating to E information as to a matter mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of that paragraph that relates to E’s signing of the petition.
(4D) Paragraphs (4A)(c) and (d) do not apply where the purpose (or main purpose) for which the information is sought or communicated is its use for the purpose of—
(a) a published statement relating to whether people entitled to sign the petition intend to sign it or have signed it, or
(b) a published forecast as to the result of that petition which is based on information given by people entitled to sign it.
(4E) In paragraph (4D)—
(a) “forecast” includes estimate;
(b) “published” means made available to the public at large or to any section of the public, in whatever form and by whatever means.
(4F) Where a person (“the proxy”) is entitled to sign a petition as proxy for another person (“E”)—
(a) the proxy must not communicate at any time to any person other than E any information as to whether the proxy is about to sign the petition, or has signed the petition, as proxy for E;
(b) except for some purpose authorised by law, the proxy must not communicate at any time to any person other than E the number or other unique identifying mark on the back of a signing sheet issued to the proxy for signing the petition as proxy for E.
(5) A person attending the proceedings in connection with the issue or the receipt of postal signing sheets must maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of those proceedings and must not, except for some purpose authorised by law—
(a) communicate to any person, before the end of the signing period, any information obtained at those proceedings as to the official mark;
(b) communicate to any person at any time any information obtained at those proceedings as to the number or other unique identifying mark on the back of the signing sheet sent to any person; or
(c) attempt to ascertain at proceedings on the receipt of signing sheets the number or other unique identifying mark on the back of any such sheet.
(6) A person who acts in contravention of this regulation is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/295/regulation/123 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/recall-of-mps-act-2015-recall-petition-regulations-2016/regulation-123
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.