Recall Petitions: DLUHC indemnity
Updated 23 February 2024
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/indemnity-for-petition-officers-at-recall-petitions/recall-petitions-dluhc-indemnity
Presented to Parliament by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Local Government by Command of His Majesty
February 2024
Background
1. Recall petitions are held in the parliamentary constituency of the MP who is the subject of the recall petition. Petition Officers are responsible for conducting the recall petition in accordance with their duties under the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (“the Act”).
2. Petition Officers are personally responsible for the conduct of the petition and therefore may be subject to claims relating to the conduct of the petition in respect of which they are exercising functions.
3. Paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Act enables a Petition Officer to recover from the minister charges in respect of services rendered, or expenses incurred, by the officer for, or in connection with, the performance of the officer’s functions under or by virtue of the Act, provided that the services were necessarily rendered, or expenses necessarily incurred, for the efficient and effective performance of those functions and they do not exceed the overall maximum amount prescribed in Regulations.
4. Paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 1 to the Act enables the minister, with the consent of the Treasury, to authorise the payment of more than the overall maximum recoverable amount, provided that, it was reasonable for the Petition Officer to render the services or incur the expenses and that the charges in question were reasonable.
5. This Indemnity is not intended to cover charges which are recoverable under paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Act.
Indemnity
6. Subject to paragraphs 9 to 11, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (“DLUHC”) agrees on demand to indemnify and to keep indemnified Petition Officers from and against any losses, liability, damages, costs (including, but not limited to, reasonable legal costs), claims, proceedings and/or reasonable expenses which may be taken or made against or incurred by the Petition Officer in connection with a recall petition which arise in relation to the Petition Officer’s discharge of responsibilities as Petition Officer at that petition.
7. The Indemnity covers (but is not limited to) a Petition Officer’s liabilities to the public, as an employer, or otherwise incurred in his or her professional capacity:
a. in relation to any claim for personal injury or death where the cause of action arises in relation to the Petition Officer’s exercise of functions as Petition Officer, or
b. as a result of a challenge to the conduct of the petition by a recall petition complaint.
8. There is no limit on the number of claims which a Petition Officer may make.
Exclusions
9. The Indemnity does not cover:
a. any claim for charges that the Petition Officer may recover under paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Act;
b. any losses, liability, damages, costs, claims, proceedings or expenses which arise in whole or part from any wrongful act or omission committed intentionally or recklessly by the Petition Officer;
c. any claim to the extent that such claim relates to the acts or omissions of the Petition Officer in carrying out registration duties in relation to the petition;
d. any claim relating to use of a motor vehicle where such use should have been covered by a valid insurance policy, but was not;
e. any claim to the extent that such claim is covered by the terms of an existing insurance policy held by:
i. the Petition Officer, or
ii. a local authority, of which the Petition Officer is a beneficiary, and which covers the conduct of the recall petition (whether or not it also covers other matters);
f. any express costs on such an insurance policy mentioned in sub-paragraph e;
g. any claim to the extent that such a claim is covered by the terms of any indemnity which is in force and which covers the conduct of the petition (whether or not it also covers other matters);
h. any penalty imposed in relation to a criminal offence.
10. For the purposes of paragraph 9.e, an insurance policy does not include any self-insurance arrangements made by a local authority.
11. The Indemnity shall apply only in relation to a recall petition which takes place after the date of this document but on or before 2 May 2029.
Conditions
12. The payment of costs is subject to the following conditions:
a. DLUHC must be notified before the Petition Officer makes any admission of liability, or settles any claim;
b. the Petition Officer must use all reasonable efforts to mitigate any losses, liability, damages and costs and must ensure that any expenses incurred are incurred properly and reasonably;
c. without prejudice to sub-paragraph b, the Petition Officer must use all reasonable efforts to avoid the duplication of any costs or expenses; and
d. the Petition Officer must notify DLUHC of any claims to which paragraph 2 applies, or is likely to apply, as soon as possible and in any event within 13 months after the day of the close of the petition to which the claim relates.
Date: 21 February 2024