The Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body (Abolition) Regulations 2022

Statutory Instruments

2022 No. 1360

Parliament

The Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body (Abolition) Regulations 2022

Made

15th December 2022

Coming into force

1st January 2023

The Leader of the House of Commons makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 10 of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019(1).

The Corporate Officer of the House of Commons and the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords have consented to the transfers to them effected by this instrument in accordance with section 10(3) of that Act.

The Leader of the House of Commons has consulted the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons, the House of Commons Commission, the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords and the House of Lords Commission, in accordance with section 10(8)(a) of that Act.

The Leader of the House of Commons has obtained the consent of the Leader of the House of Lords to the making of these Regulations in accordance with section 10(8)(b) of that Act.

In accordance with section 10(9) of that Act, a draft of this instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body (Abolition) Regulations 2022 and come into force on 1st January 2023.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019;

“the Corporate Officers” means the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons and the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords, acting jointly; and

“the Sponsor Body” means the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body.

Abolition of Sponsor Body

3.  The Sponsor Body is hereby abolished.

Transfer of functions

4.—(1) The functions of the Sponsor Body are hereby transferred to the Corporate Officers.

(2) In particular—

(a) the Corporate Officers have overall responsibility for the Parliamentary building works; and

(b) the provisions of section 2(2) to (5) of the Act (Sponsor Body) continue to apply in relation to the Corporate Officers as they applied to the Sponsor Body.

Transfer of property

5.—(1) The property, rights and liabilities of the Sponsor Body are hereby transferred to the Corporate Officers (to be held jointly).

(2) Paragraph (1) includes rights and liabilities under contracts of employment; and the provisions of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006(2) shall be treated as if they applied to the transfer under paragraph (1).

Delivery Authority

6.—(1) The Delivery Authority (formed by the Sponsor Body in accordance with section 3(1) of the Act) continues in existence.

(2) The Corporate Officers (acting jointly) become the only member and guarantor of the Delivery Authority.

Annual report

7.  After section 2 of the Act insert—

“2A.    Annual report

(1) At least once in every calendar year, the Corporate Officers must prepare and lay before Parliament a report about the carrying out of the Parliamentary building works and the progress that has been made towards completion of those works.

(2) A report must in particular include information about persons to whom contracts in respect of the carrying out of the Parliamentary building works have been awarded, in particular—

(a) their size, and

(b) the areas in which they operate.

(3) The Corporate Officers must publish each report.”.

Finance

8.  For section 9 of the Act (funding) substitute—

“9.    Funding

(1) The Corporate Officers may pay grants, or give any other form of financial assistance, to the Delivery Authority for the purpose of enabling the Delivery Authority to exercise its functions.

(2) Financial assistance under subsection (1) may be given at such times, and subject to such conditions, as the Corporate Officers consider appropriate.

(3) The Corporate Officers’ expenditure under this section is to be met out of money provided by Parliament.

(4) Schedule 4 contains provision about the preparation of estimates by the Corporate Officers for the purposes of this section (and references in that Schedule to expenditure of the Corporate Officers are to be treated as referring only to expenditure under this section).

(5) The Corporate Officers may make such arrangements as they consider appropriate to coordinate the preparation and management of estimates in accordance with Schedule 4 with the preparation and management of estimates prepared in respect of the costs of the performance of their functions (apart from the function of funding the Delivery Authority) under this Act.”.

Consequential amendments and modifications of the Act

9.—(1) The Act is hereby amended and modified as follows.

(2) The following provisions cease to have effect—

(a) section 2(1) and (6) and Schedule 1 (the Sponsor Body);

(b) section 6 (relationship between Sponsor Body and Parliament);

(c) section 11(b)(i) and (ii) (dissolution of Delivery Authority: consent of Corporate Officers); and

(d) paragraph 1(2)(b) of Schedule 3 (the Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission).

(3) After section 2(1) insert—

“(1A) Regulations 3 and 4 of the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body (Abolition) Regulations 2022 abolish the Sponsor Body (established by subsection (1) of this section, which was repealed by those Regulations) and transfer its functions to the Corporate Officers; and regulation 9(7) of those Regulations provides for references to the Sponsor Body in this Act to be treated as references to the Corporate Officers.”.

(4) In section 10 (abolition of Sponsor Body and Estimates Commission)—

(a) omit subsection (1)(a);

(b) for subsection (2) substitute—

“(2) The Leader of the House of Commons may by regulations made by statutory instrument provide for the transfer from the Corporate Officers to such person as the Leader considers appropriate of—

(a) functions under or in connection with this Act;

(b) property, rights or liabilities relating to or connected with functions under this Act.”;

(c) in subsections (3), (4) and (5) for “subsection (1)(a)” substitute “subsection (2)”;

(d) in subsection (5)(b) and (c), for “the Sponsor Body” substitute “the Corporate Officers”; and

(e) in subsections (8) and (9) for “subsection (1)” substitute “subsection (1) or (2)”.

(5) In section 12(1) (interpretation)—

(a) before the definition of “the Delivery Authority” insert—

““the Corporate Officers” means the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons and the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords, acting jointly;”; and

(b) at the end of the definition of “the Sponsor Body” add “(but by virtue of regulation 9(7) of the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body (Abolition) Regulations 2022 references to the Sponsor Body in this Act are after the commencement of those Regulations to be treated as references to the Corporate Officers).”.

(6) In Schedule 2 (Delivery Authority)—

(a) for paragraph 1(3)(d) substitute—

“(d) the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons or the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords,

(da) employed (under a contract of employment) by the House of Commons Commission, by the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords or by the Corporate Officers as a member of staff of a joint department of the two Houses,”;

(b) in paragraph 1(4) for “and (d)” substitute “and (da)”;

(c) for paragraph 4(1)(d) (and the word “or” immediately before it) substitute—

“(d) the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons or the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords, or

(e) employed (under a contract of employment) by the House of Commons Commission, by the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords or by the Corporate Officers as a member of staff of a joint department of the two Houses.”;

(d) in paragraph 4(2) for “and (d)” substitute “and (e)”;

(e) in paragraph 9(3) for “The Sponsor Body’s accounting officer” substitute “The Corporate Officers”;

(f) in paragraph 9(4) for “the Sponsor Body’s accounting officer” substitute “the Corporate Officers”; and

(g) in paragraph 10(3) for “the Sponsor Body’s accounting officer” substitute “the Corporate Officers”.

(7) In so far as is necessary in consequence of a transfer effected by these Regulations, a reference to the Sponsor Body in a provision of the Act (including a provision specially mentioned elsewhere in these Regulations) is to be taken as being, or including, a reference to the Corporate Officers.

Amendment of other legislation

10.—(1) In Schedule 1 to the Superannuation Act 1972(3) (kinds of employment to which a scheme under section 1 of that Act can apply) omit the reference to the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body.

(2) In Part 6 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000(4) (other public bodies and offices which are public authorities) omit the reference to the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body.

(3) In Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015(5) (GPA Annex 1 Contracting Authorities) omit the reference to the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body.

(4) In Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015(6) (GPA Annex 1 Contracting Authorities) omit the reference to the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body.

Continuity of the law

11.—(1) These Regulations remain in force despite the amendment of section 10 of the Act by regulation 9(4).

(2) Anything (including legal proceedings) which, at the coming into force of these Regulations, is in the process of being done by or in relation to the Sponsor Body may be continued by or in relation to the Corporate Officers.

(3) Anything done (or having effect as if done) by or in relation to the Sponsor Body has effect, so far as is necessary for continuing its effect after the coming into force of these Regulations, as if done by or in relation to the Corporate Officers.

(4) Any enactment, instrument or document passed, made or issued before the coming into force of these Regulations (including, in particular, the programme delivery agreement under section 4 of the Act (relationship between the Sponsor Body and the Delivery Authority)) has effect, so far as necessary in consequence of a transfer under these Regulations, as if references to the Sponsor Body were or included references to the Corporate Officers.

Penny Mordaunt

Leader of the House of Commons

15th December 2022

I consent to the making of these Regulations.

True

Leader of the House of Lords

15th December 2022

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations abolish the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body established by section 2 of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019.

The Regulations—

(a) abolish the Sponsor Body;

(b) transfer its functions and property to the Corporate Officers of the two Houses of Parliament; and

(c) make consequential amendments and modifications.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as the legislation does not make regulations which affect the private sector, civil society organisations or public services.

(1)

2019 c. 27.

(2)

S.I. 2006/246, amended by S.I. 2009/592, 2010/93, 2014/16, 386, 853.

(3)

1972 c. 11, the reference was inserted by paragraph 18(1) of Schedule 1 to the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019 (c. 27).

(4)

2000 c. 36, the reference was inserted by paragraph 29 of Schedule 1(2) to the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019 (c. 27).

(5)

S.I. 2015/102 amended by S.I. 2021/872; there are other amending instruments but none is relevant.

(6)

S.S.I. 2015/446, amended by S.I. 2021/872; there are other amending instruments but none is relevant.