12 February 2018

The Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 is intended to regulate lobbying in Scotland and comes into force on 12 March 2018.

The Act aims to improve the transparency of lobbying by preventing face-to-face meetings with MSPs, Scottish Government Ministers, Special Advisers or the Permanent Secretary taking place without being registered on the new Scottish Lobbying Register website.  Lobbying can be carried out by individuals, charities, interest bodies, representatives and professionals who attempt to inform and influence decisions made by our government. 

Regulated Lobbying: Lobbying will be classified as ‘regulated lobbying’, and require registration, if it meets all of the following criteria:

It is carried out orally and face to face – this includes:

• Communications made with the use of digital visual communication software e.g. skype and teleconferencing.
• Sign language.

The communications are with:

• Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs)
• Scottish Government Ministers
• Scottish Government Permanent Secretary
• Scottish Government Special Advisors

The communications relate to government or parliamentary functions

The opportunity was used to inform or influence decisions on behalf of your organisation.

You are paid, representing the views of your organisation (or representatives). It does not matter if your organisation is based outwith Scotland.

You do not meet any of the exemptions.

Exemptions: the following are exempt from registration:

1. Individuals raising an issue on their own behalf
2. Unpaid persons – e.g. volunteers or unpaid board members
3. Local/Constituency – with an MSP who represents your constituency but NOT if you are aware that this MSP is a member of the Scottish Government or are communicating on behalf of a third party (this does not apply if you are communicating on behalf of your employer)
4. Small organisations – with less than 10 employees (this does not apply to representative organisations).
5. During formal parliamentary proceedings of the Scottish Parliament or as a communication required by statute or another rule of law
6. Communications on request for factual information or views on a topic
7. During a quorate meeting of a Cross-Party Group of the Scottish Parliament
8. For the purposes of journalism
9. When discussing terms and conditions of employment
10. Made by a political party
11. You have a public role or the public role / function of your organisation is listed as exempt within the Act

Registration: from 12 March 2018:

Individuals and organisations that are not exempt must register their activities on the online Lobbying Register at www.lobbying.scot. There is no fee for registration.

A nominated individual from your organisation should activate an online account on this website and provide registration details by setting up a generic email and password of choice. If you have already carried out regulated lobbying, you should submit the information within 30 days of the occurrence.

Thereafter, ‘information returns’ can be submitted to the Lobbying Register at any time, but no later than 6 months and 2 weeks after the regulated lobbying took place.

It is possible to voluntarily record lobbying if it is not regulated lobbying and / or you fall into one of the exemption categories, although there is no obligation to do so.

When registering you provide information on:

• Who you have lobbied,
• When and where it happened, and
• What the purpose of the lobbying was.

The register will be searchable, for free, by anyone with an interest in finding out about regulated lobbying activities that have taken place.

Failure to comply: can lead to sanctions:

• The Lobbying Register can issue a notice to you if they believe you have been engaged in regulated lobbying which has not been registered.
• The Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life can investigate complaints and report to Parliament, and Parliament could then censure the subject of any such report.
• Ultimately, non-compliance could result in criminal prosecution and criminal penalties.

Guidance: The Scottish Parliament has drafted Guidance and compiled answers to Frequently Asked Questions which can be found at: https://www.lobbying.scot/SPS/Home/Help

The Lobbying Register is not intended to prevent lobbying, but simply to ensure that it is regulated. It is our view that registration is not overly onerous and should not significantly alter what a person or organisation does when contacting MSPs and other Scottish Government officials.

If you have any questions regarding how this new law will apply, please contact Marion Davis.

Marion Davis
Senior Associate
Accredited Specialist in Charity Law
T: 0141 221 8012
E: mda@bto.co.uk