Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019

Resignation, suspension and removal

12 (1) A Parliamentary member ceases to be a member of the Sponsor Body if—

(a) the member ceases to be a member of the relevant House (but see sub-paragraph (4)),

(b) the relevant House orders the suspension of the member from the service of that House for a specified period of the requisite length,

(c) the member becomes—

(i) a member of either of the House Commissions, or

(ii) a Minister of the Crown,

(d) the member becomes a director of the Delivery Authority (other than a director within paragraph 1(1)(c) of Schedule 2), or

(e) in the case of a Lords member, the member is granted leave of absence in accordance with Standing Orders of the House of Lords.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b) a specified period is “of the requisite length” if—

(a) where the period is expressed as a number of sitting days, it is a period of at least 10 sitting days, or

(b) in any other case, the period (however expressed) is a period of at least 14 days.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b) it does not matter—

(a) when the period of suspension starts, and

(b) where that period is expressed as a number of sitting days, what provision (if any) is made by the relevant House regarding what does, or does not, count as a sitting day for the purpose of calculating that period.

(4) Where a Commons member ceases to be a member of the House of Commons on the dissolution of Parliament prior to a Parliamentary general election—

(a) sub-paragraph (1)(a) does not apply, and

(b) unless the person is re-elected to the House of Commons at the election (and subject to the earlier expiry of the person’s term of appointment), the person ceases to be a member of the Sponsor Body—

(i) on the appointment of a new Parliamentary member in the person’s place, or

(ii) if no new Parliamentary member is appointed, at the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the date on which the person ceases to be a member of the House of Commons.

(5) For the purposes of this Schedule (other than this paragraph), a person is to be treated as a member of the House of Commons for any period during which—

(a) the person continues to be a member of the Sponsor Body as a result of sub-paragraph (4)(a), and

(b) is not a member of the House of Commons.

(6) In this paragraph—

• “Commons member” and “Lords member” mean a person who is a Parliamentary member by virtue of being a member of the House of Commons or the House of Lords (as the case may be);

• “the relevant House”, in relation to a Parliamentary member, means the House of Parliament from which the member is drawn.