Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014

Part 1 Exceptions

1 (1) A person does not, by reason of making a communication, carry on the business of consultant lobbying if—

(a) the person carries on a business which consists mainly of non-lobbying activities, and

(b) the making of the communication is incidental to the carrying on of those activities.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1) “non-lobbying activities” are activities other than making, on behalf of another person or persons, communications which—

(a) relate to any of the matters mentioned in section 2(3)(a) to (d), and

(b) are made to any of the persons within sub-paragraph (3).

(3) The persons are—

(a) members of, and office-holders in, government, and

(b) officials and members of staff of government.

(4) For the purposes of this paragraph, “government” includes—

(a) Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom,

(b) the Scottish Administration,

(c) the Welsh Assembly Government,

(d) the First Minister, the deputy First Minister, the Northern Ireland Ministers and any Northern Ireland department,

(e) the Government of any sovereign Power other than the United Kingdom,

(f) local government in any part of the United Kingdom, and

(g) any institution of the European Union;

(and the references to “the government” in section 2(3)(a) to (d) as applied by sub-paragraph (2)(a) are to be read accordingly).

2 A person does not carry on the business of consultant lobbying if—

(a) the person acts generally as a representative of persons of a particular class or description,

(b) the income of the person derives wholly or mainly from persons of that class or description, and

(c) the making of communications within section 2(3) on behalf of those persons is no more than an incidental part of that general activity.

3 (1) A person who, as an official or member of staff of—

(a) a sovereign Power other than the United Kingdom, or the Government of such a Power, or

(b) an international organisation,

makes communications within section 2(3) on its behalf does not, by reason of those communications, carry on the business of consultant lobbying.

(2) An “international organisation” is any organisation which, for the purposes of section 1 of the International Organisations Act 1968, is declared to be (or is treated as being) an organisation of which—

(a) the United Kingdom, or Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, and

(b) at least one other sovereign Power, or the Government of such a Power,

are members.

(3) Regulations may specify other organisations which are to be “international organisations” for the purposes of this paragraph.

4 An individual does not carry on the business of consultant lobbying by reason of making communications as an employee in the course of a business carried on by the individual’s employer.