Library Note Royal Charters and Parliamentary Scrutiny This Library briefing provides information on royal charters, outlining the Sovereign’s prerogative power to grant them, and briefly describing their function. It also provides an overview of two examples of royal charters—the self-regulation of the press and the BBC—and discusses Parliament’s role in their scrutiny. Royal Charters: Overview Royal charters incorporate a body, turning it from a collection of individuals into a single legal entity. They are granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council and are within the royal prerogative. They are legally binding documents, and do not require parliamentary approval. Royal charters and the affairs of chartered bodies are not generally debated in Parliament. The Privy Council advises the Monarch on the exercise of prerogative powers. Those appointed to the Privy Council mostly comprise ministers, other parliamentarians and members of the judiciary. However, its day-to-day business is transacted by those of Her Majesty’s ministers who are Privy Counsellors; that is all cabinet ministers and a number of junior ministers. The Lord President of the Council is the head of the Privy Council Office. The current Lord President is Chris Grayling, the Leader of the House of Commons. Royal Charter of the Self-regulation of the Press On 30 October 2013, a Royal Charter on press regulation was granted, which established the Press Recognition Panel (PRP). The PRP is responsible for certifying applications for recognition from press regulators, and to oversee any such body. The drafting of the royal charter was subject to cross-party talks between the three largest political parties at the time. The Charter stipulates that amendment to its provisions is subject to parliamentary approval. This requirement is set out in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, which specifically states that the Royal Charter cannot be altered unless the changes are in accordance with the terms of the Charter. BBC Royal Charter The BBC was established by Royal Charter in 1927, and is subject to periodic reviews. The current Charter expires on 31 December 2016. The Government published its white paper, A BBC for the Future: a Broadcaster of Distinction, in May 2016, which set out its proposals for the new Royal Charter. There has been debate during the renewal process with regard to parliamentary scrutiny of the Charter. There have been calls for Parliament to have an increased role, with suggestions that the draft charter should be subject to parliamentary debate and to a vote, as well as calls for the BBC’s mandate and governance structure to be defined in statute. Sarah Tudor 23 May 2016 LLN 2016/027 Table of Contents 1. Royal Charters: Background ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Granting Royal Charters: Role of the Sovereign and Privy Council ...................................... 1 1.2 Bodies Constituted by Royal Charter .......................................................................................... 2 2. Royal Charters and Parliamentary Approval: Press Regulation ........................................................ 3 2.1 Leveson Report: Recommendations for Legislation .................................................................. 3 2.2 Proposals for a Royal Charter ........................................................................................................ 4 2.3 Royal Charter on Self-regulation of the Press ............................................................................ 6 3. Royal Charters and Parliamentary Scrutiny: BBC ................................................................................ 7 3.1 Background ......................................................................................................................................... 7 3.2 Royal Charter Review: Progress and Developments in 2016 ................................................. 8 3.3 BBC Royal Charter and Debate on Parliamentary Scrutiny .................................................. 13 House of Lords Library Note I Royal Charters and Parliamentary Scrutiny 1 1. Royal Charters: Background Royal charters are granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council.1 A royal charter is a way of incorporating a body, turning it from a collection of individuals into a single legal entity. They are legally binding documents, and do not require parliamentary approval.2 Royal charters can be dated back to the 13th century.3 1.1 Granting Royal Charters: Role of the Sovereign and Privy Council The grant of a royal charter to any organisation is an act of grace entirely within the royal prerogative.4 However, the prerogative power of the Crown to grant charters is limited in that it cannot be exercised contrary to the public good or in violation of the common law, and it must not infringe the rights of a subject. The Privy Council advises the Monarch on the exercise of prerogative powers and certain other functions assigned to the Sovereign by acts of parliament.5 Its origins can be dated back to at least the 13th century.6 Those appointed to the Privy Council mostly comprise ministers, other parliamentarians and members of the judiciary.7 However, its day-to-day business is transacted by those of Her Majesty’s ministers who are Privy Counsellors; that is all cabinet ministers and a number of junior ministers.8 The Lord President of the Council is the head of the Privy Council Office. The Lord President is always a cabinet minister and is often the Leader of the House of Commons or House of Lords.9 The current Lord President is Chris Grayling, the Leader of the House of Commons. Privy Council Orders The decisions of the Privy Council are recorded as ‘Orders’, which are usually Government decisions that have been drawn up by ministers and civil servants.10 These are then approved by the Monarch as a matter of course, and have the force of law.11 Orders come in a number of different forms, but the main distinction is between orders in council and orders of council.12 Orders in Council are Orders that have been approved personally by the Monarch at a meeting of the Privy Council. They fall into two broad categories, statutory and prerogative. The Privy Council states that statutory orders are “made under any of the numerous powers contained in acts of parliament which give Her Majesty a power to make orders”. However, prerogative orders are made “under the inherent power of the Crown to act on matters for which Parliament has not legislated”. Orders of council do not require personal approval by the Monarch. These can also be these can be statutory or prerogative. 1 Privy Council, ‘Royal Charters’, accessed 12 May 2016. 2 Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Information Note on the Draft Royal Charter, 12 February 2013, p 2. 3 Privy Council, ‘Royal Charters’, accessed 12 May 2016. 4 Robert Bulling, ‘Royal Charters’, Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents, August 2013, vol 33; and Daniel Greenberg, ‘Royal Charters’, Westlaw Insight, 26 February 2016. 5 Privy Council, ‘Privy Council: Overview’, accessed 12 May 2016. 6 House of Commons Library, The Privy Council, 8 February 2016, p 4. 7 Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Information Note on the Draft Royal Charter, 12 February 2013, p 2. 8 Privy Council, ‘Privy Council Members’, accessed 12 May 2016. 9 House of Commons Library, The Privy Council, 8 February 2016, p 4. 10 ibid, p 5. 11 Privy Council, ‘Orders’, accessed 12 May 2016. 12 ibid. 2 House of Lords Library Note I Royal Charters and Parliamentary Scrutiny Prerogative orders are often used to dispatch business, such as the granting of royal charters and the affairs of chartered bodies, which is not thought to be of particular concern to Parliament, and to avoid its time being used to debate such issues.13 For instance, in 2009, the then Lord President of the Council, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, stated in the House of Lords that: The vast majority of the prerogative business done by the Privy Council is not significant enough for Parliament to want to take it over—for example, the affairs of chartered bodies.14 However, there are instances when matters relating to royal charters and chartered bodies have been debated in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Sections two and three of this paper each briefly describe a high-profile example where a royal charter has been debated in Parliament. 1.2 Bodies Constituted by Royal Charter Charters were formerly used to grant the right to hold markets or fairs, for promoting trade by the incorporation by charter of trading companies, and to establish organisations such as universities and cities.15 Royal charters were at one time the only means of incorporating a body.16 However, bodies can now become incorporated through other methods, such as by becoming a registered body. This has meant that new grants of royal charters are normally reserved for bodies that work in the public interest such as professional, charitable, scientific, and educational or learned non-profit-making institutions or societies.17 The Privy Council states that these bodies need to “demonstrate pre-eminence, stability and permanence in that particular field”.18 The initiation of a royal charter can take place in a number of different ways.19 In most cases an existing organisation can petition the Privy Council to acquire chartered status. However, the state can also sponsor a charter,