PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
UK Membership of EU: Referendums (18 October 2017)

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding from the public purse was allocated to the 2016 EU referendum for the (a) hire of accommodation for counting votes, (b) printing of polling cards, (c) distribution of polling cards and (d) accommodation for the opening of postal votes.

Asked by:
Darren Jones (Labour)

The responsibility for managing the funding for national referendums using monies from the Consolidated Fund rests with the Electoral Commission. Counting Officers are given an overall maximum recoverable amount to cover the costs of running the poll. This is based on expenditure on the previous poll, updated for current circumstances, and is aimed to support flexibility in use of the monies by Counting Officers to make it work for the particular needs of their voting area.

In reference to the overall costs of the 2016 EU Referendum, please see the following Written Statement, presented to Parliament on 23rd March 2016 by the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office, John Penrose MP:

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2016-03-23/debates/16032338000011/EUReferendum(CountingOfficers%E2%80%99Regulations) .

The European Union Referendum (Counting Officers’ and Regional Counting Officers’ Charges) Regulations 2016 lists the maximum recoverable amounts (MRA) for the services and expenses of counting officers and regional counting officers:

https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/199442/The-European-Union-Referendum-Counting-Officers-and-Regional-Counting-Officers-Charges-Regulations-2016.pdf

Answered by:
Chris Skidmore (Conservative)
26 October 2017