Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020

Electoral Commission: administrative provision

30 Reimbursement of Commission’s costs

(1) The SPCB must reimburse the Electoral Commission for any expenditure properly incurred by the Commission that is attributable to the carrying out of the Commission’s functions under this Act.

(2) Subsection (1) does not require the SPCB to reimburse any expenditure which exceeds or is otherwise not covered by an estimate or, as the case may be, a revised estimate approved under section 31.

(3) However, the SPCB may reimburse that expenditure.

(4) In the 2000 Act, in schedule 1, paragraph 14(1) (financing of the Electoral Commission) has effect as if paragraph (a) included a reference to expenditure reimbursed under subsection (1) or (3) of this section.

31 Estimates of expenditure

(1) The Electoral Commission must, before the start of each financial year—

(a) prepare an estimate of the Commission’s expenditure for the year that is attributable to the carrying out of their functions under this Act, and

(b) send the estimate to the SPCB for approval.

(2) The Commission may, in the course of a financial year, prepare a revised estimate for the remainder of the year and send it to the SPCB for approval.

(3) The period from the commencement of this Act until the following 31 March is treated, for the purposes of this section, as the first financial year.

(4) Subsection (1) has effect in relation to the first financial year as if the reference to the start of the financial year were a reference to the end of the period of one month beginning with the date of the commencement of this Act.

(5) In the 2000 Act, in schedule 1, paragraph 14(2) (Commission to prepare estimates of income and expenditure) does not apply in relation to income and expenditure of the Commission that is attributable to the carrying out of their functions under this Act.

32 Maladministration

In the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002, in section 7(6D) (restrictions on investigations), after “Scotland”, insert “or the exercise of the Commission’s functions under the Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020”.