31.If there are combined elections in Northern Ireland on 7 June, the cost of the combined poll will under exceptional arrangements applied by subsection (1) come from the Consolidated Fund.
32.Subsection (2) overrides provision by which the costs of combination are split between the Consolidated Fund and the District Councils, as specified in section 15(4) of the Representation of the People Act 1985.
33.Subsection (3) applies section 29(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (which specifies that the returning officer’s charges are paid from the Consolidated Fund) to combined elections on 7 June.
34.Subsection (4) applies the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/774) to combined elections if they are held on 7 June.
35.Subsection (5) amends the Schedule to that Order so that the figures are raised by specified amounts if there is a combined election on 7 June for this one election, to take account of the extra work caused by combining the polls.