The New Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) (Amendment) Order 2003

Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 3029

NORTHERN IRELAND

The New Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) (Amendment) Order 2003

Made

19th November 2003

Coming into force

20th November 2003

In exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 29(3) and (4) of the Representation of the People Act 1983(1), as applied by article 3 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) Order 2001(2), I hereby make the following Order:

1.  This Order may be cited as the New Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) (Amendment) Order 2003 and shall come into force on the day after the day on which it is made.

2.—(1) The Schedule to the New Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) Order 1998 (“the 1998 Order”)(3) is amended as follows.

(2) In Part A (Expenses of returning officer for which maximum recoverable amounts are specified), the amounts set out in the right-hand column opposite the entries in the left-hand column specified below shall be substituted as follows—

(a) in paragraph 1(2) for “£113.91” substitute “£135.00”;

(b) in paragraph 1(3) for “£6.94” substitute “£10.00”;

(c) in paragraph 2(2) for “£72.03” substitute “£90.00”;

(d) in paragraph 3(2) for “£1.44” substitute “£1.65”;

(e) in paragraph 4(2) for “£3,051.43” substitute “£5,731.36”;

(f) in paragraph 4(3) for “£45.78” substitute “£52.65”; and

(g) in paragraph 4(4) for “£41.57” substitute “£47.81”.

(3) In Part A after paragraph 4 add—

“5.— (1) This paragraph makes provision for a returning officer’s expenses in respect of the payment of persons employed in connection with the verification of the ballot paper accounts and the count.
(2) The maximum recoverable amount for each constituency for the expenses specified in sub-paragraph (1) above is	£12,222.22.”

(4) In Part B (Expenses of returning officer for which no maximum recoverable amounts are specified)—

(a) in paragraph 1(b) omit “and”;

(b) after paragraph 1(b) add—

“(ba) any verification or counting staff; and”;

(c) in paragraph 7 at the end insert “or in the provision in any place of furniture necessary for the count.”; and

(d) omit paragraph 10.

Paul Murphy

Northern Ireland Office

One of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State

19th November 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Article 2(3) of this Order amends the Schedule to the New Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) Order 1998 by moving from Part B (Expenses of returning officers for which no maximum recoverable amounts are specified) to Part A (Expenses of returning officers for which maximum recoverable amounts are specified) expenses incurred by returning officers in relation to the count. Subsistence expenses relating to counting staff remain in Part B. Paragraph 7 of Part B is extended to include furniture necessary for the count. The Order also amends the maximum amounts specified in Part A.

(1)

1983 c. 2; section 29(3) and (4) were substituted by section 1(1) and (2) of the Representation of the People Act 1991 (c. 11) and were amended by the Transfer of Functions (Returning Officers' Charges) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/1728) and the functions formerly conferred on the Treasury have been transferred to the Secretary of State by that Order.

(2)

S.I. 2001/2599.

(3)

S.I. 1998/1493; this Order was made under section 29(3) and (4) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as applied by the New Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/1287) and, by virtue of section 17(2)(b) and section 23 of the Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30), now has effect as if made under section 29(3) and (4) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 as applied by the Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2599).