PART 3The election campaign

Candidate election expenses

Inspection of returns and declarations49

1

Where the police area returning officer receives any return or declaration under article 34, 40 or 41, the officer must—

a

as soon as reasonably practicable after receiving the return or declaration make a copy of it, and any accompanying documents, available for public inspection at the office of the police area returning officer, or some other convenient place chosen by the officer, for a period of two years beginning with the date when the return is received by the officer;

b

if requested to do so by any person, and on payment of the fee determined in accordance with paragraph (3), supply that person with a copy of the return or declaration and any accompanying documents.

2

If any such return contains a statement of donations in accordance with paragraph 10 of Schedule 5, the police area returning officer must secure that the copy of the statement made available for public inspection under paragraph (1)(a) or (as the case may be) supplied under paragraph (1)(b) does not include, in the case of any donation by an individual, the donor's address.

3

The fee for a copy of a return, declaration or document referred to in paragraph (1)(b) is to be determined at the rate of 15p for each side of each page.

4

After the expiry of the two year period referred to in paragraph (1)(a), the police area returning officer—

a

may cause those returns and declarations (including the accompanying documents) to be destroyed, or

b

if the candidate or the candidate's election agent so requires, must return them to the candidate.

5

Any returns or declarations delivered under article 34 must be returned not to the candidate (if the candidate or the candidate's election agent so requires) but to the person delivering them, if that person so requires.