The Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers’ Charges) (No. 2) Order 2017

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order provides for payments for services and expenses of returning officers in connection with the conduct of parliamentary elections in England, Wales and Scotland. It replaces the Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers’ Charges) Order 2017 (S.I. 2017/637).

Under section 29(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c.2) a returning officer may recover their charges for services and expenses, provided they were necessarily rendered or incurred for the efficient and effective conduct of the parliamentary election and the total does not exceed the overall maximum recoverable amount specified by the Minister in an order. Section 29(3A) enables the Minister to specify by order a maximum recoverable amount for particular services or expenses.

Articles 3, 4(1) and 5(1) and the Schedule specify the maximum amounts recoverable by returning officers when a parliamentary election is a standalone poll. On the day of the 2017 parliamentary general election no other elections will be taking place.

The table in the Schedule lists by constituency the maximum recoverable amount for specified services (column 2), the maximum recoverable amount for specified expenses (column 3) and the overall maximum recoverable amount (column 4).

In the case of an uncontested parliamentary election, article 6 provides that articles 3 to 5 do not apply. Instead the overall maximum recoverable amount is £1,750 for each constituency.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument because no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.