Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons the budgets of Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers are exempt from Freedom of Information requirements; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing that exemption to increase transparency in the funding of elections.

The Government agrees that Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers should be brought within the scope of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000.

Whilst there are issues which require careful consideration, there are a number of potential benefits to ensuring the information held by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Returning Officers (ROs) is publicly available such as enhancing their accountability to the public and providing greater transparency as to the work underway to support electoral registration, which is vital in underpinning the democratic process.

Many EROs and ROs choose to voluntarily disclose information when requested under the FOI Act and the Association of Electoral Administrators, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Electoral Commission have previously stated that they are in favour of bringing EROs under the FOI Act

However, the maximum recoverable amounts made available to Returning Officers for the conduct of national polls are published in advance of the poll in the corresponding Charges Order and are already publicly available.