Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of returning officers spent in excess of their maximum recoverable amount at the 2017 general election.

The Cabinet Office is responsible for the settlement of election expenses claims in respect of constituencies in England and Wales. Data for constituencies in Northern Ireland and Scotland is not available to the Cabinet Office at present.

The number of claims that exceeded the maximum recoverable amount in England and Wales at the 2017 UK parliamentary general election was 236. This is 41% of the claims for consideration by the Cabinet Office. The Elections Claims Unit at the Cabinet Office is scrutinising these claims to ensure that the expenses claimed were reasonable and necessary for the efficient and effective delivery of the poll as is required by law. This could result in some claims being settled at an amount that is less than originally claimed and below the maximum recoverable amount for that constituency and therefore the overall number of claims that are over spent could change.