Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to improve the administration of (a) fees and (b) charges of Returning Officers for parliamentary elections.

Building on a previous Cabinet Office funding review undertaken in 2013/14, which led to a number of significant changes including a new model that provides more accurate allocations for Returning Officers (ROs) and the subsequent establishment of an in-house Elections Claims Unit to assess claims, we are currently undertaking further work to review the funding arrangements for national polls.

This work has two main objectives: to promote best value for use of taxpayers’ money; and to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes that manage expenditure and provide more transparent reporting on the costs of nationwide polls.