Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have reached an agreement with the Electoral Commission for Northern Ireland on a funding package for the next three years; and if so, what sums have been allocated.

The UK Electoral Commission was established by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 and is independent of Government. It is accountable to Parliament via the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission (save for where its finances and Five Year Plan relate to the Commission's devolved Scottish and Welsh functions). Each financial year, the Commission is required to submit to the Speaker’s Committee an Estimate of its income and expenditure in relation to non-devolved elections. After its examination, the Speaker’s Committee lay the Estimate before the House of Commons. The Commission reports on outturn against the Estimate in the Annual Report and Accounts, which is certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Where the Commission's Annual Report and Accounts relate to Welsh and Scottish devolved functions, the Comptroller and Auditor General certifies those for the devolved Parliaments, not the UK Parliament.

The internal allocation of funding between the four national offices of the Electoral Commission is an internal matter for them.