Written question asked by Thomas Docherty (Labour) on Thursday, 8 September 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 13 September 2011. It was answered by Gary Streeter (Conservative) on Wednesday, 14 September 2011 on behalf of the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission.

Alternative Vote

Question: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what his most recent estimate is of the funding that has been provided to (a) each local authority in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland and (b) the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland to meet the cost of the referendum on the alternative vote.

Answer: [holding answer 13 September 2011]: The Electoral Commission informs me that a total of £79,762,679 was provided for in The Referendum on the Voting System (Counting Officers' Charges) Order 2011, which is available on:"www.legislation.gov.uk"Schedule 1 and 2 of the Order shows the maximum recoverable amounts for each voting area. In England voting areas were defined as local authority areas, however, in Scotland they were Scottish Parliament constituencies. In Wales the voting areas were the Welsh Assembly constituencies and Northern Ireland was a single voting area.Counting Officers and Regional Counting Officers have until 5 January 2012 to submit final accounts to the Election Claims Unit. It is only after all the final accounts have been received and agreed that the final cost of the referendum can be confirmed.

Secondary information