Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of (a) the cost to the public purse of administering the 2017 General Election and (b) the amount that accrued to the public purse as a result of candidates losing their deposits at that election.

The total cost to the public purse of administering the 2017 UK parliamentary general election comprises two main elements: the expenditure incurred by Returning Officers in running the poll; and the cost of delivering election mailings produced by candidates. Returning Officers will have six months from the day of the poll to submit their expense claims, and so the final cost will not be known until these have been received, scrutinised and settled. The actual cost of delivering candidates’ mailings will also not be known until all invoices from the universal service provider (Royal Mail) have been received and settled.

The total amount accrued to the public purse as a result of candidates losing their deposits at the 2017 UK general election is not yet available.