Question

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment the Committee has made of the adequacy of the budget of the Electoral Commission for (a) advertising and (b) the functioning of the Commission.

Under paragraph 14 of Schedule 1 to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 the Committee is required to review the Electoral Commission's estimates of resources and five-year corporate plan before they are laid before the House. In the course of the Committee's scrutiny it is required to have regard to advice provided to it by HM Treasury and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General as well as taking oral evidence from the Commission. The Report from the C&AGhas been published on the SCEC website: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/procedure/NAO%20Electoral%20Commission%20Annual%20VFM%20Report%202013-14.pdf.

A Sub-Committee of SCEC was informally briefed on the Electoral Commission's finances and plans by Peter Wardle, Chief Executive and Carolyn Hughes, Director of Finance and Corporate Services on 4 February and the full Committee took oral evidence on the Estimate in public from Jenny Watson, Chair of the Committee, and Carolyn Hughes on 2 April. A transcript of the evidence is available online at the Committee's website:

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/speakers-electoral-commission/140402_SCEC_estimate.pdf!docid=2047751!.pdf

On 1 May 2014 the Committee made a written statement confirming that it had agreed the Commission's Estimate for 2014-15 without modification.