Question

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how much and what proportion of the Electoral Commission's annual budget the Electoral Commission Report into Completeness and Accuracy of the Electoral Register 2014 cost to produce.

The Electoral Commission informs me that its work on electoral registration is only part of its overall activities and responsibilities. The budget for the research used to inform the 2014 accuracy and completeness reports was £344,400 (including VAT). The Commission does not routinely record staff time spent on specific pieces of work and there is no estimate of this for the project.

It is therefore not possible to accurately determine what proportion of the Commission’s total budget, a significant element of which is staff costs, was spent on the reports.