Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made recent representations to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland concerning their budget allocation for the current and subsequent financial years; and how the current budget compares with the budget for 2015–16.

The Northern Ireland Office keep the budget allocations for the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland under review and discuss funding at regular governance meetings to ensure that appropriate resources are available to enable the Chief Electoral Officer to carry out her statutory duties.

The Noble Lord may wish to note that the Northern Ireland Office made additional funding available to EONI in 2016/17 to support a voluntary exit scheme and the procurement of a new computer system.