HC Deb 18 November 1968 vol 773 cc1030-2

Queen's Recommendation having been signified—

Motion made, and Question proposed, That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session relating to elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom and to local government elections in Great Britain, it is expedient—

  1. (1) if amendments relating to the parliamentary or local government franchise, the place or manner of voting at parliamentary or local government elections or the conduct of those elections increase the registration expenses of registration officers, to authorise the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament—
    1. (a)in the case of expenses of registration officers in Great Britain, of any additional sums payable by way of rate-support grant because of the increase, or because of any provision for the increase to be taken into account in the years 1969–70 and 1970–71 by amendment of the orders relating to the grant; and
    2. (b)in the case of expenses of registration officers in Northern Ireland, of the addition to the sums which under the Representation of the People Act 1949 are to be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament on account of those expenses; and
  2. (2)if any such amendments increase the amount of the sums to be charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund under the Representation of the People Act 1949 on account of the charges of returning officers at parliamentary elections, to authorise the increase in that charge; and
  3. (3)if provision is made for the registration of political descriptions in order to allow their use on nomination papers and ballot papers at parliamentary elections, to authorise—
    1. (a) the payment out of moneys provided by Parliament of any expenses incurred in connection with the register by the authority charged with maintaining it; and
    2. (b) the payment into the Consolidated Fund of any fees received in that connection by that authority; and
  4. (4) to authorise the recoupment to local authorities out of the Consolidated Fund of amounts by which their expenses in connection with superannuation are increased by reason of fees which are or have been paid under the Representation of the People Acts as part of a returning officer's charges at a parliamentary election.—[Mr. Merlyn Rees.]

10.0 p.m.

Sir Douglas Glover (Ormskirk)

I shall not delay the House more than a moment, but, in the context of the question raised by the hon. Member for Woolwich, West (Mr. Hamling) about expenses in Parliamentary elections, I wish to know whether the Money Resolution is drawn so tightly that Amendments to increase the amount of expenses in both local government and Parliamentary elections would be permitted in committee.

The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Merlyn Rees)

If the hon. Gentleman is referring to extra costs which would come under paragraph (3) of the Money Resolution relating to extra costs for party labels in local elections, the Resolution is not drawn broadly enough to cover that question. It is not our wish to shelter behind this technicality, or to prevent general discussion on the point, and, if it were thought necessary, we should take the necessary steps by drawing up a supplemental Motion to make it possible.

Question put and agreed to.

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