§ Mr. Powellasked the Lord President of the Council to what accounts the sums reported by him as paid to Opposition parties in Parliament were, respectively, credited; in what form the expenditure of those sums will be accounted for; whether he will lay such accounts before the House; and how he intends to satisfy himself that these sums have been or will be expended wholly and exclusively for the purposes specified in the relevant resolution of the House.
§ Mr Edward ShortDetails of the sums paid to Opposition parties in Parliament for 1975 in accordance with the terms of the resolution of the House of Commons of 20th March 1975 are as follows:
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Period of Claim Amount Payee Plaid Cymru March quarter 1975 … … £582.90 Plaid Cymru June quarter 1975 … … £582.90 Plaid Cymru September quarter 1975 … … £582.90 Plaid Cymru December quarter 1975 … … £582.30 Plaid Cymru £2,331.00 Social Democratic Labour Party March quarter 1975 … … £317.50 The h M for Belfast, West (Mr. Fitt) A/c June quarter 1975 … … £317.50 The h M for Belfast, West (Mr. Fitt) A/c September quarter 1975 … … £317.50 The h M for Belfast, West (Mr. Fitt) A/c £952.50 GRAND TOTAL … … £196,215.50 Each party claiming assistance duly submitted to the Accounting Officer of the House of Commons
(1) a statement of the number of seats and votes on which its claim for such assistance was based, and subsequently
(2) certified on each occasion that the sum claimed had been incurred exclusively in relation to that party's parliamentary business, as provided for in the relevant resolution.
As I indicated in my statement to the House on 20th March 1975 when moving the resolution—[Vol. 999, c. 1869–71]—provided that the parties are able to certify to the Accounting Officer that their allocation has been spent exclusively in relation to their party's parliamentary business it is a matter for the parties themselves to decide how the sums allocated should be spent.