§ Sir Geoffrey Finsbergasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long a period is allowed to returning officers in a general election to submit their claims to the Exchequer for reimbursement; how many claims have so far been submitted; and how many of these have been settled.
§ Mr. Peter Rees[pursuant to his reply, 27 July 1984]: Regulations made in 1949 by the Treasury which remain in force included the provision that accounts for parliamentary election expenses should be submitted by returning officers within a period of eight weeks from the date of the day of nomination. A strict enforcement of this time limit would not be conducive to the orderly processing of such claims given the necessary staffing constraints within the Treasury. Existing practice is to encourage returning officers to submit their claims as soon as practicable. Claims submitted to date in connection with the 1983 general election cover 408 constituencies; of these, claims in respect of 112 constituencies have so far been settled. Advances to meet costs incurred by returning officers are made at the time of the election so that only minor financial adjustments are required to be made when the claims are settled.