§ 40. Mr. DalyellTo ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what the anticipated cost would be of conducting a referendum on entry into the euro. [26163]
§ Mr. BeithThe Electoral Commission has not to date provided the Speaker's Committee with any estimate for the cost of running a national referendum.
The commission's five-year plan for the period 2001–06 makes clear that the commission will need to seek additional resources in the event of a referendum being called, but does not attempt to identify the scale of those costs.
However, I understand from the Chairman that the commission, as part of its normal work, has recently begun to develop its contingency plans for any national or regional referendum, and will be looking at the issue of costs as part of this work.