Clause 17 - Payments to Electoral Commission
Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill
11:30 am
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
I would like the Under-Secretary to tell the Committee something about his Department's budget. How much does he expect to pay to the Electoral Commission for the boundary committee's work? What estimates has he had? I presume that he has had meetings with the boundary committee and the Electoral Commission, and I presume that they have considered the work loads in the different regions. I certainly hope that they have. Ministers constantly refer to the implications for the boundary committee of undertaking more than one review simultaneously, which certainly implies that discussions have taken place. Figures must exist, so, before the Committee passes over clause 17, it would be most useful if the Under-Secretary gave us some numbers.