Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge, Conservative)

We had the beginning of a brief debate this morning on what is paid to the commission, which did not reach its natural conclusion—it will do so under clause 23. I should be grateful, however, if the Minister could tell us what discussions he has had with the commission about the amounts that will be required to carry out the reviews in the different regions. What is the range of sums?

Mr Christopher Leslie (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office; Shipley, Labour)

The clause enables the Secretary of State to pay the Electoral Commission the amount that he decides is requested by it to prepare and submit its advice under part 3, relating, for example, to electoral areas.

Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge, Conservative)

I am sorry to interrupt the Minister so soon but he said, unless my ears are going as well as my eyes, that the clause allows the Secretary of State to pay the Electoral Commission the amount that it requests to enable it to carry out the functions. That is not what it says in the Bill—that says that it will be the amount that the Secretary of State requires. Is he saying that, in effect, that will always be the amount that the commission requests?

Mr Christopher Leslie (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office; Shipley, Labour)

I cannot recall exactly what I said, but the amount will be that which the Secretary of States decides is required, not that which is requested. Certainly, that will be the Secretary of State's decision. The provision is similar to that made in the Greater London Authority (Referendum) Act 1998. The estimate that the Electoral Commission has so far made of the cost of this exercise is set out in paragraph 71 of the explanatory notes. It is in the order of between £100,000 and £200,000 per region.

The Electoral Commission's advice is to be paid for from money provided by Parliament via the Secretary of State. Subsection (2) simply ensures that the commission's expenditure will not also have to be provided for under the mechanism in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede & Weybridge, Conservative)

Does the Under-Secretary have a view on why the fixed proportion of the cost range here appears to be higher than the suggested fixed proportion of the cost range for dealing with the local government reviews? The Minister for Local Government and the Regions suggested that the range there was quite narrow, and the lower end a large proportion compared with the upper end, because of fixed costs. Why are the fixed costs here not the same proportion of the range?

Mr Christopher Leslie (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office; Shipley, Labour)

Local government reviews relate to functions as well as other matters; this regime is more focused on electoral area boundary issues than functional matters.

I want to repeat that subsection (2) details that the payment will be treated as income received by the Electoral Commission for the purposes of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. The clause is fairly self-explanatory.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 22 ordered to stand part of the Bill.