The Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) Order 2022

Made: 22nd March 2022

Coming into force: 23rd March 2022

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 29(3) and (4C) of the Representation of the People Act 1983[^f00001], as applied to Northern Ireland Assembly elections by article 3(1) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections Order 2001[^f00002] makes the following Order:

Citation, commencement and extent

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) Order 2022.

• (2) It comes into force on the day after the day on which it is made.

• (3) It extends to Northern Ireland only.

Overall maximum recoverable amount

2

For the purposes of section 29(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as applied to Northern Ireland Assembly elections by article 3(1) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) Order 2001, the amount specified as the overall maximum recoverable amount at—

• (a) an uncontested Assembly election in a constituency is £1,750.00; and

• (b) a contested Assembly election in a constituency is the amount specified in respect of that constituency in the table in the Schedule.

Revocation

3

The Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) Order 2016[^f00003] is revoked.

SCHEDULE — Overall maximum recoverable amount for each constituency

Signed

Conor Burns — Minister of State — Northern Ireland Office — 22nd March 2022

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Section 29(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2), as applied to Northern Ireland Assembly elections by the Northern Ireland Assembly (Elections) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2599), enables the Secretary of State to specify in an Order the overall maximum recoverable amount that the returning officer may recover in respect of services rendered, or expenses incurred, for or in connection with an Assembly election.

This Order specifies those amounts in respect of each constituency in Northern Ireland. Five members of the Assembly are returned for each of the 18 Parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland. At an uncontested election in any constituency the amount is £1750.00. At a contested election, the amount for each constituency is set out in the table in the Schedule to the Order.

The amounts for contested elections are increased by an average of 14.5% compared to the amounts specified in the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections (Returning Officer’s Charges) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/473) (the “2016 Order”). The amount for uncontested elections remains the same.

This Order also revokes the 2016 Order.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1983 c. 2; subsection (3) was substituted by section 1(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1991 (c. 11) and section 68 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c. 22); it was amended by section 18 of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c. 6). Subsection (4C) was inserted by section 1(2) of the Representation of the People Act 1991 and amended by paragraph 4 of Schedule 6 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (c. 2). Subsections (3) and (4C) were both prospectively substituted by paragraph 6 of Schedule 21 to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) and paragraph 107 of Schedule 1 to the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c. 22), but neither of those substitutions has yet been brought into force.

[^f00002]: S.I. 2001/2599. Article 3 and Schedule 1 were both substituted by S.I. 2009/256. There are other amending instruments, but none is relevant to this Order.

[^f00003]: S.I. 2016/473.