S.I. No. 163/1979 - Returning Officers' Charges (European Assembly and Local Elections) Order, 1979.

S.I. No. 163 of 1979.

RETURNING OFFICERS' CHARGES (EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY AND LOCAL ELECTIONS) ORDER, 1979.

I, SEOIRSE Ó COLLA, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 91 of the Electoral Act, 1963 (No. 19 of 1963), as amended by section 21 (1) of the European Assembly Elections Act, 1977 (No. 30 of 1977), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Returning Officers' Charges (European Assembly and Local Elections), Order, 1979.

2. In this Order—

"the Act of 1977" means the European Assembly Elections Act, 1977 ;

"the Act of 1963" means the Electoral Act, 1963 ;

"the Assembly" means the Assembly of the European Communities;

"the local returning officer" means a local returning officer within the meaning of the Act of 1977.

3. As regards the matters specified in the First Schedule to this Order, the scale of maximum charges both for the purposes of section 91 of the Act of 1963, and for the purposes of that section as extended by section 21 (1) of the Act of 1977, shall, as regards elections of representatives to the Assembly and local elections, be the scale set out in the First Schedule of this Order.

4. The expenses of a local returning officer in performing his functions under the Act of 1977 and the functions as regards local elections assigned to him by regulations made by the Minister for the Environment under section 91 of the Act of 1963 shall be apportioned between the Central Fund and any local authority within the meaning of Part VI of the Act of 1963 concerned in accordance with the Second Schedule of this Order.

5. Nothing in this Order shall be taken as authorising more than one charge in respect of a particular disbursement.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

SCALE OF MAXIMUM CHARGES.

PART I.

General.

1. (1) In this Schedule—

"constituency" means any constituency specified in the Second Schedule to the Act of 1977;

"returning officer" means a returning officer within the meaning of the Act of 1977.

(2) In this Schedule—

( a ) reference to a returning officer shall be construed as including reference to an acting returning officer, and

( b ) references to a local returning officer shall be construed as including references to a deputy or acting local returning officer.

PART II.

Services of Returning Officers in Contested and Uncontested Elections.

2. For conducting the election and counting the votes and generally performing all the duties which a returning officer is required by law to perform:

in the case of a contested election	£750
in the case of an uncontested election	£250

PART III.

Services of Local Returning Officers in Contested and Uncontested Elections.

3. For conducting the elections and generally performing all the duties which a local returning officer is required by law to perform (other than duties in connection with the matters specifically provided for in paragraphs 4 and 5):

( a ) in any county or county borough in which there is a contested election for the Assembly only:

	fee per 100 electors
up to 150,000 electors	57p
over 150,000 electors	17p

( b ) in any county or county borough in which there is, in addition to a contested election to the Assembly, a contested local election:

	fee per 100 electors
up to 150,000 electors	85p
over 150,000 electors	25p

4. For segregation of ballot papers and verification of Assembly election and local election ballot accounts and matters connected thereto:

up to 30,000 electors	£53.00
for each 1,000 electors over 30,000	£2.65

5. For despatch and receipt of ballot papers of postal voters:

for every complete 100 postal voters or any fraction thereof exceeding 50	£7.00
subject to a minimum of	£14.00

PART IV.

Disbursements of Returning Officers.

6. For clerical, legal and other expenses:

Actual and necessary cost as vouched subject to a maximum of £100 plus £0.13 per 100 electors.

7. Counting of Votes:

Where the count takes place wholly or partly on a Sunday:	£1.52 per 100 electors
Where the count takes place on a day or days other than Sunday:	£1.12 per 100 electors

Together with £238 for supervision and calculation.

(The total sum shall be divided at the discretion of the returning officer between all competent persons appointed to assist him.)

PART V.

Disbursements of Local Returning Officers.

8. Taking the Poll:

( a ) Presiding Officers

Each presiding officer—to cover all expenses, other than travelling and subsistence allowances, authorised by this Scale:

	£
Where there is one poll	20.00
Where there are two polls	25.00
Where there are three polls	27.50
Where there are more than four polling stations in a polling place the local returning officer may designate one, and only one, of the presiding officers to receive the following rates:

	£
Where there is one poll	25
Where there are two polls	31
Where there are three polls	34

( b ) Poll Clerks

Where the number of clerks equals the number of polls	14
Where the number of clerks is one less than the number of polls	17
Where the number of clerks is two less than the number of polls	20

9. Remuneration of persons engaged in the despatch and receipt of postal ballot papers:

For each 100 postal voters or fraction thereof exceeding 50	£7.00
Subject to a minimum of	£14.00

10. Remuneration of persons engaged in the segregation of ballot papers and verification of ballot paper accounts

Up to 30,000 electors	£480
For each complete 1,000 electors over 30,000	£5.20

(The total sum shall be divided at the discretion of the local returning officer between all competent persons appointed to assist him.)

11. ( a ) Clerical, legal and other assistance employed by the local returning officer for the purposes of the election—excluding any services for which payment is otherwise authorised by this Scale—and for all expenses of the local returning officer not otherwise authorised by this Scale: £100 and

	per 100 electors
	£1.00
( b ) For despatch of polling cards	£1.25

PART VI.

Miscellaneous Disbursements of Returning Officers and Local Returning Officers.

12. The assistance of a special legal assessor employed by the returning officer or local returning officer with the prior consent of the Minister for the Environment:

Such sums as may be authorised by the Minister for Finance.

13. Returning officer's or local returning officer's travelling expenses:

First-class railway expenses or, where rail service is not available, mileage rates in accordance with DPS Circular 32/78.

Subsistence

For absences from home:

	£
for more than 5 hours	2.30
for more than 10 hours	5.60
overnight	14.80

14. ( a ) Travelling expenses of presiding officers and poll clerks, excluding any expenses incurred in conveying the ballot boxes from the polling station to the place where the votes are counted:

Standard class rail fare, or, where rail services are not available, actual and necessary cost in the case of persons employed more than 15 miles from home.

Subsistence allowance at £1.50 where detained after 10.30 p.m. or £2.10 where detained after midnight.

( b ) Travelling expenses of clerical or other assistance employed by the returning officer or local returning officer:

Standard class railway fare or actual and necessary cost.

15. Conveying of polling screens, ballot boxes, ballot papers, notices and related articles in connection with the election:

Actual railway charges, or, where rail service is not available, actual and necessary cost.

16. Printing and providing ballot papers:

Cost as charged by the Stationery Office, or where printing is arranged for by the returning officer, the actual and necessary cost.

17. Printing and publishing notices, nomination papers and other documents required in and about the election:

Cost as charged by the Stationery Office, or where printing is arranged for by the returning officer, the actual and necessary cost.

18. Use of any building or room for the purpose of the election:

Actual and necessary expenses arising.

19. Fitting up polling stations, inlcuding the provisions of voting compartments and the hire of necessary furniture:

Cost as charged by the Office of Public Works, or, if the work is done locally, actual and necessary cost.

20. Ballot boxes required to be purchased, hired or repaired; stamping instructions required to be purchased, hired, altered or repaired; stationery at polling stations:

Cost as charged by the Stationery Office or actual and necessary cost.

21. General stationery, postage, telegrams and telephone messages:

Actual and necessary cost.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

Apportionment of Expenses.

All sums paid by a local returning officer to presiding officers and poll clerks and all sums paid in accordance with 3 (b), 4, 10, 11, 13 (in so far as it relates to local returning officers), 14, 15, 19, 20, 21 of the Scale set out in the First Schedule to this Order shall be aggregated and—

( a ) where they relate to the election to the Assembly and to an election of members of the council of a county or the corporation of a county borough, one-half of the aggregate shall be repaid to the Minister for Finance by the Council or corporation concerned.

( b ) where they relate to the election to the Assembly and to an election of members of the corporation of a borough which is not a county borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town, one-half of the aggregate shall be repaid to the said Minister by the corporation, council or town commissioners concerned.

( c ) where they relate to the election to the Assembly and to elections of members of the council of a county and members of the corporation of a borough which is not a county borough, the council of an urban district or the commissioners of a town, one-third of the aggregate shall be repaid to the said Minister by the Council of a county and one-third by the corporation, council of an urban district or commissioners concerned, and

( d ) where they relate solely to an election of members of the council of a county, the corporation of a county borough or the council of an urban district, the whole of the aggregate shall be repaid to the said Minister by the council or the corporation as the case may be.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 7th day of May, 1979.

SEOIRSE Ó COLLA,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations set out the scale of maximum charges for returning officers and local returning officers in respect of joint elections to the European Assembly and local elections. The regulations also set out the apportionment of cost, where appropriate, between local authorities and the Minister for Finance.