1.-(1) This Order may be cited as the European Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers' Charges) Order 1994 and shall come into force on 1st June 1994.

(2) This Order shall not extend to Northern Ireland.

2.-(1) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of section 29(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as applied by regulation 5(1) of and Schedule 1 to the European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 1986 (which, as so applied, provides that a returning officer is entitled to recover his charges in respect of services properly rendered or expenses properly incurred for or in connection with a European Parliamentary election if the services or expenses are of a kind specified in an order made under that provision and the charges are reasonable)-

(a)services of a kind described in paragraphs 1(1), 2(1) and 3(1) of Part A of the Schedule to this Order (hereafter referred to as "services specified in Part A of the Schedule"), and

(b)expenses of a kind described in paragraphs 1(1), 2(1), 3(1) and 4(1) of Part B of the Schedule to this Order (hereafter referred to as "expenses specified in Part B of the Schedule") and expenses of a kind described in Part C of the Schedule to this Order, are hereby specified.

(2) The maximum recoverable amounts at a contested election in respect of the services specified in Part A of the Schedule or the expenses specified in Part B of the Schedule are hereby specified as the amounts set out in the right-hand column of those Parts in respect of each entry set out opposite thereto in the left-hand column of those Parts.

(3) The maximum recoverable amounts at an uncontested election are hereby specified as-

(a)£2,757.60 in respect of the services specified in Part A of the Schedule to this Order, and

(b)£1,025.00 in respect of the expenses specified in Part B of the said Schedule.

(4) In the Schedule to this Order-

(a)"election" means a European Parliamentary election;

(b)any reference to the register of electors is to the register of electors used at the election at which the services were rendered or expenses incurred and to that register as first published;

(c)"returning officer" means the returning officer for a European Parliamentary election in a European Parliamentary constituency; and

(d)"the 1986 Regulations" means the European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 1986.

SCHEDULESERVICES AND EXPENSES IN RESPECT OF WHICH A RETURNING OFFICER AT A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION IN GREAT BRITAIN MAY RECOVER HIS CHARGES

PART AMAXIMUM RECOVERABLE AMOUNTS FOR SERVICES OF RETURNING OFFICER

PART BEXPENSES OF RETURNING OFFICER FOR WHICH MAXIMUM RECOVERABLE AMOUNTS ARE SPECIFIED

PART C EXPENSES OF RETURNING OFFICER FOR WHICH NO MAXIMUM RECOVERABLE AMOUNTS ARE SPECIFIED

1. Travellingand overnight subsistence expenses of-

(a)the returning officer;

(b)any person appointed under section 28(5) of the Representation of the People Act 1983(4), as applied by regulation 5(1) of and Schedule 1 to the 1986 Regulations;

(c)the verifying officer;

(d)any presiding officer or poll clerk;

(e)any clerical or other assistants employed by the returning officer.

2. Expenses in printing or otherwise producing the ballot papers.

3. Expenses in printing or otherwise producing the official poll cards and in delivering them to the voters, excluding the expenses referred to in paragraph 3(1) of Part B of this Schedule.

4. Expenses in printing or otherwise producing and, where appropriate, publishing notices and other documents required by the Representation of the People Acts, as applied by regulation 5(1) of and Schedule 1 to the 1986 Regulations.

5. Expenses in renting, heating, lighting and cleaning any building or room.

6. Expenses in adapting any building or room and in restoring it to a fit condition for its normal use.

7. Expenses in the provision of voting compartments and any other furniture necessary for polling stations.

8. Expenses in the provision of ballot boxes and instruments to stamp on the ballot papers the official mark.

9. Expenses in the conveyance to and from the polling stations of-

(a)the ballot boxes and ballot papers, and

(b)the voting compartments, any other furniture necessary for polling stations and the instruments to stamp the official mark on the ballot papers.

10. Expenses in the provision of stationery and writing implements and in postage, telephone and bank charges and other miscellaneous items.

11. Expenses in connection with the provision of security measures.

12. In a constituency in Scotland, expenses in the supply of copies of the register of electors for use in the conduct of the election.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order, which applies in Great Britain, makes provision for the payment of returning officers at European Parliamentary elections in respect of their services and expenses in connection therewith.

Under section 29(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (as substituted by the Representation of the People Act 1991), as applied for the purposes of European Parliamentary elections, the entitlement of a returning officer at a European Parliamentary election to recover his charges in respect of his services or expenses for or in connection with such an election depends upon-

(a)the services or expenses being of a kind specified in an order under that provision,

(b)the services being properly rendered and the expenses being properly incurred, and

(c)the charges in respect of them being reasonable.

Part A of the Schedule to this Order specifies the kinds of services rendered by a returning officer for or in connection with aEuropean Parliamentary election in respect of which he is entitled to recover his charges, together with maximum recoverable amounts in respect of those services. Parts B and C of the Schedule specify the kinds of expenses incurred by a returning officer for or in connection with a European Parliamentary election in respect of which he is entitled to recover his charges, together (in the case of Part B) with the maximum recoverable amounts in respect of those charges.

This Order replaces the European Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers' Expenses) Regulations 1989 (S. I. 1989/995), which ceased to have effect following the replacement of the power under which they were made with the power under which this Order is made. Parts A and B of the Schedule to this Order increase the maximum recoverable amounts from those that were specified in the 1989 Regulations.