Julie James AM, Minister for Housing and Local Government
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
The Welsh Government has published details of the costs incurred by returning officers in the delivery of the 2016 National Assembly elections. In total this amounted to £3,531,161.12. The expenditure is met by the Welsh Government from the Welsh Consolidated Fund.
The 2016 National Assembly elections were combined with the election of Police and Crime Commissioners in Wales. The published data reflects the costs of the National Assembly election only. The data includes, amongst other things, the costs of the hire of premises, printing poll cards and ballot papers and staff costs. It does not include costs paid directly out of the Welsh Consolidated Fund such as postal costs for candidate mail shots, this amounted to £3,882,615.03.
The National Assembly for Wales (Returning Officers Fees and Charges) Order 2016 set out the maximum amount returning officers can claim for the delivery of the election. Returning officers are required to record amounts relating to the costs for the election and within a given time submit accounts of actual costs and supporting documentation for checking. When all accounts have been checked and queries resolved the accounts are settled.
This is the first time the Welsh Government has published details of the costs of the National Assembly elections. The details are published under the Welsh Government’s open data project. The Welsh Government is committed to the continued publication of this data and will publish it as soon as is practicably possible after future elections.
A link to the data is available here.