Elan Closs Stephens Chair Electoral Commission Wales By e-mail

Pwyllgor y Llywydd — Llywydd's Committee Senedd Cymru Bae Caerdydd, Caerdydd, CF99 1SN SeneddPLl@senedd.cymru senedd.cymru/SeneddPLl 0300 200 6565 — Welsh Parliament Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF99 1SN SeneddLlC@senedd.wales senedd.wales/SeneddLlC 0300 200 6565
 

 

 


Dyddiad | Date: 7 November 2023

Pwnc | Subject: Evidence to the Llywydd Committee on the Electoral Commission’s financial estimates 2024/25

Dear Elan,

Thank you for attending the Llywydd’s Committee meeting on 7 November 2023. The Committee was grateful for the opportunity to scrutinise the Electoral Commission on its financial estimate for 2024/25 and the supplementary estimate for 2023/24.

I look forward to receiving the further detail on the costs and usage of the office in Cardiff, but as a matter of priority the Committee needs the Commission to look again at its estimate and identify some savings.

The Committee has had an initial discussion on your estimate and is not in a position to support the Commission’s request asking for an increase of 17 percent, given that this is significantly in excess of the amounts agreed by the Finance Committee for other directly funded bodies.

The Committee notes your comments about the funding being predominately drawn from the Welsh Consolidated fund, however as the Counsel General highlighted in his response there was a negative consequential in relation to the Electoral Commission at the 2021 Spending Review. The result of this is that the figure requested for 2024/25 is in excess of the funding transferred by the UK Government for Commission expenditure, and if the Committee was to agree the figure asked for it would mean a reduction in the funding available for other bodies funded by the Welsh Consolidated Fund.

The Committee therefore requires a revised estimate that finds efficiencies of around 3 to 5 percent which would still represent a much higher increase than the other directly funded bodies. In order to allow the Committee to consider this revised estimate, I would be grateful if you could respond by 13 November 2023.

I have copied this letter to the Speakers of the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament, due to the crossover of responsibility for agreeing funding between the different parts of the Commission.

Yours sincerely

David Rees MS

Chair, Llywydd’s Committee

Croesewir gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu Saesneg.

We welcome correspondence in Welsh or English.