FI16603
Request
I am writing to submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for a copy of the 2024 General Election expense return, including the statement of donations, for Mike Tapp (Dover and Deal).
To assist you with fulfilling my request, you may find it helpful to know that, as directed in the Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 81, Subsection 1, candidate expense returns would have been filed with your council’s acting returning officer following the conclusion of the 2024 General Election and are likely to be held by your council’s electoral services office.
In considering which information is necessary to redact for privacy purposes while fulfilling my request, may I direct your attention to the Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 89, Subsection 1A which states that the only information that should not be considered available to the public in a candidate’s statement of donations is donor addresses where the donation was made by an individual.
Response
Under the Representation of the People Act 1983 as amended, the Council must appoint an officer of the Council to be the Returning Officer for any constituency or part of a constituency coterminous with or situated in the Council’s area. Nadeem Aziz is the appointed officer for the registration area of Dover District. His appointment as (Acting) Returning Officer (RO/ARO) and as Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) is separate to his appointment as Chief Executive and, although appointed by the Council, both the Electoral Registration Officer and the (Acting) Returning Officer’s responsibilities and duties are personal. An example of this is that the register of electors is deemed to be the property of the Electoral Registration Officer, not the local authority, and election expenses are held by the ARO/RO, and not the local authority.
The Electoral Registration Officer and the (Acting) Returning Officer do not carry out the duties on behalf of the local authority but in their own personal capacity. Details of what constitutes a public body that is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act is available at the following website: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi/freedom-of-information-and-environmental-information-regulations/public-authorities-under-foia/.
As you will see, the Freedom of Information Act does not list any person appointed under the Representation of the People Act 1983. It follows that the Electoral Registration Officer, (Acting) Returning Officer or any other person appointed under the Act are not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and therefore cannot supply the information under this FOI request.
However, the Representation of the People’s Act 1983 Section 89(1)(b) does state that the ARO can “if requested to do so … on payment of the prescribed fee, supply that person with a copy of the return or declaration”. The prescribed fee is 20 pence per side of paper, or you can inspect the election expense returns in person for free at the Dover District Council Offices, White Cliffs Business Park, Honeywood Close, Whitfield, Dover CT16 3PJ. You can only take notes from the documents if viewing them in person – you cannot take copies without paying the prescribed fee.
Any requests to the ARO for election expenses should be sent to elections@dover.gov.uk. A quote will be prepared and when payment received, any relevant items will be despatched.