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Councils try to claw back indyref costs

The referendum count in Dundee.
The referendum count in Dundee.

Councils across Courier country are trying to claw back thousands of pounds of referendum costs from the Scottish Government.

Due to unprecedented numbers of people registering to vote in the Scottish independence referendum, including thousands in the 16-18 age group, the councils have run up costs exceeding the money allocated.

Additional electoral registration costs for the Tayside Valuation Joint Board, which acted as registrar for the Perth and Kinross and Angus council areas, soared to almost £25,000, while Dundee City Council incurred extra costs of almost £13,000.

The position is unsure in Fife over the final cost, but the council is preparing to claim back expenses from the referendum.

A spokesman said: “We don’t calculate electoral registration costs separately in Fife.

“We can claim maximum funding of £628,771 to cover the costs of the referendum, but this does not cover electoral registration costs.”

Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone said: “Local authorities are increasingly strapped for cash and essential frontline services continue to face cuts, a situation made worse by the Scottish Government’s council tax freeze.

“It is entirely appropriate in my view that councils stand up for their residents and seek to have this extra expenditure reimbursed.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said the costs of electoral registration in Scotland are normally met through local authority budgets, but some money would be repaid for the costs of registering 16 and 17-year-olds for the first time.

She said: “For the purposes of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the Scottish Government agreed to reimburse electoral registration officers for any additional costs associated with extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds.

“These additional costs include the printing and distribution of Young Voter Registration Forms and the costs of the necessary adaptations to electoral management software to facilitate the addition of the register of young voters.

“The final amount to be paid to each valuation board will not be known until the consideration of any further claims from electoral registration officers is completed in early 2015.”