148.Section 79 and Schedule 9 set out the financial limits on campaign expenditure. The limits apply to the following elections: a parliamentary general election; a European Parliamentary general election; a Scottish Parliamentary general election; an ordinary election to the National Assembly for Wales; and a general election to the Northern Ireland Assembly. No limits are, as such, imposed on campaign expenditure by political parties in connection with local government elections, although any such expenditure which is incurred during the relevant campaign period for one of the above elections would count towards the expenditure limit for the election in question.
149.The scheme provides for expenditure to be apportioned between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The reason for apportioning campaign expenditure to each part of the United Kingdom is that the campaign periods for parliamentary or European Parliamentary general elections and elections to the devolved legislatures may overlap and, without provisions for apportioning expenditure, an expenditure limit for elections to the devolved legislatures could, in such circumstances, be avoided.
150.Subsections (4) and (5) of section 79 are intended to avoid parties circumventing the expenditure limits by incurring campaign expenditure in advance of the period during which restrictions apply. Any expenditure on property, services or facilities (for example billboard advertisements) purchased in advance of a relevant period, but for use during that period, will nonetheless count towards the limit on campaign expenditure for that period. If the use made of any property, services or facilities is over a period of time which straddles the start of a relevant period an appropriate proportion of its cost counts as campaign expenditure.
Commentary on Sections Part V: Control of campaign expenditure Section 79 and Schedule 9: Limits on campaign expenditure