Objectives 2024/25
Overall objective
- The Commission’s focus this year was on ensuring it received sufficient support in the absence of any permanent Secretariat staff.
Main objectives for 2024/25, with outcomes
- The main objectives for the Commission during the financial year 2024/25 were:
- The Commission’s sole statutory duty during 2024-2025 has been to keep under review the Parliamentary constituencies in England. This entails the collection of Parliamentary electorate data from all local electoral registration officers in England, as at the date of the statutory annual publication of their register, by the end of March 2025.
- By 31 July 2024 to establish a Memorandum of Understanding between the BCE and Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru, to provide sufficient funding and staff resources to the Commission during the years of relative inactivity. This has been established.
- To hold one formal Commission meeting in July 2024, and one before the end of the financial year in 2025. The Commission met in July 2024 and February 2025.
- To carry out research into areas that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the next review. The Commission considered the feasibility of carrying out research however with the limited budget it currently works within it would require further exploration with sponsor division.
Budget and expenditure 2024/25
- The Commission initially agreed a budget of £23,000 with the sponsor Department, which it considered would be necessary to deliver the functions of the Commission during the 2024-25 financial year. However, due to unforeseen staff costs incurred by the Commission the budget was increased by £9,000 in a supplementary budget in September meaning the budget for the 2024-25 financial year was agreed at £32,000. The table below compares the Commission’s actual expenditure during the year against the initial budget agreed with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) as sponsor Department.
Budget and expenditure by subhead (figures supplied by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government*)
| Budget component | Budget 24/25(£) | Expenditure (£)* | Variance (£)** |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay and related costs, including Commissioner fees | 24,000 | 24,446 | 446 |
| Travel and subsistence costs | 0 | 644 | 644 |
| Accommodation costs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| IT and equipment costs | 6,100 | 6,120 | 20 |
| Other professional services | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other goods and services | 1,900 | 1,996 | 96 |
| Miscellaneous expenditure | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 32,000 | 33,206 | 1,206 |
*Rounded up or down to the nearest pound and inclusive of VAT where this was originally applied by DLUHC in the budget setting process.
**Rounded to nearest pound from total derived from detailed (not rounded) component expenditure and variance figures.