Section 97 of
the Scotland Act 1998 provided for an Order in Council (The
Scottish Parliament (Assistance for Registered Political Parties) Order 1999)
to allow the SPCB to provide assistance for opposition parties by making payments to registered political parties
in the Parliament “for the purpose of assisting members of the Parliament who
are connected with such parties to perform their Parliamentary duties.”
Financial Assistance to Non-Government Parties: 2019-20
The table shows the amounts eligible parties actually claimed in the period 2019-20. The annual entitlement per member was £8,700.00.
Eligible party
|
Members
|
Total Eligible Amount £ |
Amounts claimed |
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
31 |
269,700.00 |
261,939.00 |
Scottish Labour Party |
24 |
208,800.00 |
208,760.89 |
Scottish Green Party |
6 |
52,200.00 |
51,994.42 |
Scottish Liberal Democratic Party |
5 |
43,500.00 |
43,415.05 |
Total |
66 |
574,200.00 |
566,109.36 |
Payments are only made for expenses incurred and claims must include a breakdown of what is being claimed and a statement that the expenses have been claimed were incurred by the Party exclusively for the purpose of assisting Members of the Parliament who are connected with the Party to perform their Parliamentary duties. A certificate must be provided to the Parliament by an independent professional auditor annually.