Non-party campaigners: Senedd elections

Under the law only certain individuals can authorise and make payments on behalf of registered non-party campaigners.

Once a non-party campaigner is registered, only the following people are allowed to incur and make payments for regulated campaign activities:

• the responsible person registered with us
• anyone authorised in writing by the responsible person1

For example, someone may be authorised by the responsible person to spend money on particular items, or up to a particular amount.

By ‘incur’ we mean make a legal commitment to spend money. You incur spending when you enter a transaction with a supplier and become liable to pay for the item, goods or service they have provided to you. For example, you hire a printing company to print leaflets, or you sign a contract to rent an office.

All payments over £200 must be supported by an invoice or receipt.2

Where an authorised person makes a payment of over £200, they must deliver both:

• the supporting invoice or receipt
• notification that they have made the payment

to the responsible person as soon as possible after making the payment.3  

These laws are in place to make sure that spending can be controlled and accurately recorded and reported. You should make sure that your staff, volunteers and campaigners know who can and cannot incur costs.

There are also time limits by which the responsible person must receive all invoices for regulated campaign spending.