Spending during and outside of the regulated period
Apportioning spending
Where spending on an item or activity was incurred partly in connection with regulated campaign activity and partly in connection with non-regulated activity, the amount that must be reported is the proportion that reasonably reflects the amount spent in connection with the regulated campaign activity.
Only the regulated campaign spending must be reported in the spending return.
Spending during and outside of the regulated period
You may need to apportion your spending on regulated campaign activities that you undertake during and outside of the regulated period. For instance, this would include a service you started using before the regulated period began and continued using during the regulated period. In these scenarios, only the spending incurred during the regulated period are reportable and will count towards your spending limit.
Example A: Canvassing during and after the regulated period
You carry out canvassing two months before the regulated period and two months after the regulated period. Only the costs associated with the canvassing you undertake during the regulated period will count as regulated campaign spending.
As you spent an equal amount of time canvassing, to find out the cost you need to report, you should divide the total spending on canvassing over this period in half. You must include the costs associated with canvassing during the regulated period in your spending return.
Example B: Website costs before and during the regulated period
Before the regulated period begins, you create an area of your organisation’s website that can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence voters to vote for parties who do not support a proposed local development. You continue to use and update it during the regulated period.
As only the spending incurred during the regulated period is reportable, you will need to apportion the costs of the design, web hosting and other relevant costs between the two periods.
If the design and other costs amount to £9,000, and you use it over a six-month period, the cost per month is £9,000 ÷ 6 = £1,500 a month.
If the regulated period covers the final 4 months, then the total costs during the regulated period is 4 × £1,500 = £6,000.