74Public money to be appropriated for funding election programmes and election advertising in relation to general election

1. In relation to each general election, the Minister of Justice must give notice to the Electoral Commission of the amount of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose of enabling parties to fund—

2. all of the broadcasting costs incurred in relation to the broadcast of party election programmes; and
3. all or part of the broadcasting costs incurred in relation to the broadcast of candidate election programmes; and
4. all or part of the production costs, whenever incurred, in relation to—
   1. party election programmes; and
   2. candidate election programmes; and
5. all or part of the publishing costs incurred in relation to the publication of election advertisements on the Internet during the election period; and
6. all or part of production costs, whenever incurred, in relation to election advertisements published on the Internet—
   1. during the election period; or
   2. before and during the election period.

7. The Electoral Commission must decide, under section 79, how the amount in subsection (1) is to be allocated to parties.

8. For a general election that takes place after 2017 (a subsequent general election), an amount of money equal to the amount of public money allocated under section 79 at the immediately preceding general election must, unless an Act of Parliament expressly provides otherwise, be deemed to have been appropriated by Parliament for the purposes of enabling parties to fund the costs specified in subsection (1) incurred in relation to the subsequent general election.

9. An amount of money deemed by subsection (3) to have been appropriated by Parliament for the purposes specified in that subsection is payable out of public money for those purposes without further appropriation than this section.