Independence Referendum Costs Published

Deputy First Minister John Swinney confirmed that the final cost of staging last years Scottish independence referendum was £15.8 million.

This is higher than the indicative cost of running the referendum set out in the Financial Memorandum which accompanied the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill.

It's said the additional expenditure was due to a high turnout at the referendum.

Mr Swinney said:

“The independence referendum was a triumph for democracy and participation, with the highest turnout of any UK ballot for over a century.

“That huge and unprecedented modern turnout of almost 85 per cent saw more than 3.6 million people across Scotland cast their votes on the nation’s future.

“The referendum also extended the right to vote to over 100,000 16 and 17 year-olds and engaged many older people to vote for the first time in their lives.

“While the Scottish Government anticipated a very high turnout, potentially of more than 80 per cent, these final costs reflect the significant, additional work done by the Chief Counting Officer, counting officers and electoral registration officers to make sure as many people as possible registered to vote, the ballot ran smoothly and a result was declared as quickly as possible.”