Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by the Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park) on 28 January (HL Deb col 1804), what was the basis for the advice on local election campaign leaflets in relation (1) to leaflets delivered by volunteers, (2) to leaflets delivered by Royal Mail and other commercial organisations, and (3) to volunteers delivering COVID-19 safety information.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Democracy should not be cancelled because of covid. As outlined in my Written Ministerial Statement of 8 February 2021 (HLWS766), the Government has confirmed that the set of council, mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner elections scheduled for May will go ahead, and made a firm commitment that the Government will support the sector to deliver them.
The Government has published a clear Delivery Plan for the May elections, setting out how the Government will support local elections teams to deliver effective polls that are covid-secure for voters and staff.
Current National Lockdown restrictions in England do not support door-to-door campaigning or leafleting by individual political party activists. However, campaigning is an essential part of democracy. Voters deserve to be well informed before going to the polls and there must be a level playing field for candidates. Further information on campaigning guidance and the interaction with prevailing covid restrictions will be issued in due course and well in advance of the polls.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by the Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park) on 28 January (HL Deb col 1804), whether the Minister for the Constitution and Devolution received evidence from (1) NHS England, (2) the Department for Health and Social Care, and (3) the Chief Scientific and Medical Officers, prior to issuing the letter on campaign leaflets to political parties on 22 January.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Democracy should not be cancelled because of covid. As outlined in my Written Ministerial Statement of 8 February 2021 (HLWS766), the Government has confirmed that the set of council, mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner elections scheduled for May will go ahead, and made a firm commitment that the Government will support the sector to deliver them.
The Government has published a clear Delivery Plan for the May elections, setting out how the Government will support local elections teams to deliver effective polls that are covid-secure for voters and staff.
Current National Lockdown restrictions in England do not support door-to-door campaigning or leafleting by individual political party activists. However, campaigning is an essential part of democracy. Voters deserve to be well informed before going to the polls and there must be a level playing field for candidates. Further information on campaigning guidance and the interaction with prevailing covid restrictions will be issued in due course and well in advance of the polls.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make arrangements for the local government election counts due to take place on 6 May in England to be conducted on a day soon after polling day to ensure that the counts can be COVID-19 secure.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The conduct of the count will be a matter for Returning Officers - the Government is working with the Electoral Commission to ensure guidance is available to support Returning Officers to effectively deliver the polls, as laid out in my Written Ministerial Statement of 8 February 2021 (HLWS766) and the Government’s Election Delivery Plan. In this process, we understand the importance of securing a safe environment for counts.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to introduce early voting for local elections in England, or (2) to allow polling to take place over the weekend.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Primary legislation states that the polls are to be held on 6 May. We do not consider there is a need for early voting. Advanced voting is already available to those who need or want it through postal voting on demand. Early voting in person would create unhelpful and unnecessary operational difficulties, by requiring additional polling venues and staffing requirements, in what is already a challenging environment for Returning Officers. We are instead supporting Returning Officers in delivering the elections on Thursday 6 May.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the proposal by Lord Young of Cookham on 14 January (HL Deb col 889), what assessment they have made of the suggestion that local authorities should include information about registering to vote and voting by post with council tax bills; and whether this information can be delivered safely.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Electoral Registration Officers have the statutory responsibility for maintaining complete and accurate registers for their areas; decisions on what to include with local authority mailings is a matter for individual councils. The Electoral Commission (EC) also provides guidance for Electoral Registration Officers and will have a role in raising awareness of how people can vote by post or proxy. As part of their guidance to EROs on planning for the delivery of electoral registration, the EC advises that the online registration application form could be signposted on web pages that residents would most commonly use to carry out a transaction with the local authority, such as the page on which to register and pay for Council Tax.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what procedures are in place for citizens to complain against an individual civil servant in instances where they are believed to have broken the Civil Service Code; and where are complaints published.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
All civil servants are required to adhere to the Civil Service Code values - integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. If a member of the public wishes to complain about a civil servant, they should in the first instance contact the Department or Agency where the civil servant is employed. Each Department or Agency has its own complaints procedure that can be found on GOV.UK.
If the complainant is unsatisfied with the manner in which their complaint was handled, they can request that their Member of Parliament refer the matter to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate.
Details of complaints investigated by the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman are available in their published reports on their website, or included in the respective department's annual reports.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord True on 23 November (HL10099) and 9 December (HL10705) and the letter sent by the Minister for the Constitution and Devolution to Electoral Returning Officers, published on 16 September, whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what plans they have, if any, to change requirements so (1) nomination papers require only two signatures, and (2) that nominations may be accepted by email.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
The Government has considered issues around the nominations process for the May 2021 elections with the electoral sector and Public Health England and is of the view that the current process can be carried out in a covid-secure way. The Electoral Commission has published supplementary guidance to support this process and the Government is working to ensure that nominations activity is not affected by possible restrictions. There are no plans to change the number of signatures required for nomination papers at the May 2021 elections, or to allow nominations to be accepted by email. Returning Officers may allow parts of the nominations process to be carried out online, such as the arrangement of the necessary documents, but the final nomination papers must be delivered in person. The current procedures help ensure the veracity of the nominations process.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord True on 3 September (HL Deb, col 500), what plans they have to ensure that electoral registration forms are designed as effectively as possible using standards of best practice to increase the rate of return; and what steps they are taking to ensure that such forms, and any accompanying letters, consistently draw prominent attention to the legal requirements to comply with the registration process with reference to the appropriate maximum fines or penalties.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have the statutory responsibility for maintaining complete and accurate registers for their areas. The Government’s role is to ensure EROs have the tools they need to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. This includes, for example, the recent changes to the annual canvass in Great Britain which will improve its overall efficiency considerably which will allow EROs to focus their efforts on hard to reach groups, and play an important role in helping to maintain register accuracy and completeness.
As it stands, National Insurance Number letters issued by HM Revenue and Customs state that you need your National Insurance Number to register to vote. Cabinet Office officials are in discussions with colleagues in HMRC regarding what further information could be included to help inform individuals about the registration process, and if it may be clarified.
The Government is committed to making registration as easy as possible and we encourage everyone who is eligible to register to vote.
Responsibility for the design of electoral registration forms, including the Invitation to Register form and all Canvass Communications lies with the Electoral Commission, with the Government providing final approval. The Electoral Commission undertakes extensive user testing of the forms to ensure they are as effective as possible at eliciting the appropriate response. Cabinet Office officials are regularly consulted by the Electoral Commission during the design stages of any new forms and also when changes are proposed to existing forms.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to consult with (a) Operation Black Vote, and (b) representatives of communities under represented on electoral registers, about ways (1) to increase representation on the electoral register, (2) to encourage participation in elections, (3) to increase social mobility through the availability of credit to those on the electoral register, and (4) to help to make juries, drawn from the electoral register, more representative.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have the statutory responsibility for maintaining complete and accurate registers for their areas. The Government’s role is to ensure EROs have the tools they need to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. This includes, for example, the recent changes to the annual canvass in Great Britain which will improve its overall efficiency considerably which will allow EROs to focus their efforts on hard to reach groups, and play an important role in helping to maintain register accuracy and completeness.
As it stands, National Insurance Number letters issued by HM Revenue and Customs state that you need your National Insurance Number to register to vote. Cabinet Office officials are in discussions with colleagues in HMRC regarding what further information could be included to help inform individuals about the registration process, and if it may be clarified.
The Government is committed to making registration as easy as possible and we encourage everyone who is eligible to register to vote.
Responsibility for the design of electoral registration forms, including the Invitation to Register form and all Canvass Communications lies with the Electoral Commission, with the Government providing final approval. The Electoral Commission undertakes extensive user testing of the forms to ensure they are as effective as possible at eliciting the appropriate response. Cabinet Office officials are regularly consulted by the Electoral Commission during the design stages of any new forms and also when changes are proposed to existing forms.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord True on 26 November (HL Deb, col 397), what plans they have to provide a link to the online electoral registration process to those people provided with National Insurance numbers over the last two years in time for those people to register in time for the elections scheduled in May 2021; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such provision on the registration levels for that group.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have the statutory responsibility for maintaining complete and accurate registers for their areas. The Government’s role is to ensure EROs have the tools they need to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. This includes, for example, the recent changes to the annual canvass in Great Britain which will improve its overall efficiency considerably which will allow EROs to focus their efforts on hard to reach groups, and play an important role in helping to maintain register accuracy and completeness.
As it stands, National Insurance Number letters issued by HM Revenue and Customs state that you need your National Insurance Number to register to vote. Cabinet Office officials are in discussions with colleagues in HMRC regarding what further information could be included to help inform individuals about the registration process, and if it may be clarified.
The Government is committed to making registration as easy as possible and we encourage everyone who is eligible to register to vote.
Responsibility for the design of electoral registration forms, including the Invitation to Register form and all Canvass Communications lies with the Electoral Commission, with the Government providing final approval. The Electoral Commission undertakes extensive user testing of the forms to ensure they are as effective as possible at eliciting the appropriate response. Cabinet Office officials are regularly consulted by the Electoral Commission during the design stages of any new forms and also when changes are proposed to existing forms.