Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the number of voters turned away from polling stations at the elections in May 2023 is recorded and published.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is working closely with the Electoral Commission and local authorities to introduce voter identification at elections from May 2023.
The Electoral Commission is a body independent of the Government and is accountable to the UK Parliament. Funding of its duties including public awareness raising campaigns is a matter for the Speaker's Committee of the House of Commons.
The Voter Authority Certificate Application Service will go live on 16 January 2023 and updates on applications will be provided in due course.
Data will be collected by Returning Officers, including on incidences of electors not providing acceptable voter identification in polling stations, to inform the Electoral Commission and DLUHC evaluations of polls in May and the two future UK Parliamentary General Elections.
The department has an extensive change network including local authorities, Valuation Joint Boards, and electoral organisations which is supporting the implementation of voter identification in May 2023 and beyond.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to delaying the implementation of Voter ID, given the concerns expressed by the Association of Election Administrators, the Local Government Association, and Electoral Commission.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is working closely with the Electoral Commission and local authorities to introduce voter identification at elections from May 2023.
The Electoral Commission is a body independent of the Government and is accountable to the UK Parliament. Funding of its duties including public awareness raising campaigns is a matter for the Speaker's Committee of the House of Commons.
The Voter Authority Certificate Application Service will go live on 16 January 2023 and updates on applications will be provided in due course.
Data will be collected by Returning Officers, including on incidences of electors not providing acceptable voter identification in polling stations, to inform the Electoral Commission and DLUHC evaluations of polls in May and the two future UK Parliamentary General Elections.
The department has an extensive change network including local authorities, Valuation Joint Boards, and electoral organisations which is supporting the implementation of voter identification in May 2023 and beyond.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there will be publicly available statistics showing how many people have applied for an ID on the Voter ID website.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is working closely with the Electoral Commission and local authorities to introduce voter identification at elections from May 2023.
The Electoral Commission is a body independent of the Government and is accountable to the UK Parliament. Funding of its duties including public awareness raising campaigns is a matter for the Speaker's Committee of the House of Commons.
The Voter Authority Certificate Application Service will go live on 16 January 2023 and updates on applications will be provided in due course.
Data will be collected by Returning Officers, including on incidences of electors not providing acceptable voter identification in polling stations, to inform the Electoral Commission and DLUHC evaluations of polls in May and the two future UK Parliamentary General Elections.
The department has an extensive change network including local authorities, Valuation Joint Boards, and electoral organisations which is supporting the implementation of voter identification in May 2023 and beyond.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide extra funding to the Electoral Commission to enable a bigger publicity campaign to be run over a shorter timescale to highlight the requirement to present photo voter ID.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is working closely with the Electoral Commission and local authorities to introduce voter identification at elections from May 2023.
The Electoral Commission is a body independent of the Government and is accountable to the UK Parliament. Funding of its duties including public awareness raising campaigns is a matter for the Speaker's Committee of the House of Commons.
The Voter Authority Certificate Application Service will go live on 16 January 2023 and updates on applications will be provided in due course.
Data will be collected by Returning Officers, including on incidences of electors not providing acceptable voter identification in polling stations, to inform the Electoral Commission and DLUHC evaluations of polls in May and the two future UK Parliamentary General Elections.
The department has an extensive change network including local authorities, Valuation Joint Boards, and electoral organisations which is supporting the implementation of voter identification in May 2023 and beyond.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Electoral Commission about when the publicity campaign for the Voter ID website will commence.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is working closely with the Electoral Commission and local authorities to introduce voter identification at elections from May 2023.
The Electoral Commission is a body independent of the Government and is accountable to the UK Parliament. Funding of its duties including public awareness raising campaigns is a matter for the Speaker's Committee of the House of Commons.
The Voter Authority Certificate Application Service will go live on 16 January 2023 and updates on applications will be provided in due course.
Data will be collected by Returning Officers, including on incidences of electors not providing acceptable voter identification in polling stations, to inform the Electoral Commission and DLUHC evaluations of polls in May and the two future UK Parliamentary General Elections.
The department has an extensive change network including local authorities, Valuation Joint Boards, and electoral organisations which is supporting the implementation of voter identification in May 2023 and beyond.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the website for people to apply for a free voter ID will be available to use.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is working closely with the Electoral Commission and local authorities to introduce voter identification at elections from May 2023.
The Electoral Commission is a body independent of the Government and is accountable to the UK Parliament. Funding of its duties including public awareness raising campaigns is a matter for the Speaker's Committee of the House of Commons.
The Voter Authority Certificate Application Service will go live on 16 January 2023 and updates on applications will be provided in due course.
Data will be collected by Returning Officers, including on incidences of electors not providing acceptable voter identification in polling stations, to inform the Electoral Commission and DLUHC evaluations of polls in May and the two future UK Parliamentary General Elections.
The department has an extensive change network including local authorities, Valuation Joint Boards, and electoral organisations which is supporting the implementation of voter identification in May 2023 and beyond.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the draft secondary legislation consequent to enactment of the Elections Bill, requested by the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, before the Bill receives its second reading in the House of Lords.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Electoral law is complex and it is vital that we get the detail right. We are working at pace on the secondary legislation and will share further detail with Parliament as soon we are in a position to.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total number of elected local councillors, at all levels of local government, in Wales in (1) 1988, (2) 1998, (3) 2008, and (4) 2018.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total number of elected councillors, at all levels of local government, in England in (1) 1988, (2) 1998, (3) 2008, and (4) 2018.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
This information is not held centrally.