Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025, what progress has been made on testing (a) digitally enabled and (b) convenient approaches to electoral registration.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is actively exploring a range of approaches to improve electoral registration, including making it easier for people to register to vote. User research is undertaken throughout the policy and digital service development process.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the Government's Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The existing Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission does not reflect this Government’s priorities and will not remain in place.
On 17 July, we published our strategy for modern and secure elections which included proposals to give significant new powers and responsibilities to the Electoral Commission to strengthen the enforcement of political finance rules. In light of these new responsibilities, we intend to designate a new Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission to reflect this Government’s priorities for elections and the Commission’s increased roles and responsibilities.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether ministers in her Department have met with representatives of the alcohol industry since July 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Data for the period of July to September 2024 will be published in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) quantity, (b) quality and (c) location of public playgrounds.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Playgrounds are an important part of healthy, happy and connected communities. Playgrounds can be found in schools, private housing, public parks and many other places.
Local authorities maintain many public playgrounds. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sets out that decisions should aim to promote inclusive design by creating buildings and spaces that are safe, social and inclusive, with an integrated mix of uses that are accessible for all.
We are proud that this year’s Budget has delivered a real term increase in local government spending. Local authorities can decide how to use funding to best serve their communities, including investing in improving and developing public playgrounds.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2024 to Question 25652 on Local Government: Elections, if he will survey returning officers on the number of completed postal vote packs that arrived with the returning officer after the close of polls on 2 May 2024.
Answered by Simon Hoare
This information is not collected centrally by the Government.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of postal votes which arrived with returning officers after the close of polls on 2 May 2024.
Answered by Simon Hoare
I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 14836 on 27 February 2024.
At the elections on 2 May, the Government centrally funded a national ‘sweep’ by Royal Mail of their mail centres to ensure that completed postal ballot packs were pulled out at mail centres on the evening of polling day and delivered directly to local Returning Officers.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of the potentially misleading marketing of homes on holiday parks as residential properties on consumers.
Answered by Lee Rowley
We expect that the marketing of all properties accords with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which prohibits misleading omissions of key information about the property.
Estate agents’ compliance with the law is overseen by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agent Team, who can issue warning or banning orders to agents who fail to comply.
Consumers should make sure they are clear about any restrictions on the property before purchasing, informed by checks on the property title carried out by their conveyancing solicitor before contracts are exchanged.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of people living permanently in holiday park homes.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The data requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Electoral Commission’s findings in its interim report on the impact of voter ID on voting accessibility during the 2023 local elections in England; and if he will make a statement in response to the Commission's full report.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government welcomes the Electoral Commission's interim report on the May 2023 polls, which shows that the vast majority of voters - 99.75% - cast their vote.
We will, as set out in legislation, be conducting an evaluation of the implementation of voter identification at the May polls. We are now analysing the Commission's data in more detail and conducting further research with electors and electoral administrators to understand the impact of the new rules. We will publish our evaluation in November.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report by the Association of Electoral Administrators entitled AEA 2023 post polls review - Under pressure: increased demand on the UK electoral system, published in June 2023; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon Mem to the answers given to Question UIN 162192 on 14 March 2023 and Question UIN 183999 on 11 May 2023.