Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2026, to Question 110483, on Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders, what assessment he has made of the validity of Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders from Poland when IPCA return orders are not enforced by the Polish authorities.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

International parental child abduction cases involving Poland are dealt with under an international and domestic law framework which is entirely separate from the framework for reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders. When a court is dealing with a case under a particular framework, only those matters which fall to be considered under the relevant framework are applicable.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 110482, on Poland: Children, what steps his Department has taken to ensure enforcement of return orders in cases of international parental child abduction in Poland.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice does not play a direct role in individual international child abduction cases in Poland. Whether a return order is made in Poland in respect of a child who has been taken to Poland, or what action should be taken in Poland in relation to enforcement of a return order, are matters for Polish courts and the relevant authorities to determine.

However, my officials regularly engage on international child abduction with other States, including discussions with Polish authorities on the subject of enforcement procedures. This has included a Workshop hosted by the Ministry of Justice in April 2025, together with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other key authorities in England and Wales, to discuss international child abduction with Polish officials and enhance cooperation in this area.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 110482 on Poland: Children, what role his Department plays in international parental child abduction cases in Poland.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice does not play a direct role in individual international child abduction cases in Poland. Whether a return order is made in Poland in respect of a child who has been taken to Poland, or what action should be taken in Poland in relation to enforcement of a return order, are matters for Polish courts and the relevant authorities to determine.

However, my officials regularly engage on international child abduction with other States, including discussions with Polish authorities on the subject of enforcement procedures. This has included a Workshop hosted by the Ministry of Justice in April 2025, together with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other key authorities in England and Wales, to discuss international child abduction with Polish officials and enhance cooperation in this area.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the written statement of 2 March 2026, HCWS1375, on Flexible Voting Pilots, and with reference to the list of councils with elections in the Cabinet Office purdah guidance published on 2 March 2026, when will North Hertfordshire District Council hold its next local election.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

North Hertfordshire District Council elections are not listed in the Cabinet Office pre-election period guidance because they do not have scheduled elections in 2026. The government remains committed to the indicative timetable for local government reorganisation set out in July 2025, including for Hertfordshire, with elections to the new councils scheduled for May 2027.

In addition, for the 2026 parish council elections, the Hertfordshire parishes of Codicote, Kimpton, Knebworth and Royston will take part in the flexible voting scheme for polls on 7 May 2026.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the Electoral Commission's report entitled Automatic registration pilots evaluation, published in December 2025, how many and what proportion of people who were automatically added were subsequently removed from the annual canvass.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

Across the piloting local authorities 16,000 people were added to the registers automatically. At the time of publication of the Electoral Commission’s evaluation, data from piloting authorities showed that 83 of those electors had been removed during the annual canvass. This is less than 1% of the number registered automatically as a result of the pilots.

As the annual canvass was not complete when the evaluation was finalised, the Commission recommended to the Welsh Government that they should request final data from Electoral Registration Officers to enable a final assessment of the matching accuracy.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 102773 on Local Government: Elections, whether the Parliamentary Parties Panel was consulted on the local election pilots.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Westminster Political Parties Panel was not consulted on the local election pilots.

The Commission has a statutory duty to independently evaluate the May 2026 pilot schemes and will report on the pilots by August 2026. The Commission will also support local authorities taking part in the pilots as needed.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the Electoral Commission's document entitled Accredited Observer Organisations, published in February 2026, for what reason accredited election observers include (a) the Zimbabwe Diaspora Community Network, (b) the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara and (c) World Peace Volunteers.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Commission is responsible under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 for accrediting individuals and organisations who wish to observe electoral processes at elections and relevant referendums held in the United Kingdom.

Anyone over the age of 16, including those from outside the UK, can apply to become an electoral observer, provided they are politically impartial, have not been found or reported guilty of a corrupt or illegal electoral practice in the UK, and have not had previous accreditation revoked within the last five years.

Observers must adhere to the Code of Practice for electoral observers.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has issued guidance to Returning Officers on whether election observers can raise points of concern on the conduct of an election when inside a polling station.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Commission’s guidance for Returning Officers notes that they have a legal duty to have regard to the Code of Practice for observers when managing the attendance of observers at polling stations. The Code states that observers may bring irregularities, fraud or significant problems to the attention of election officials on the spot, unless this would contravene the secrecy requirements, and must do so in a non-obstructive manner.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84203 on Voting Methods, whether the Electoral Commission was consulted by the Government over the use of early voting pilots in the May 2026 local elections in England.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Government was required to consult the Electoral Commission before making the draft orders providing for flexible voting pilot schemes at the May 2026 elections in England. The Commission has a statutory duty to independently evaluate and report on the May 2026 pilot schemes.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support defence SMEs.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

We’re delivering on our Defence Industrial Strategy; we have created the Office for Small Business Growth; we are simplifying defence sector processes under commercial pathways. We aim to make the UK a top location for defence businesses, pledging an extra £2.5 billion spend by 2028 and addressing SME feedback on sector complexity.