Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the electoral commissioners are appointed; and what steps the Government takes to ensure those commissioners will be impartial and independent.

The Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission is required to oversee the procedure for selecting candidates for appointment to the Electoral Commission in accordance with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (“PPERA”) 2000. Candidates that are put forward are subject to an Address in the House of Commons, and require approval by the Speaker of the House of Commons and Her Majesty the Queen. The Electoral Commission is independent of Government.