Voting Methods: Visual Impairment

(asked on 15th November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October to Question 58512 on Voting Methods: Visual Impairment, what assessment he has made of representations from the Royal National Institution of Blind People and other disability charities, that the responsibility to prescribe a minimum standard of equipment to enable blind and partially sighted people to vote should stay with Government rather than with individual returning officers to ensure an equitable level of support nationally.


Answered by
Kemi Badenoch Portrait
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
This question was answered on 24th November 2021

The Government welcomes the engagement from the RNIB and other disability charities in this important area. As noted in the response to Question UIN 58512, the intention of the policy is to improve the support available to voters with disabilities and ensure that Returning Officers are better able to support people with a wider range of disabilities by removing barriers to change and innovation.

This change has arisen following the Government's Call for Evidence on Access to Elections. Responses from disabled people and organisations that represent their interests made clear that the current approach of requiring Returning Officers to solely provide a prescribed device was not the best approach to meet the varied needs of disabled electors. Returning Officers are best placed to respond to the needs of their local communities and ensure that people get the right support.

Our new proposals will be supported by guidance from the Electoral Commission, and will involve a wide range of engagement with relevant stakeholders.

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