Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of postal voting in the upcoming local elections in May 2021; whether they have a contingency plan to manage any significant increase in postal voting; and what steps they will take to ensure that any increase in postal voting is managed (1) effectively, and (2) fairly.

Further to my answer given to PQ HL10099 on 23 November, the Senedd Cymru and Scottish Parliamentary elections are the responsibility of the Welsh and Scottish Governments respectively. However, all three governments continue to communicate regularly on the delivery of the polls. We are also working with postal vote suppliers, electoral sector partners and election teams to ensure capacity for printing and administering postal votes.