Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what discussions he has had with the Royal Mail's on its ability to deliver outgoing and returned postal votes.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Electoral Commission regularly engages with Royal Mail to consider the logistics and operational pressures of postal vote delivery, particularly in the run up to elections. This engagement informs the support the Commission provides to Returning Officers, who are responsible for issuing postal votes, and Royal Mail, who are responsible for delivery.
The Commission provides guidance to electoral administrators on how to plan and manage postal votes. The guidance recommends Returning Officers liaise early and regularly with their Royal Mail contact about postal vote pack delivery and returns.
The Commission has recommended the postal vote system should be reformed to improve the service for voters and strengthen resilience. Key areas for improvement include the information given to postal voters, considering whether the current deadline to return a postal vote should be extended and more flexibility for reissuing postal votes.
The Commission responded to Ofcom's consultation on the universal post service in 2025 highlighting the implications of postal service reforms for the management and funding of UK elections. The Commission's view is that reform proposals must ensure that electoral processes can continue to depend on an agile, flexible and reliable universal postal service.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to reform the process for public consultations on redrawing local council electoral ward boundaries.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is responsible for delivering fair electoral and boundary arrangements for English councils. The Commission’s main focus is a rolling programme of electoral reviews, and they produce a range of guidance and resources which are available on their website, setting out the detail of how they conduct electoral reviews, including their process of consultation.
As an independent body, responsible to Parliament, the process for public consultation on redrawing local council electoral ward boundaries is a matter for the Commission in line with its statutory duties. The Department has no plans to reform this.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many donations received as cryptocurrencies has Reform UK declared to the Electoral Commission; what the value of those donations were; and on what dates those donations were received.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Parties are required to report donations in cryptocurrencies as non-monetary donations, with the type and amount of crypto asset identified.
No political party has reported any donations to the Electoral Commission that they have identified as cryptocurrency.
Last week, the Commission published the latest donations to political parties for the third quarter of 2025. Information about all reported donations is available on the Commission’s website, providing important transparency for voters.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025 to question 85843, whether she is considering requiring drivers to register with their home local authority validated by checking council tax, electoral roll and credit reference data.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks to introduce powers to set national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing across England, to keep all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. It would also help reduce the variability of licensing standards across the country, which is a significant factor in inducing drivers to licence with an authority other than that in which they intend to work.
The Department continues to consider further options for reform, including out-of-area working and enforcement. We need to ensure that taxis and PHVs are able to work in a way that facilitates the journeys passengers want and need to make, in a consistently safe way, whilst achieving the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of levels of inequality of access to hormone replacement therapy and menopause care by (a) deprivation, (b) ethnicity and (c) geography.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that more needs to be done to address the barriers to accessing menopause care experienced by women, and that some groups of women experience these even more acutely. The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions, our 10-Year Health Plan, and the renewal of the Women’s Health Strategy.
In October 2024, the NHS published a healthcare inequalities report into NHS primary care hormone replacement therapy prescribing to treat menopause symptoms. This report provides insights by age, deprivation, region, integrated care system (ICS), primary care network, local authority, electoral ward, and Core20, as well as specific medication level analysts. ICS’s and local authorities should use this information to inform policies, planning, commissioning, and promotion of services.
From 2026 onwards, local authorities will be asked to include menopause in the NHS Health Check which will support up to five million eligible women across England to access high quality information on the menopause, including advice on managing symptoms and where to seek support when they need it the most. To improve access and engagement with the NHS Health Check, a new NHS Health Check Online service is in development, which people can use at home, at a time convenient to them. The new online service is now being piloted in multiple local authorities.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
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 Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75621 on Elections: Reform, whether the Code of Conduct will be mandatory for registered political parties.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the Restoring Trust in our Democracy strategy, we will work with the Speaker and the Electoral Commission to develop a code which is fit for purpose. The code will not be mandatory; however, we will work closely with political parties and other stakeholders to ensure it is effective, proportionate and reflective of the needs of candidates and campaigners across the political spectrum.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has considered the potential merits of revising the system for remaining off the electoral register on the grounds of safety from a former abusive partner, so that applications do not need to be renewed annually with supporting evidence from a (a) doctor and (b) judge.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government committed in its manifesto to improving voter registration. This commitment applies to every eligible elector. The current system requires individuals registered as anonymous electors to reapply annually to maintain their status. The government acknowledges that this requirement imposes an unnecessary burden on those electors.
In its published strategy, Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, the government committed to amending the legislation to extend the duration of anonymity period. This reform will mean that anonymous electors will no longer need to reapply each year, thereby streamlining the process and reducing barriers to participation.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Localis entitled Reorganisation, local government and the future of English Devolution, published on 25 June 2025; and what estimate her Department has made of the reduction in the number of councillors from local government reforms.
Answered by Jim McMahon
I would like to thank Professors Copus and Leach for their analysis of the short and long-term history of English local government reform, which my officials are considering. The department has not made an estimate of the reduction in the number of councillors from local government reforms. It is important that councils have the right number of members to achieve the strategic, decision-making and representative roles of the authority. As I set out in my answer to PQ 26697 on 4 February 2025, my department is liaising closely with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) so that they are involved at the appropriate time to ensure fair electoral arrangements across the area of any new unitary local authorities.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps her Department has taken to (a) strengthen electoral integrity and (b) tackle voter fraud.
Answered by Rushanara Ali
This Government is committed to strengthening the UK’s democracy and upholding the integrity of elections. It has already taken steps in this area including the work undertaken to review and reform the voter identification policy, successfully passing legislation which allows use of the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card as identification at polling stations.
The Government will be setting out its approach to elections and electoral reform for this Parliament in an overall Government Strategy for Elections, to be published later this year, where it will set out plans for further strengthening the integrity of elections and encouraging participation in democracy.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 given guidance to (a) political parties and (b) Reform UK Ltd on whether the provision of research is a donation in kind.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Electoral Commission provides guidance for all political parties. The guidance states that any service – including research – provided to a party for free or on non-commercial terms is a donation. If the market value is above £500, the donor must be permissible, and if the value is above the reporting threshold (£11,180 for donations to central parties, or £2,230 for donations to accounting units or subsequent donations from the same source), it must also be reported to the Commission.
If the party pays for the service, it would not be a donation.