Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to remove the requirement for photo ID at elections.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Electoral Commission is the independent electoral regulator and will be reporting on the administration of the May elections and the recent General Election. This will include the proportion of individuals turned away for lack of accepted identification. We anticipate publication of their initial findings on voter ID later this month and their full election report later in the year.
In line with our manifesto commitments, we will carefully review the voter ID rules and evaluate how they impacted citizens during the General Election before bringing forward firm proposals for reform in due course. This will of course include full consideration of the Electoral Commission’s findings.
With regard to postal voting at the 2024 General Election, I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 199 on 26 July 2024.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to commission a lessons learned review with local authorities following the late arrival of postal votes in the 2024 General Election.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Electoral Commission is the independent electoral regulator and will be reporting on the administration of the May elections and the recent General Election. This will include the proportion of individuals turned away for lack of accepted identification. We anticipate publication of their initial findings on voter ID later this month and their full election report later in the year.
In line with our manifesto commitments, we will carefully review the voter ID rules and evaluate how they impacted citizens during the General Election before bringing forward firm proposals for reform in due course. This will of course include full consideration of the Electoral Commission’s findings.
With regard to postal voting at the 2024 General Election, I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 199 on 26 July 2024.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to investigate the causes of delays to the delivery of postal votes during the 2024 General Election.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Electoral Commission is the independent electoral regulator and will be reporting on the administration of the May elections and the recent General Election. This will include the proportion of individuals turned away for lack of accepted identification. We anticipate publication of their initial findings on voter ID later this month and their full election report later in the year.
In line with our manifesto commitments, we will carefully review the voter ID rules and evaluate how they impacted citizens during the General Election before bringing forward firm proposals for reform in due course. This will of course include full consideration of the Electoral Commission’s findings.
With regard to postal voting at the 2024 General Election, I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 199 on 26 July 2024.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring political institutional reform in Ukraine as a condition of providing reconstruction aid to that country.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The new UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation sets out our reform expectations for the Government of Ukraine, aligning with priority reforms set by NATO, the EU, the International Monetary Fund and our G7 Partners. Ukraine has continued to reiterate its commitment to making progress on reforms as part of the EU accession process and its reconstruction efforts. Institutional reform is a key part of Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction efforts to build back better, ensuring greater transparency and oversight. The UK has been providing technical assistance to key political institutional reforms, including anti-corruption and electoral reform in Ukraine.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Gambian President Adama Barrow on democratic governance in that country.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The British High Commission in Banjul regularly raises good governance and democracy with the Government of The Gambia. We welcome President Barrow's commitment to passing a new constitution during his tenure. The UK-funded International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance has facilitated peaceful and constructive dialogue between Gambian political, civil society, and religious groups to help progress the constitutional reform process. In association with the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association, the UK also provides legislative support and judiciary training for parliamentarians to build capacity within the judiciary system.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has provided (a) financial aid and (b) technical support for the implementation of the recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission in The Gambia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK is providing support for the implementation of a number of recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission in The Gambia. We have funded the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance to facilitate peaceful and constructive dialogue between Gambian political, civil society, and religious groups to help progress the constitutional reform process. In association with the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association, the UK also provides legislative support and judiciary training for parliamentarians to build capacity within the judiciary system. We are also supporting the Gambian Ministry of Justice to set up a special prosecutors office to ensure victims of Jammeh era crimes have access to justice.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to Lord Blencathra’s report on electoral reform in Belarus, adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 21 April 2021.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK Government is appalled by the brutal and ongoing repression that the Lukashenko regime conducts against its own people. We have already applied wide-ranging sanctions to Belarus in response to the regime's continued human rights violations since the 2020 elections. We will continue to put pressure on Lukashenko's regime publicly and privately to offer Belarusians the free and democratic society they deserve. The UK values the work of the Parliamentary Assembly to the Council of Europe as well as our UK delegation, in producing reports which promote these issues. We welcomed the adoption of these reports at the Committee of Minsters.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the Council of Europe report on the observation of the 2023 presidential election in Montenegro.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK welcomes the Council of Europe's (CoE) Report on the Presidential elections in Montenegro. Election monitoring is a vital tool for promoting and encouraging democracy. The UK contributed to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) observer mission to Montenegro's Presidential elections. We also supported a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) which reported irregularities and broadcast an early results forecast, contributing to the integrity of the election. We will provide ongoing support for electoral reform analysis. The UK will continue to encourage Montenegro to strengthen electoral practices in line with ODIHR and CoE recommendations.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the state of (a) civil and (b) political rights in Somalia.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
The UK Government assesses that civil and political rights in Somalia are under serious threat. We welcome the Somali government's commitment to political and constitutional reform and urge them to establish an independent human rights commission and progress key legislation. This includes reforming the 2020 Media Law to enable the press to report freely and independently. The UK coordinates with international partners and lobbies the Government on press freedom and the arrests of journalists. We provide training to journalists and security forces on media freedom issues. Somali elections do not always ensure universal suffrage and we are supporting the government to develop a more representative electoral system. The Somali justice system faces significant challenges and traditional dispute resolution methods often fall below international standards. There are reports of arbitrary detention across Somalia.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support international partners facing instability following democratic elections.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
Promoting democracy and defending democratic freedoms are fundamental to the UK's international policy. Our Arm's Length Body, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), provides electoral integrity support to countries around the world. WFD has led post-electoral reform work in Somaliland and Zambia and continues to develop practical electoral reform tools for partners to enhance electoral integrity. In Fragile and Conflict Affected States the UK's work targets the drivers of crises. Political transitions can be destabilising and, based on detailed analysis, where risks are high we draw on cross government capabilities to help reduce tension.