Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made on introducing legislative proposals to remove the 15-year time limit on British people living abroad being able to vote in elections.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
British citizens living abroad retain strong links with the United Kingdom: they may have family here, and they may plan to return here in the future. Equally, there are many British citizens abroad who have fought for our country, dedicating their lives to our armed services. Their stake in our country must be respected. This Government will not deny them the opportunity to have their say in the way their country is governed. That is why we are committed to introducing votes for life for British citizens living abroad.
The Government estimates that a further 3 million British citizens resident overseas will be enfranchised under the ‘votes for life’ proposals set out in the policy statement published on 7 October 2016. The Government has made initial estimates of how many newly enfranchised overseas electors may register to vote, and will continue to further refine its estimates in light of new data as it becomes available.
The Government acknowledges that initial applications to register to vote from newly enfranchised overseas electors are likely to take longer to process than most other applications. This increase in staff time has been built into the Government’s estimates of the expected costs of this policy measure. The Government is currently seeking feedback from electoral administrators and others on the detail of its proposals and will review them if measures to streamline processes are identified.
The Government is committed to legislating to remove the 15-year rule before the 2020 general election.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the Government has made of the number and proportion of UK citizens living abroad who would apply to be overseas electors for a UK parliamentary election or national referendum in the event that the 15-year rule for UK citizens living abroad being able to vote were removed.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
British citizens living abroad retain strong links with the United Kingdom: they may have family here, and they may plan to return here in the future. Equally, there are many British citizens abroad who have fought for our country, dedicating their lives to our armed services. Their stake in our country must be respected. This Government will not deny them the opportunity to have their say in the way their country is governed. That is why we are committed to introducing votes for life for British citizens living abroad.
The Government estimates that a further 3 million British citizens resident overseas will be enfranchised under the ‘votes for life’ proposals set out in the policy statement published on 7 October 2016. The Government has made initial estimates of how many newly enfranchised overseas electors may register to vote, and will continue to further refine its estimates in light of new data as it becomes available.
The Government acknowledges that initial applications to register to vote from newly enfranchised overseas electors are likely to take longer to process than most other applications. This increase in staff time has been built into the Government’s estimates of the expected costs of this policy measure. The Government is currently seeking feedback from electoral administrators and others on the detail of its proposals and will review them if measures to streamline processes are identified.
The Government is committed to legislating to remove the 15-year rule before the 2020 general election.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of the potential practical implications for the processing time required for overseas applicants to vote in UK elections of removing the 15-year rule for UK citizens living abroad being able to vote.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
British citizens living abroad retain strong links with the United Kingdom: they may have family here, and they may plan to return here in the future. Equally, there are many British citizens abroad who have fought for our country, dedicating their lives to our armed services. Their stake in our country must be respected. This Government will not deny them the opportunity to have their say in the way their country is governed. That is why we are committed to introducing votes for life for British citizens living abroad.
The Government estimates that a further 3 million British citizens resident overseas will be enfranchised under the ‘votes for life’ proposals set out in the policy statement published on 7 October 2016. The Government has made initial estimates of how many newly enfranchised overseas electors may register to vote, and will continue to further refine its estimates in light of new data as it becomes available.
The Government acknowledges that initial applications to register to vote from newly enfranchised overseas electors are likely to take longer to process than most other applications. This increase in staff time has been built into the Government’s estimates of the expected costs of this policy measure. The Government is currently seeking feedback from electoral administrators and others on the detail of its proposals and will review them if measures to streamline processes are identified.
The Government is committed to legislating to remove the 15-year rule before the 2020 general election.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement on 7 October that they intend to remove the 15-year rule on British citizens living overseas voting in parliamentary elections, whether expatriate UK citizens would also be entitled to participate in any future referendums.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The franchise for any future referendum would be determined by Parliament in the primary legislation which provides for that referendum.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement on 7 October that they intend to remove the 15-year rule on British citizens living overseas voting in parliamentary elections, where, and how, expatriate UK citizens would vote.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
Overseas electors will register in respect of their last UK address, and will cast their ballot in that constituency. They may choose to vote by postal ballot, in person (if they are in the UK on polling day) or by nominating a proxy to vote on their behalf (postal ballots are not available to overseas electors registered in Northern Ireland).
Full details are set out in the policy statement published on 7 October 2016 entitled ‘A democracy that works for everyone: British citizens overseas’ which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-democracy-that-works-for-everyone-british-citizens-overseas
The franchise for any future referendum would be determined by Parliament in the primary legislation which provides for that referendum.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 20 October (HL Deb, cols 2439–40), on which parliamentary constituency's electoral roll those new electors who were not previously registered to vote will be registered.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The Government estimates that a further 3 million British citizens resident overseas will be enfranchised under the ‘votes for life’ proposals as set out in the policy statement published on 7 October.
The Government estimates one-off implementation costs (to the online register to vote service and local authority IT systems, for example) to be £0.9 million. The total additional costs of registering newly enfranchised overseas electors will ultimately depend on the numbers who apply.
Under the proposals, British citizens overseas who were not previously registered to vote when resident in the UK will be eligible to register in respect of the UK address at which they were last resident.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 20 October (HL Deb, cols 2439–40), what estimate they have made of the total cost of processing the consequential application and declaration requirements for people living overseas for 15 years or more.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The Government estimates that a further 3 million British citizens resident overseas will be enfranchised under the ‘votes for life’ proposals as set out in the policy statement published on 7 October.
The Government estimates one-off implementation costs (to the online register to vote service and local authority IT systems, for example) to be £0.9 million. The total additional costs of registering newly enfranchised overseas electors will ultimately depend on the numbers who apply.
Under the proposals, British citizens overseas who were not previously registered to vote when resident in the UK will be eligible to register in respect of the UK address at which they were last resident.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 20 October (HL Deb, cols 2439–40), what estimate they have made of the total number of people who will be enfranchised by this proposal.
Answered by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
The Government estimates that a further 3 million British citizens resident overseas will be enfranchised under the ‘votes for life’ proposals as set out in the policy statement published on 7 October.
The Government estimates one-off implementation costs (to the online register to vote service and local authority IT systems, for example) to be £0.9 million. The total additional costs of registering newly enfranchised overseas electors will ultimately depend on the numbers who apply.
Under the proposals, British citizens overseas who were not previously registered to vote when resident in the UK will be eligible to register in respect of the UK address at which they were last resident.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to allow all British citizens who live abroad but pay income tax in the UK to vote in UK elections regardless of the length of time they have been resident abroad.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
As set out in our manifesto, the Government will bring forward legislation to remove the outdated 15 year time limit on overseas voting rights.
The Government’s proposals will make no change to the extent to which taxation is the basis for enfranchisement in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to further reduce the capacity for tobacco wholesalers and retailers to supply illicit tobacco.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The Government currently has no plans to introduce new measures specifically applicable to wholesalers and retailers to tackle the supply of illicit tobacco. However, HM Revenue and Customs has undertaken a public consultation on the implementation of Article 6 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Illicit Trade Protocol, part of which is concerned with consideration of the licensing of the supply chain for tobacco products. The consultation sought views from a wide range of stakeholders to help assess the potential benefits and impacts of introducing a scheme to help establish a clear evidence base for any decisions. The results of the consultation and the proposed next steps will be announced in due course.