Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to section 8 of his Department's policy statement, Proposals for reform of the annual canvass, published on 5 October 2018, how his Department defines potential electors.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) sometimes have information to indicate that a person is resident at a given address but is not yet registered to vote at that address. Such people are pending or potential electors.
The information indicating that an elector is resident at an address could have come from various sources. For example, it may have been provided by the potential elector themselves, if they have applied to register to vote but their application has not yet been determined. Alternatively, their name might have been added to a Household Enquiry Form returned to the ERO as part of the annual canvass. Or the ERO may have obtained information from local data sources, such as council tax records. Individual citizens can only be added to the register once they have completed an application which allows the ERO to determine their eligibility.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to section 9 of his Department's policy statement, Proposals for reform of the annual canvass, published on 5 October 2018, what steps the Government plans to take to increase registration in the number of attainers; and if the Government will reinstate a separate section for 16 to 17 years olds in the Household Enquiry Form.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is committed to building a democracy that works for everyone. Throughout 2018 we have taken steps to promote democratic engagement amongst young people in particular, including attainers. By making use of the Suffrage Fund, we have delivered three specific projects. These are the Democracy Ambassadors Scheme to recruit and train youth democracy ambassadors, the development and publication of a toolkit for parliamentarians to engage young people and a new secondary schools resource (www.suffrageresources.org.uk).
Our Register to Vote website is widely used by young people: over 7.3 million online applications have been submitted by 16-24 year olds since 2014.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has responsibility for designing registration forms, which are subject to the approval of the Minister for the Cabinet Office following consultation with the Scottish Ministers in respect of forms for use in Scotland and the Welsh Ministers in respect of forms for use in Wales.
We are working closely with the Electoral Commission on the implementation of canvass reform. Canvass reform will lead to new requirements for canvass forms. We understand the EC intends to undertake user testing on the new forms, with a view to making sure the forms are as clear as possible for the citizen.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the current political and economic situation in Zimbabwe.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As highlighted in the international electoral mission's reports, there remain significant shortcomings in the electoral system which must be addressed to build much-needed confidence in Zimbabwe's democratic process. It is vital that Zimbabwe's political leaders focus on moving the country forward, with all parties rejecting violence, upholding the rule of law, and putting the best interests of the country first.
Zimbabwe faces its most serious economic situation since 2008, with simultaneous cash, liquidity and fiscal crises. Without fundamental reform, the economic crisis will deepen. The UK stands ready to play a role in support of Zimbabwe's recovery, but this must be on the basis of genuine political and economic reforms.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference his Department's proposals on the reform of the annual canvass published in October 2018, whether his Department has carried out a risk assessment of the hybrid model for delivering the annual canvass; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure the right to vote is protected for (a) people with protected characteristics and (b) generally.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone who is eligible to vote is able to do so. An integral part of this is having an electoral registration system that is efficient and meets the needs of the modern citizen.
As part of our plans for reform of the annual canvass, the Government is currently consulting on a hybrid model based on the evidence from 23 canvass pilot projects. The consultation is being conducted jointly with the Scottish and Welsh Governments and will remain open until 30th November 2018.
The pilots have provided us with a strong basis from which to evaluate and mitigate any risks. In developing the model, we have worked closely with stakeholders in the electoral community including the Electoral Commission, Association of Electoral Administrators and the Scottish Assessors Association. Throughout, we have considered how best to support citizens with protected characteristics to ensure our policy proposal for the reform of the annual canvass supports their participation in our country’s democratic events.
We have engaged with organisations that represent their interests. This has included seeking the opinions of the Accessibility of Elections Working Group, whose membership includes leading charities, such as the Royal Mencap Society, RNIB and Scope. The proposals for the reform of the annual canvass were shared with this group on the 9th October.
Our proposals for canvass reform do not affect the ability of individuals to register at any time during the year. The introduction of online registration has made it easier, simpler and faster to register to vote. This can be done online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote in as little as 5 minutes.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether he will ensure that tellers are appointed to attend future counts for hereditary peers by-elections.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
There are no current plans to ensure that tellers are appointed to attend future counts for hereditary peers by-elections. The voting system is not such as to enable a role for tellers. Polls are supervised and the count conducted by Electoral Reform Services. A member of the relevant party/group is appointed to act as scrutineer at the count.
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, further to his Written Answer on 13 July (HL9107), what was the cost of running the hereditary by-elections following (1) Lord Bridges ceasing to be a member of the House, (2) the death of Lord Lyell, (3) the retirement of Lord Walpole, (4) the retirement of Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, and (5) the retirement of Lord Glentoran; and in each case which organisation administered the election.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
1. The total cost to the House of Lords for the services provided by Electoral Reform Services (ERS) in respect of the Lord Bridges by-election was £1,140. This includes VAT at 20%
2. The total cost to the House of Lords for the services provided by Electoral Reform Services (ERS) in respect of the Lord Lyell by-election was £3,540. This includes VAT at 20%
3. The total cost to the House of Lords for the services provided by Electoral Reform Services (ERS) in respect of the Lord Walpole by-election was £1,140. This includes VAT at 20%
4. The total cost to the House of Lords for the services provided by Electoral Reform Services (ERS) in respect of the Earl Baldwin of Bewdley by-election was £1,140. This includes VAT at 20%
5. The total cost to the House of Lords for the services provided by Electoral Reform Services (ERS) in respect of the Lord Glentoran by-election was £1,140. This includes VAT at 20%
All of these are in addition to the cost of House of Lords staff time spent organising the by-election which forms part of their normal duties and is not costed separately.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Benin counterpart on the imposition of a law in that country requiring any (a) candidate and (b) party wishing to stand in its parliamentary elections to pay an upfront fee equivalent to £340,000.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The British Government has not made representations to the Government of Benin regarding the new electoral law passed on 3 September 2019. The British Government nevertheless continues to encourage Benin to continue to reform its electoral processes in advance of the 2019 parliamentary elections in order to further safeguard and consolidate the country's positive democratic progress.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the evidential basis is for the Government's annual canvass reform pilot scheme evaluation conclusion that the piloted approach generated costs savings; and that two of the four approaches were as effective as the normal canvass process.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The evidence for this conclusion is fully set out in the published evaluation, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/piloting-alternative-electoral-canvassing-models
The canvass pilot projects were run as randomised control trials and were evaluated in depth. The overall evaluation covered both the effectiveness and the potential cost savings of each of the piloted approaches compared to the current legislated canvass. The published evaluation also sets out a qualitative assessment of the pilot approaches, with participating authorities clearly favouring reform to the canvass.
The Electoral Commission has also published an assessment of the pilots. The Commission’s conclusion that “evidence from these pilots shows that this approach could help EROs use their resources more efficiently” is fully shared by the Government. We are therefore working with the Electoral Commission and others to develop reforms to the annual canvass process. We intend to consult on these reforms in the near future.
The Commission’s evaluation is available here:
Asked by: Lord Grocott (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether he will publish the terms and conditions of the contract with the Electoral Reform Services for their services in relation to hereditary peers' by-elections.
Answered by Lord McFall of Alcluith
Electoral Reform Services have provided services in relation to elections and by-elections for hereditary peers since they were instituted in 1999 on an ad hoc basis rather than under a contract of service. It is intended that a tender exercise will be undertaken shortly to put in place a contract to provide these services. Any contract signed as a result of that tender exercise is expected to be governed by the standard terms and conditions of the House of Lords, available on the Parliament website: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/CSD-Commercial-Services-Directorate/General%20Terms%20and%20Conditions%20of%20Contract%20-%2015%20May%202018%20-%20HoL.pdf.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for modernising legislation concerning elections and referendums.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government keeps electoral processes, and whether improvements may be made, under review. We are working with the Law Commission on how best to implement the recommendations of their review of electoral law.
We have identified with the Law Commission and key electoral stakeholders possible means of effecting reform through the drafting of secondary legislation. Work is underway on this by the Law Commission, which is supported by Cabinet Office and the Electoral Commission.