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731524

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2017
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Absent Voting
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many postal votes were discounted because the signature or date of birth was not accepted by returning officers in each constituency in the (a) 2015 and (b) 2017 General Election.
	tabling member constituency	Bassetlaw
	tabling member printed	John Mann
	uin	433
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2017 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission collected data from Returning Officers for all UK constituencies following the UK Parliamentary general election on 7 May 2015. The numbers of postal vote statements rejected by Returning Officers due to mismatched signatures and mismatched dates of birth were as follows:</p><p>Postal Vote statements rejected due to mismatched signatures: 46,840</p><ul><li>Postal Vote statements rejected due to mismatched dates of birth: 38,148</li><li>Postal Vote statements rejected due to mismatched both dates of birth and signatures: 16,912</li></ul><p>Figures for each constituency are available on the Electoral Commission’s website at <a href="http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0011/191648/UKPGE-turnout-postal-rejected-admin-amended-WEB.xlsx" target="_blank">http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0011/191648/UKPGE-turnout-postal-rejected-admin-amended-WEB.xlsx</a></p><p>The Electoral Commission is currently collecting data from Returning Officers in relation to the 2017 general election, which will include the number of rejected postal votes. The Commission will publish this in the autumn.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 17/07/2017 16:04:32 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	1387 label Biography information for Lord Mann

754876

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2017
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Ballot Papers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many and what proportion of postal ballot papers were declared null and void in each of the last five general elections.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	6350
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2017 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission collected data from Returning Officers for all UK constituencies following the UK Parliamentary general elections in 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2015. The numbers of postal votes rejected by Returning Officers were as follows:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Postal ballots issued</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Postal ballots returned</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Postal ballots rejected</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Postal ballots rejected (% of those returned)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2001</p></td><td><p>1,758,055</p></td><td><p>1,402,073</p></td><td><p>31,189</p></td><td><p>2.2%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005</p></td><td><p>5,362,501</p></td><td><p>4,110,039</p></td><td><p>146,247</p></td><td><p>3.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>6,996,006</p></td><td><p>5,818,853</p></td><td><p>221,988</p></td><td><p>3.8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>7,592,735</p></td><td><p>6,516,228</p></td><td><p>214,155</p></td><td><p>3.3%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The Commission is collecting data from Returning Officers following the UK Parliamentary general election in June 2017. This data will be published in September 2017.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/09/2017 09:47:43 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1063763

	registered interest
	date	18/02/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	County Councils: Elections
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what estimate he has made of the (a) average number of electors in a county council division and (b) percentage variance from that average in each such division.
	tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
	tabling member printed	Tim Farron
	uin	222698
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>The Local Government Boundary Commission for England collects and publishes data annually on every local authority in England. Data derived from electoral registers in December 2017 show that:</p><p>(a) Given that electoral divisions in England can be represented by one or two councillors, the Commission does not collect data on the average number of voters living in them. The average number of electors per county councillor in England is 9,327.</p><p>(b) The Commission strongly believes that every English local authority is different, faces diverse challenges and represents people and communities in a variety of ways. The Commission therefore does not examine electoral division or ward data against a national average. When drawing up electoral arrangements or deciding whether to include a council in its work programme, the Commission compares the number of electors in each division with the average for the council within which it is located. The spreadsheet, which can be accessed through the following link, sets out the electoral variance of every electoral division and ward in England against the average for that local authority alongside other electorate data <a href="http://www.lgbce.org.uk/resources/electoral-data" target="_blank">http://www.lgbce.org.uk/resources/electoral-data</a>.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 20/02/2019 14:03:11 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

754205

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2017
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Elections: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps the Committee is taking to tackle voter fraud.
	tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
	tabling member printed	Mr Peter Bone
	uin	900617
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2017 answer text <p>The Commission has recommended since 2014 that an accessible proof of identity scheme should be developed and implemented for polling station voters in Great Britain. This would address the current absence of effective checks against personation and improve public confidence. The Commission notes that the Government has stated its intention to bring forward legislation during the current Parliament, to ensure that a form of identification must be presented before voting.</p><p>Prior to the general election on 8 June, the Commission produced detailed guidance to help (Acting) Returning Officers and police forces to put in place plans to prevent and detect electoral fraud. The Commission also continued its successful partnership with Crime Stoppers, the anonymous crime reporting charity, to make sure people could report concerns about electoral fraud.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 20/07/2017 12:40:54 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	1581 label Biography information for Mr Peter Bone

860617

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2018
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Elections: Proof of Identity
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, in respect of the areas where Voter ID pilots are being carried out this spring, and where the Commission plans to evaluate those pilots, what steps the Commission is taking to ensure that interviews are carried out not only with electoral registration officers and returning officers but also with people who work for the day as presiding officers in respect of individual polling stations and have personal face-to-face experience of difficulties that electors encounter in those pilot areas.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	131974
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2018 answer text <p>The Commission’s statutory evaluation of the Voter ID pilots will include a survey of all polling station staff in each pilot area, in order to gather information on their experiences of practically administering the ID requirement on the day. The Commission will also interview the Returning Officers and electoral administrators in each pilot area.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 15/03/2018 11:06:54 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

860618

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2018
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Elections: Proof of Identity
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, in respect of the areas where Voter ID pilots are being carried out this spring, and where the Commission plans to evaluate those pilots, what steps the Commission is taking to ensure that a representative group of those people who work for the day as presiding officers in respect of individual polling stations who are representative not only the demography of the area but also the particular challenges which have been identified by civil society groups are interviewed.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	131975
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2018 answer text <p>The Commission’s statutory evaluation of the Voter ID pilots will include a survey of all polling station staff in each pilot area, in order to gather information on their experiences of practically administering the ID requirement on the day. All of the polling station staff will be encouraged to respond to the survey.</p><p>The Commission will also seek feedback from a wide range of interested groups as part of its evaluation. This will include civil society organisations able to offer insights into how different elements of the pilots could have presented challenges, and delivered benefits, to specific groups of people.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 15/03/2018 11:08:29 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

694271

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2017
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Electoral Commission: Advertising
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the Commission's policy is on online advertising; and how much was spent on online advertising with (a) Breitbart News and (b) each other outlet in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
	tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
	uin	65501
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2017 answer text <p>As part of its work to encourage people to register to vote, the Electoral Commission runs multi-media advertising campaigns before electoral events. Its most recent campaign led up to the voter registration deadline ahead of the Northern Ireland Assembly election scheduled for Thursday 2 March.</p><p>Online advertising is one of several channels used by the Commission and includes a number of elements, including ‘display’ advertising, whereby the Commission’s voter registration advertising appears on a wide range of websites, including various news media outlets, which voters are likely to visit for information on elections or about political interests. In order to achieve a breadth of coverage, the Commission often use the Google Display Network (GDN) which is a system run by Google that enables advertisers to place online banner ads across a wide range of news, blogs and other websites, and is a commonly used method for publicly-funded campaigns. They brief media buying agencies to purchase space on the GDN based on the audiences they want to reach. The algorithms that sit behind the GDN will automatically identify the most appropriate websites for ads to appear on, based on the audience visiting those sites. This is a cost-effective way to purchase advertising space and to ensure that a diversity of voters see messages multiple times – ads for the campaign in Northern Ireland appeared on more than 5,000 websites.</p><p>Historical data on individual website spending for all previous campaigns within the last three years is not held by the Commission. However, the Commission can confirm that as part of the recent campaign in Northern Ireland, the Commission’s spend relating to Breitbart News totals £19.51. This equates to 0.7% of the Commission’s overall advertising spend with the GDN in that campaign, and a total media budget for the campaign of £140,000 which included TV, press, billboard, radio and social media advertising.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 01/03/2017 17:38:39 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

1128632

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Electoral Commission: Complaints
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many complaints were lodged with the Electoral Commission in (a) March 2019, (b) April 2019 and (c) May 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	257795
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>The Commission receives a broad range of public enquiries through a number of routes; these are formally classified as complaints where they seek to challenge the Commission’s own conduct, procedures or decision-making, where statutory routes of appeal do not exist.</p><p>Five complaints were logged in March; none in April; and 726 in May. The steep increase in May relates primarily to a coordinated correspondence campaign, on the issue of the difficulties in registering to vote, and in voting, experienced by Non-UK citizens of EU Member States at the European Parliamentary elections.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/06/2019 15:47:21 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

685581

	registered interest
	date	06/02/2017
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Electoral Commission: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the total pay bill was for (a) male and (b) female employees in the Electoral Commission in 2015-16; and what the average per capita spend from that pay bill was for men and women in that year.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	63138
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/02/2017 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission’s total pay bill for 2015-16 was £7.8 million.</p><p>The Commission does not have the total pay bill analysed by gender for 2015-16 and the number of male and female employees varied throughout the year. However, at 31 March 2016, the Commission employed 64.1 full-time equivalent male staff and 78.6 full-time equivalent female staff. For that month, March 2016, the average per capita spend for women was £38,247and the average per capital spend for men was £41,225.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 16/02/2017 12:23:29 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1041376

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2019
	answering body	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept id	36
	answering dept short name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	answering dept sort name	Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission
	hansard heading	Electoral Commission: Powers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent discussions the Electoral Commission has had with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the investigatory powers of the Electoral Commission.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	208265
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2019 answer text <p>The Commission has on-going dialogue with the Minister for the Constitution and has raised the need for a significant increase to its current maximum fine of only £20,000 per offence. This would ensure that sanctions are proportionate and provide a genuine deterrent to campaigners who may be tempted to break the UK’s political finance laws.</p><p>It continues to recommend that its investigative and sanctioning powers should be extended to include offences relating to candidate spending and donations at major elections. This would help to ensure compliance with the rules at UK-wide and other national elections, and to strengthen voters’ trust in the regulatory system.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 17/01/2019 13:29:08 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray