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1039568

	registered interest
	date	11/01/2019
	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	Political Parties: Fines
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2019 to Question 203928 and the Answer of 8 January 2019 to Question 205307, on Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000: Fines, if the Speaker's Committee will undertake a review of whether it is an appropriate and proportionate enforcement policy practice by the Electoral Commission for a political party to be fined £6,000 for submitting a quarterly reporting one day after the deadline.
	tabling member constituency	Thornbury and Yate
	tabling member printed	Luke Hall
	uin	207584
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>It is not the remit of the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, as set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, to scrutinise the Electoral Commission’s enforcement policies.</p><p>Parliament made it an offence to deliver, without reasonable excuse, donation reports that are inaccurate or miss the statutory deadline. Parliament gave the Commission investigation and sanction powers for these, and other, offences. Parliament also set out a legal right of appeal for those sanctioned by the Commission, including on the grounds that the amount of the penalty is unreasonable.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 20/05/2019 12:48:14 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall

1126509

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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	European Parliament: 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, if the Electoral Commission will make and publish an urgent assessment of how many local returning officers failed performance standard one in relation to European Parliament elections because polling cards were delivered without adequate time to allow people to (a) change their registration details and (b) apply for an absent vote; what the (i) earliest, (ii) latest and (iii) average date was that local authorities sent out polling cards for the European Parliament elections; what effect the delay between commencement of the statutory election timetable on 15 April 2019 for all regions and formal Cabinet level confirmation on 7 May 2019 that the European Parliamentary elections would go ahead had on the decisions of local authorities on when to send out polling cards; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	254175
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2019 answer text <p>The Commission has collected information on the estimated despatch dates for the first issue of poll cards to registered electors for the European Parliamentary election. The earliest estimated dates were in the week commencing 15 April 2019 and the latest dates were in the week commencing 6 May 2019; the average dates for despatch were in the week commencing 22 April 2019.</p><p>The timing of despatch of poll cards varies by local authority area and will depend on factors such as the ability of print suppliers to meet RO requirements.</p><p>Returning Officers (ROs) are required to send out poll cards to electors as soon as practicable after the publication of the notice of election. The confirmation received on 7 May 2019 that the election would proceed would therefore have had no impact on the decisions of ROs as to when to send out poll cards.</p><p>The Commission continues to provide guidance, support and challenge to Regional and Local ROs. It will report on the administration of the poll and the performance of ROs against the performance standards after the election.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 22/05/2019 08:28:46 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1126681

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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	European Parliament: 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, pursuant to the Answer of 2 May 2019 to Question 248046 on European Parliament: Elections, which sections of the (a) Representation of the People Act 1983 (as amended), (b) Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (as amended) and (c) European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) Regulations 2001 apply to that Answer.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	254222
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The applicable sections of the legislation are as follows: Section 13B, Representation of the People Act 1983 (as amended), Regulation 29, Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (as amended), Regulation 6, European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) Regulations 2001.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 20/05/2019 08:03:10 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

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

1130101

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	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	The Brexit Party: Finance
	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 updates it has received from the Electoral Commission following the commission's visit to the offices of the Brexit Party on 21 May 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Tooting
	tabling member printed	Dr Rosena Allin-Khan
	uin	260707
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission attended The Brexit Party’s office to take a closer look the systems the party has in place to receive funds.</p><p>Its review is still ongoing. This work will inform the Commission’s regulatory work following the European Parliamentary elections and any recommendations it makes to the party. The Commission will also make any recommendations on the wider issue of the workings of the political finance rules in its statutory report on the administration of the poll.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 11/06/2019 09:20:32 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4573 label Biography information for Dr Rosena Allin-Khan

1132688

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2019
	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	Political Parties: Finance
	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, whether the Electoral Commission plans to review the ability of UK political parties and campaigns to receive micro-funding from overseas donors.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
	tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
	uin	911478
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Electoral law allows parties to adopt a fundraising strategy that focusses on raising funds in small amounts. A positive aspect of this is broad engagement of people in politics.</p><p>Parliament set a threshold of £500, above which donations must be from permissible sources. This is to limit influence from outside the UK on our elections and democracy. Below the threshold, sums given to parties and campaigners are not considered to be donations under law, but recipients still need to satisfy themselves who is giving these sums. Multiple sums from a single source could aggregate to above £500 triggering the permissibility rules. This would exclude overseas donors not on the UK electoral register.</p><p>Parties must have systems in place to comply with the rules, and the Commission provides advice to parties and campaigners about how to ensure that they do. If the current law is complied with, there is no reason why micro funding would result in impermissible donations from overseas donors. However, if it is considered that confidence in this needs to be improved by more transparency, the level of the £500 threshold could be lowered by Parliament.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 24/06/2019 09:58:46 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

1133852

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2019
	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	VE Day: Anniversaries
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2019 to Question 265547 on VE Day: Anniversaries, whether the Electoral Commission was consulted before the announcement that the Early May Bank Holiday in 2020 would be moved from Monday 4 May to Friday 8 May to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	267756
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text <p>The Commission was not consulted on the decision to move the Early May Bank Holiday in 2020.</p><p>It welcomes the government’s commitment to work with the electoral community to address the practical implications of this for the administration of the polls. It is currently developing guidance for Returning Officers to support them with preparing for and delivering the 2020 elections.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 26/06/2019 11:23:00 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1140953

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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 Register: Young People
	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 assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the potential merits of auto-enrolment on the electoral register of young people when they are given their national insurance number.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280146
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The Commission believes that registering young people automatically when they are allocated their National Insurance number would be an effective way of improving completeness levels among attainers.</p><p>It recently published the findings of feasibility studies examining the potential for data sharing between organisations holding reliable information about citizens and Electoral Registration Officers. It found that data sharing could be achieved by linking national data sources to the individual electoral registration service, which is already connected to the systems used by Electoral Registration Officers to manage their electoral registers.</p><p>In this way, it would be possible for information about young people allocated National Insurance numbers to be shared with Electoral Registration Officers, to support automatic or automated electoral registration.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:26:30 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140954

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2019
	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 Registration Officers: Standards
	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, if he will make an assessment of the ability of the Electoral Commission to monitor the performance of electoral registration officers in dealing with electors who (a) have low reading and writing skills, (b) are visually impaired and (c) have learning difficulties.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280147
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission sets standards for and monitors the performance of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). These standards have the objective of ensuring that all eligible people are able to participate in the electoral process.</p><p>The Commission provides guidance to EROs to support them in delivering their functions and meeting the performance standards. In developing this guidance to improve the accessibility of electoral registration services, the Commission works with a variety of disability organisations – including groups representing electors with sight loss and learning difficulties – to ensure its work reflects good practice.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:32:59 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140967

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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 Register
	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 have been taken by the Electoral Commission to inform hon. Members of the performance of electoral registration officers in their (a) constituency and (b) local authority.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280153
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission’s performance standards framework has not involved any formal notifications to Members of Parliament since 2014. Assessments of the performance of EROs are made annually by the Commission and the details of any ERO who has not met the standards in full are made available on the Commission’s website.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:27:29 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140968

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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 Register
	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, which electoral registration officers identified themselves as below standard at using information services to (a) verify entries in the register of electors and (b) identify potential new electors in the latest period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280154
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission’s performance standards framework has not involved any element of self-assessment by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) since 2014.</p><p>The Commission has not assessed any ERO as not meeting this specific element of the performance standards since its inclusion in 2016.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:28:20 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140970

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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 Register
	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 letters the Electoral Commission has written to hon. Members as a result of their electoral registration officers having failed at least one standard performance indicator in each year for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280155
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission’s performance standards framework has not included any formal notifications to Members of Parliament since 2014. Assessments of the performance of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are made annually by the Commission and the details of any ERO who has not met the standards in full are made available on the Commission’s website.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:29:36 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140973

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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 Register
	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, with reference to the Answer of 5 July 2011 to Question 63427 on Electoral Register, which electoral registration officers rated themselves too highly in their self-assessment and had their ratings reduced in each year since 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280156
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission’s performance standards framework has not involved any element of self-assessment by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) since 2014.</p><p>Assessments of the performance of EROs are made annually by the Commission and the details of any ERO who has not met the standards in full are made available on the Commission’s website.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:21:57 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140978

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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 Register: Ethnic Groups
	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 Commission has had with (a) church and community leaders from black and minority ethnic communities and (b) Operation Black Vote on increasing registration levels for voters in those communities.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280158
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>We know from our research of the electoral registers that voters from BME communities are less likely to be registered to vote when compared with white voters.</p><p>As part of all of its public awareness campaigns ahead of elections, the Electoral Commission provides voter registration resources to a wide range of groups or individuals, to use in encouraging registration. These are freely available via the Commission’s website or its ‘Roll Call’ newsletter, to which anyone can subscribe.</p><p>We also identify specific organisations who could help promote registration to under-registered groups and actively provide these partners with resources: these have recently included, for example, the Council of African and Caribbean Churches and the Muslim Women’s network. It also works closely with Electoral Registration Officers, who hold many important relationships with church and community leaders to promote voter registration at a local level.</p><p>The Commission most recently contacted Operation Black Vote ahead of the Government’s voter ID pilots which took place in May 2019, to seek a contribution to its statutory evaluation of the pilots. It did not receive a response.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:30:44 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140983

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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 Register: Students
	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, with reference to the Answer of 23 April 2012, Official Report, column 623W on Electoral Register, what steps he has taken to improve student registration.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280159
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>We know from our research of the electoral registers that students and young people are less likely to be registered to vote.</p><p>As part of its public awareness campaigns ahead of elections, the Commission seeks to target under-registered groups wherever this is possible. This includes placing advertising on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, and buying TV advertising space during times when people aged 16 to 34 make up a larger proportion of the audience.</p><p>The Commission also provides voter registration resources to a wide range of groups or individuals, to use in encouraging registration. These are freely available via the Commission’s website or its ‘Roll Call’ newsletter, to which anyone can subscribe. Ahead of the elections in May 2019, it developed a number of resources in partnership with the National Union of Students, including social media images, posters and a resource pack for individual student unions.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:23:25 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140988

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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 Register
	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, which local authority had the biggest percentage (a) increase and (b) decrease in electoral registration in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280160
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The table below sets out the largest increases and decreases in the registered local government electorate, by local authority, from 1 December of one year to 1 December of the following year. For example, the 2010 row shows the change in the number of register entries between 1 December 2009 and 1 December 2010.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Largest % increase</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Largest % decrease</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>Shepway (8.9%)</p></td><td><p>Richmondshire (-7.2%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>Aberdeen (4.9%)</p></td><td><p>Clackmannanshire (-4.6%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>Clackmannanshire (4.3%)</p></td><td><p>Tower Hamlets (-6%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>Tower Hamlets (11.3%)</p></td><td><p>Taunton Deane (-8.8%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>Wellingborough (6.5%)</p></td><td><p>Ceredigion (-12.7%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>East Devon (5.2%)</p></td><td><p>Cambridge (-11.8%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>Colchester (9%)</p></td><td><p>Manchester (-3.8%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>Tower Hamlets (12%)</p></td><td><p>Hyndburn (-6%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>Barking &amp; Dagenham (4.5%)</p></td><td><p>Isles of Scilly (-7.1%)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:31:45 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140992

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	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 Register
	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 ranked order of spending per person on electoral registration by local authorities was in the last year for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280161
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The Commission does not collect data on the spending per person on electoral registration by local authorities.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:32:18 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141257

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2019
	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 Register: Young People
	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 assessment the Electoral Commission has made of electoral registration rates of attainers in (a) Scotland, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Wales and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280928
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission conducts research into the accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers in the UK at regular intervals. The most recent study was published in 2016 and was an assessment of the December 2015 registers.</p><p>The study provided findings on attainers for Great Britain and separately for Northern Ireland. Below the headline findings, it was not possible to report separately for England, Scotland and Wales because of the size of the sample used in the research.</p><p>In December 2015, the Commission found that 45% of attainers in Great Britain and 8% in Northern Ireland were correctly registered.</p><p>The results of the Commission’s next accuracy and completeness study will be published in autumn 2019.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:25:30 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141258

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2019
	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 Register
	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, which local authorities have achieved the highest increase in levels of voter registration in the last two years; and what steps have been taken to ensure that the practices leading to such increases are adopted in other local authorities.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280929
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/08/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission does not measure changes in levels of voter registration at a local authority level. The only reliable method for assessing registration levels (the completeness of the registers) is through research using house-to-house surveying, to gather data on residents and match this against information held on the electoral registers.</p><p>The Commission carries out such studies at regular intervals but they do not allow for an assessment of registration for individual local authorities, which would be prohibitively expensive owing to the size of sample required.</p><p>As part of the Commission’s guidance and support programme for electoral administrators, it works closely with the electoral community to identify and share good electoral practice. This includes highlighting specific examples of good practice in electoral registration and embedding them throughout its suite of guidance and resources for electoral registration officers.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 28/08/2019 07:58:20 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141266

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2019
	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 Register: Fines
	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 training has been given to electoral registration officers on the implementation of fixed penalty notices for non-registration.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280937
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/09/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission has published comprehensive guidance for Electoral Registration Officers, which covers the requirements and processes for imposing civil penalties for failing to respond to a requirement to register. The Commission does not provide training for Electoral Registration Officers.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 04/09/2019 13:29:24 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141295

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2019
	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	Election Offences: Prosecutions
	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 successful prosecutions for (a) postal vote fraud, excluding by proxy voting, and (b) electoral registration fraud there have been in each of the last 15 years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280939
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2019 answer text <p>The Commission has collected and published information about allegations of electoral fraud from the police since 2008.</p><p>The table below shows the number of successful prosecutions for allegations of postal vote and electoral registration fraud. It splits convictions for postal vote fraud into those relating to applications to vote by post and those relating to voting by post.</p><p><strong>Number of successful prosecutions relating to postal vote fraud</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Convictions relating to applications to vote by post</p></td><td><p>Convictions relating to voting by post</p></td><td><p>Convictions relating to electoral registration</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>n/a</p></td><td><p>n/a</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>n/a</p></td><td><p>n/a</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The police-recorded cases of alleged personation offences in 2008 and 2009 were not broken down to record the type of personation, i.e. polling station, postal voting or proxy voting. It is for this reason these figures are not available.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 05/08/2019 10:24:38 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141302

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2019
	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 Register: British Nationals Abroad
	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 cost to the public purse was of registering each overseas voter in the most recent period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	280941
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/08/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission does not hold this data.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 28/08/2019 08:06:41 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1142786

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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 Register
	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 most recent estimate is for the number of eligible people who are (a) not on the electoral register and (b) not registered correctly; and how the Commission calculated this estimate.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	284173
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission undertakes periodic research into the accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers in the UK. Information is collected from a sample of households, and details of residents are then matched against actual register entries to generate the estimates of accuracy and completeness.</p><p>The last study assessed the December 2015 registers and was published in 2016. The Commission found that:</p><ul><li>In Great Britain, the local government registers were 84% complete, meaning that 16% of eligible electors did not have a correct register entry.</li><li>In Northern Ireland, the local government register were 79% complete, meaning that 21% of eligible electors did not have a correct register entry.</li></ul><p>By applying these estimates to Office for National Statistics data, the Commission calculated that:</p><ul><li>In Great Britain, between 7.8 and 8.5 million eligible people were not correctly registered.</li><li>In Northern Ireland, between 275,000 and 330,000 eligible people were not correctly registered.</li></ul><p>This does not mean that these people were entirely missing from the registers; many will have had an entry at a previous address. It is not possible to determine this figure because of the absence of a consistent, unique identifier for individual electors on the registers.</p><p>The results of the Commission’s next accuracy and completeness study will be published in the coming months.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 10:25:50 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson previous answer version 133439 answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1144213

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	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 Registration Officers
	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 the Commission made of the number of electoral registration officers who have not fulfilled their statutory responsibilities in each of the last 10 years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	286115
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have a statutory duty to maintain the electoral registers and to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that all those eligible (and no others) are registered. While the Electoral Commission sets standards for and monitors the performance of Electoral Registration Officers, these do not relate directly to this statutory duty. For this, EROs are independent statutory officers who are directly accountable to the courts.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 18:41:55 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144215

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	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 Register
	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 advice the Electoral Commission gave to Electoral Registration Officers on (a) maximising the registration of home movers and (b) sending voter registration forms to all households.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	286117
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Commission produces comprehensive written guidance for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) which covers the annual canvass process, including the sending of household enquiry forms. The guidance also covers targeting home movers, and the Commission also provides tools and resources to help EROs with carrying out this work.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 08:23:17 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144608

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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 Register
	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, if the Electoral Commission will make it its policy to gather information on electoral registration levels on an annual basis.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	286644
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Commission carries out regular research studies assessing the accuracy and completeness of the registers. The most recent study, based on the December 2018 registers, will be published in the coming months. These important studies are resource intensive, and it would not be good value for money to do them annually.</p><p>The Commission, does, however, gather data from Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) on the size of the electoral registers, as well as on other aspects of their activities to register electors, on an annual basis. This data is used as part of our ERO performance standards assessments and also supports the Commission’s ongoing monitoring of the effectiveness of the electoral registration system.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 08:12:57 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144609

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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 Register
	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 target was for each voter registration campaign for the number of electors they hoped to register in the last five years; how much was allocated for each such campaign; and how much the Electoral Commission planned to spend on each registration campaign.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	286645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The table below sets out, for the last five years and for each voter registration campaign, the targets set for additions to the electoral register, and the budget allocated to be spent on each campaign.</p><p>For 2015 to 2018, targets relate to additions to the register; for 2019, targets relate to the number of applications. Where targets are not available, this is because specific targets were not set owing to specific circumstances (for example, proximity to other polls).</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 08:15:36 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144610

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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	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, what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to increase the take-up of postal votes.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	286646
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission does not take steps to encourage the take up of particular ways people can cast their vote, but rather provides guidance to support voters in taking their own informed decision.</p><p>The only exception to this relates to overseas voters in the lead-up to a poll; where such voters are concerned that their returned postal ballot may not arrive in time, we specifically highlight the option of appointing a proxy.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 08:17:47 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144611

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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 Register: Internet
	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 electors have registered online since the introduction of online registration; and what steps the Electoral Commission is taking to encourage online registration.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	286647
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission does not hold data on how many electors have registered online; these figures will be held by the UK Government, which manages the online registration service.</p><p>The Commission promotes voter registration ahead of specific electoral events through paid-for advertising campaigns. Directing people who are not registered to the government’s online registration page is the central call to action of this campaign activity.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 08:25:26 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144612

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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 Register
	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 assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the potential benefits of using the (a) number and (b) proportion of UK citizens who have registered to vote as a measure of Electoral Commission effectiveness.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	286648
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Commission assessed the suitability of measures relating to electoral registration in preparing its Corporate Plan 2018/19 – 2022/23. The resulting document includes additions to the register as a measure of performance. We also have an impact indicator which relates to the levels of accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers in the UK.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 08:20:10 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144616

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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 Register: 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, how much the Commission has spent on direct advertising in the last three years to increase registration of (a) young people aged 18 to 25 and (b) members of the expatriate community.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	286652
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">None.</del> <ins class="ministerial"><em>The Commission has spent no money on this. </em></ins>Direct advertising (or marketing) does not form part of the Commission’s approach to its work encouraging voter registration.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 08:21:11 question first ministerially corrected 09/09/2019 13:41:11 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson previous answer version 133677 answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144617

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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 Register: 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, how much the Electoral Commission spent on Facebook targeted advertisements for the purpose of increasing electoral registration on National Voter Registration Day in each of the last four years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	286653
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>National Voter Registration Day was an initiative led by Bite the Ballot, which last took place in February 2016. As part of its activity to support the project, the Commission did not place any Facebook advertising.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 08:22:26 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144945

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2019
	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 Register
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2015 to Question 225166, on Electoral Register, if the Electoral Commission will conduct research on the comparative success of different methods of increasing levels of electoral registration.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	287456
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission conducts voter registration campaigns in the lead up to all major polls, adopting leading industry techniques and best practice. It evaluates the success of its electoral registration, to ensure continuous improvement. This includes tracking research to assess public reception to the campaign. Digital technology increasingly allows for testing of campaign approaches during the campaign itself, to further improve effectiveness and value for money.</p><p>The Commission has developed effective partnerships with third party organisations, which enable it to extend the reach of its campaign messaging, particularly to known under-registered groups. It shares best practice with these partners and provides support and resources to other organisations running their own activities. It works particularly closely with local authorities, which have specific knowledge of under-registered groups in their areas.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 18:38:17 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144946

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2019
	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 Register
	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 representations the Electoral Commission has received about monitoring and improving household canvasses from (a) hon. Members and (b) other bodies and individuals in each of the past four years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	287457
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Since 2016, the Commission has received letters from three Members of Parliament making representations about the annual electoral registration canvass of households, two in 2016 and one in 2018. The issues highlighted relate to a lack of clarity for constituents: about the purpose of the Household Enquiry Form sent during the canvass; about the wording used on the HEF; and about the purpose of a fine for failing to provide information in response to the form.</p><p>The Commission regularly receives representations from a wide range of other bodies and individuals on electoral registration matters. The issues highlighted above have also been reflected in those representations.</p><p>The Commission continues to work closely with the Cabinet Office to ensure that improvements to the current household canvass process will increase the future accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 18:39:23 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144947

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2019
	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 Register: Sales
	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 records the Committee holds on the income that local authorities receive from the sale of electoral registers to the private sector.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	287458
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The prescribed fees for the sale of electoral registers are set out in legislation. The Commission provides comprehensive written guidance for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) which covers the supply of the registers on payment of the relevant prescribed fee. The Commission does not hold records in relation to the sale of electoral registers by EROs.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 18:40:08 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144948

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2019
	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 Register: Sales
	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 Electoral Commission has taken to tackle the sale by local authorities of the details of electors who have opted out of the open electoral register.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	287459
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The supply of copies of the full register is limited to particular individuals and organisations prescribed in law. The Commission provides comprehensive written guidance for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) which covers the access and supply of the electoral registers. This guidance makes clear that it is the responsibility of the ERO to be satisfied that the individual or organisation making a request is entitled to receive the register before it is supplied.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 09/09/2019 18:40:58 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1173660

	registered interest
	date	27/01/2020
	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: Personation
	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 convictions there have been for in-person voter fraud in (a) the London Borough of Lewisham, (b) London and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
	tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
	uin	8389
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2020 answer text <p>The Commission has collected and published information about allegations of electoral fraud from the police since 2008.</p><p>The Commission’s data shows that between 2014 and 2018 there were no convictions of in-person voter fraud in the London Borough of Lewisham. There was one conviction in the Waltham Forest constituency at the 2017 UK Parliamentary General Election. In total there have been two convictions in the UK for in-person voter fraud during the period specified; these occurred in Waltham Forest (as noted above) and in East Ayrshire at the 2016 EU Referendum.</p><p>The Commission will publish information about allegations of electoral fraud during 2019 in spring 2020.</p> answering member constituency Houghton and Sunderland South answering member printed Bridget Phillipson question first answered 29/01/2020 16:15:44 answering member 4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson
	tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft

1192699

	registered interest
	date	04/05/2020
	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	UK Membership of EU: Referendums
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how much the Electoral Commission levied in penalties on (a) leave and (b) remain campaign organisations that participated in the 2016 EU referendum.
	tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
	tabling member printed	Mr Peter Bone
	uin	42955
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>The Commission is responsible for regulating political finance in the UK. This includes making assessments of evidence of possible offences and, where there is evidence that an offence may have been committed, conducting investigations and imposing penalties.</p><p>In relation to the EU Referendum, The Commission conducted 34 investigations relating to leave campaigners and imposed fines on 19, totalling £149,450 after appeal outcomes. It conducted 19 investigations relating to remain campaigners and imposed fines on 15, totalling £67,600.</p><p /><p><strong><br></strong></p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 11/05/2020 11:56:34 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	1581 label Biography information for Mr Peter Bone

1192706

	registered interest
	date	04/05/2020
	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	UK Membership of EU: Referendums
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many court cases the Electoral Commission was involved in relating to (a) leave and (b) remain campaign organisations in the 2016 EU referendum; and how much expenditure the Commission incurred in each case.
	tabling member constituency	Wellingborough
	tabling member printed	Mr Peter Bone
	uin	42956
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission was directly involved in eight court cases in which registered campaigners for the leave outcome in the 2016 EU referendum were also involved. In all instances the cases were initiated by others, and in all but one the decisions of the Commission were upheld or substantially upheld by the court, or the case was settled or discontinued. In those cases where the Commission’s decision was upheld or substantially upheld by the court, the Commission has recovered costs.</p><p>The Electoral Commission was involved in no court cases relating to registered campaigners for the remain outcome.</p><p>It is not currently possible to provide a breakdown of the Commission’s expenditure by case; some of the costs are still in the process of being identified as payable, and some of the costs still need to be taken account of, owing to the recent conclusion of some cases.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 11/05/2020 11:57:38 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	1581 label Biography information for Mr Peter Bone

1197029

	registered interest
	date	19/05/2020
	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	Election Offences: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Commission (a) plans to enable itself to take prosecutions to court without prior police investigation, and (b) currently is entitled to empower itself to do so.
	tabling member constituency	New Forest East
	tabling member printed	Dr Julian Lewis
	uin	48935
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2020 answer text <p>Later this year the Electoral Commission will be consulting with political parties, with police and prosecution authorities, and with the public on changes to its Enforcement Policy. This will include proposals setting out how we will decide to bring prosecutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This does not require a change in legislation and will bring the Commission’s regulatory work in line with a wide range of other regulators.</p><p>When the capability is in place, the Commission will be able to investigate and bring lower order offences before the courts in a way which is swift and proportionate, and complies with the necessary investigation standards. It will act as an important deterrent to those tempted to break electoral law, deliver more effective regulation of political finance and support public confidence. It will also free up the resources of the police and prosecutors, although they will remain in the lead on complex and more serious criminal investigations.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 02/06/2020 09:31:37 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	54 label Biography information for Sir Julian Lewis

1219244

	registered interest
	date	30/06/2020
	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	Constituencies: Sutton
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, when the Commission plans to lay before Parliament the draft Order to give affect to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England's recommended boundary changes for the London Borough of Sutton.
	tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
	tabling member printed	Elliot Colburn
	uin	66982
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2020 answer text <p>The Local Government Boundary Commission for England published its final recommendations for future electoral arrangements in the London Borough of Sutton on 30 June. It expects to lay a draft order in September 2020 to bring the recommendations into effect. The draft order is subject to the 40-sitting days negative resolution procedure.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 02/07/2020 18:15:46 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	4775 label Biography information for Elliot Colburn

1219962

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2020
	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	Constituencies: Stockport and Tameside
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of asking the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to consider delaying the periodic Ward Boundary Reviews in (i) Tameside and (ii) Stockport for 12 months to allow those councils to focus on covid-19 prevention and community support activity.
	tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
	tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
	uin	67576
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2020 answer text <p>Since the imposition of lockdown restrictions the Local Government Boundary Commission for England has had extensive dialogue with those councils included in its electoral review programme. This includes Tameside and Stockport.</p><p>The Commission initially paused input from councils for three months where councils felt it would help them deal with their response to COVID-19. It is in continuing dialogue with councils to reach mutually acceptable timetables for carrying out electoral reviews. Those timetables are tailored to the individual council. A number have already been agreed. Some are proceeding broadly according to their original timetable, others have more significant extensions. Once agreed those timetables are subject to ongoing review to take account of future changes in circumstances faced by individual councils.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 07/07/2020 09:38:37 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1231301

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2020
	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	Local Government: Single Member Constituencies
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Committee has made of the potential merits of all councils having single member wards to ensure equal representation and equal weight to votes cast in local elections.
	tabling member constituency	North West Durham
	tabling member printed	Mr Richard Holden
	uin	84751
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2020 answer text <p>The Local Government Boundary Commission is responsible for recommending fair electoral and boundary arrangements for local authorities in England. In doing this it balances three statutory criteria: within an authority, each councillor should represent a similar number of electors; boundaries should be appropriate, reflecting community ties and identities, and its reviews should be informed by local needs, views and circumstances.</p><p>It is not necessary for all councils to have single member wards to ensure councillors represent a similar number of electors. When conducting a review, the Commission first decides on the number of coucillors needed for an authority. It then calculates how many electors there should be per councillor. When doing this, it is required to use as a baseline a forecast of the number of local electors five years after the competition of its reviews. The forecast number is divided by the number of councillors to give a target number of electors per councillor. The target in multi-member wards is multiplied by the number of councillors in that ward so that councillors represent a similar number of electors.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 08/09/2020 09:46:12 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden

1271047

	registered interest
	date	14/12/2020
	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	Liberal Democrats: Criminal Investigation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Ministerial Correction of 9 December 2020 to the Answer to Question 124870, what the status is of the Metropolitan police investigation into the former chief executive of the Liberal Democrats following a request by the Electoral Commission for a prosecution.
	tabling member constituency	Darlington
	tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
	uin	129113
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2020 answer text <p>The Commission is responsible for regulating political finance in the UK. In performing this role it may ask other law enforcement bodies, like the police, to consider investigating matters that sit outside the Commission's remit or enforcement powers. Whether the law enforcement body investigates, and what it concludes, are not matters for the Commission.</p><p>The Commission was notified in March 2019 by the Metropolitan Police that it had concluded its investigation in respect of a former campaigns officer of the Liberal Democrats, and that no further action would be taken.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 16/12/2020 10:02:36 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1278572

	registered interest
	date	20/01/2021
	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	Distribution of Seats: Scotland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Committee has made an assessment of the implications for the (a) administration of elections and (b) strength of the Union of a reduction in the number of Scottish parliamentary seats.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	911080
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2021 answer text <p>The Electoral Commission's role relates only to aspect a) of the question.</p><p>On the administration of elections, it will provide the necessary support to the electoral community in responding to any changes made to constituency boundaries by Parliament, to ensure the continued delivery of well-run elections.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 21/01/2021 12:47:13 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1300089

	registered interest
	date	08/03/2021
	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 Register
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing automatic voter registration.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	164608
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2021 answer text <p>The Commission supports electoral registration reforms that would make it easier for people to register or to update their details throughout the year. This might include adding people automatically from other datasets, or other automated solutions which still require confirmatory action by the voter.</p><p>In 2019, the Commission investigated the feasibilty of such reforms. It found these were possible from a technical perspective and could be implemented without radically altering the structure of the electoral registration system in the UK.</p><p>The Commission's view is that this could help improve registration levels among some under-registered groups, including the youngest part of the franchise. This would ensure that as many people as possible are able to participate in our democracy.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 10/03/2021 09:49:30 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1307699

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2021
	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 Register
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent estimate the Commission has made of the number of eligible people who are (a) not on the electoral register and (b) not registered correctly; and how the Commission calculated those estimates.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	179211
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>The Commission carries out research studies on the accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers. These are based on an established, robust methodology involving house-to-house interviewing across the UK. The most recent study, published in 2019, found that 83% of people eligible to appear on a local government register in Great Britain were correctly registered.</p><p>The findings from this research can be used, with the Office for National Statistic's population estimates, to estimate that between 8.3 and 9.4 million people in Great Britain were not correctly registered. This estimate includes people not on a register, and people on a register but not at their current and therefore correct address. It is not possible, however, to provide a specific estimate for each category seperately.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 15/04/2021 09:05:30 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1313296

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2021
	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 City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many free local elector IDs were issued by Woking Council as part of the 2019 Voter ID trials.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	310
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2021 answer text <p>Woking Borough Council issued 24 free local elector cards in 2019, as part of its participation in the UK Government's voter ID pilot. It issued 63 cards in a similar trial held in 2018.</p><p>This information was collated as part of the Commission's independant evaluations of the pilot schemes conducted in 2018 and 2019.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 17/05/2021 08:07:05 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1315135

	registered interest
	date	17/05/2021
	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: Scotland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what plans the Commission has to review the extent of electronic political content promoted without an imprint for the Scottish Parliamentary Election held on 6 May 2021; and if he will he make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	2352
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2021 answer text <p>The Commission welcomed the introduction of the new digital imprint requirement for all digital campaign material at the Scottish Parliamentary elections. It provides voters with a better understanding of who is trying to influence them online.</p><p>The Commission regulates compliance with the new law by registered parties, and by non-party campaigners who campaign for or against parties. The police are responsible for compliance by candidates, and non-party campaigning for or against candidates.</p><p>Ahead of the election, the Commission published guidance for campaigners on what must be included on election material. The Commission monitored compliance with the new regime closely, and will, as part of its post-poll reporting, report on the implemention and regulation of the requirements.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 19/05/2021 09:28:03 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1315136

	registered interest
	date	17/05/2021
	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: Scotland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the hon. Member for City of Chester, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what plans the Commission has to review the Independent Green Voice party entry and logo on the Scottish parliamentary election regional listing with regards to potential voter confusion with the Scottish Greens political party.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	2353
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2021 answer text <p>The Commission assesses whether applications to register a political party, and their indentity marks, meet the criteria set out in electoral law. This includes the requirement to ensure that voters would not likely be confused with already registered parties.</p><p>As part of its assessment process, the Commission publishes on its website a list of names, descriptions and emblems under consideration, to invite comments from the public and other parties.</p><p>Details were published on the Commission's website on 12 February 2021 of the application by Independent Green Voice to add a new emblem. No concerns were raised, and after a careful assessment process, the Commission authorised the application to register the emblem on 23 March.</p><p>The Commission has an ongoing duty to maintain the register of political parties including by reviewing registered indentity marks if relevant considerations change. However, as matters stand it is satisfied that there are clear and sufficent differences between the two parties' registered names, descriptions and emblems to avoid likely voter confusion.</p> answering member constituency City of Chester answering member printed Christian Matheson question first answered 19/05/2021 09:41:15 answering member 4408 label Biography information for Christian Matheson
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown