§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester, how many people were granted postal votes; how many applications for postal votes were refused; how many postal votes returned too late to be included in the count; what percentage of postal votes were valid and what representations he has received from returning officers about the new procedure for postal votes.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggInformation is being obtained in respect of each constituency in the United Kingdom on the number of persons shown on the absent votes lists as entitled to vote by post, on the number of postal ballot papers returned before the close of the poll and on the number of those ballot papers included at the start of the count. This information will be published in "Election Expenses" around the end of the year. We have not yet received all the postal ballot papers returns from the constituencies in the Greater Manchester area and I shall write to the hon. Member when they are complete. Information is not collected centrally on the number of applications for postal votes which were refused, nor are electoral registration officers obliged to record this information. We have received a number of suggestions for ways in which the new absent voting procedures could be improved and we shall take these into account in our review of these procedures.