§ Mr. Follickasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if on account of newsprint shortage instead of burning the ballot papers of the General and municipal elections after a lapse of six months he will have this paper re-pulped.
§ Mr. EdeThere is no statutory obligation to burn ballot papers after they have been retained for the prescribed periods. Ballot papers relating to a General Election have to be retained for a year by the Clerk of the Crown after which it is his practice to dispose of them for repulping. Those relating to local elections have to be-retained by the Clerk of 1587W the Council concerned for six months and are then disposed of as the Council nay direct. If in any case it is the present practice of a Council to have such papers burnt, I should welcome reconsideration of the matter and will arrange to circularise local authorities in due course.