§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to monitor the exercising of proxy votes by the proprietors, management and staff of residential care or nursing homes on behalf of residents of such homes.
§ Mr. Peter LloydNo one may vote as proxy at the same parliamentary election in any constituency, or at the same local government election in any electoral area, on behalf of more than two people to whom he or she is not closely related. Electoral registration officers will grant applications to vote by proxy only if they are satisfied that they meet the requirements set out in the Representation of the People Act 1985; and, where practicable, they must notify the elector that the application has been granted. The electoral registration officer is empowered to make inquiries at such times as he thinks fit to see whether there has been a material change in the circumstances of an elector who votes by proxy. Absent voting arrangements will be considered as part of our post-election review of electoral law.