§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will conduct a national survey into the accessibility of polling stations to disabled people with the aim of identifying problems which they encounter;
(2) if he will take steps to ensure that all electors who wish to vote at their polling stations have the ability to do so.
§ Mr. Peter LloydA national survey would not be a good use of our resources in this area, which are better directed towards providing financial support. Councils have a statutory obligation to designate as polling places, wherever practicable, only places which are accessible to disabled people. We have provided guidance for returning officers to remind them of their obligations, and shall continue to do so. It is our long-term aim that all polling stations should he accessible to disabled electors but, where it is not possible to use a building affording easy access, we make grants available towards the cost of providing temporary ramps.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what local government funding is earmarked for the implementation of the Representation of the People Act 1983 towards disabled persons access to the voting system.
§ Mr. Peter LloydDetails of local authority spending on access for the disabled to the electoral process are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been undertaken to identify the number of disabled people who failed to vote in the 1992 general election; and if he will conduct an inquiry into potential obstructions presented to the disabled at polling stations and by alternative voting methods.
§ Mr. Peter LloydInformation on the number of electors who are disabled is not collected centrally. We are conducting a full review of electoral law and practice in the light of experience at the general election in April. That review will include all aspects of access for disabled people to the electoral process.
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§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to review the postal vote system;
(2) if he will simplify postal vote application forms and review the timetable for postal voting.
§ Mr. Peter LloydA full review of all aspects of postal voting procedures is being conducted in the light of experience at the general election. We have held preliminary meetings with the political parties and the local authority associations. A working group of Home Office officials and local authority representatives to look at absent voting arrangements will begin work shortly. Another working group will look at forms.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he will ensure that disabled voters have equal privacy to able-bodied voters when exercising their right to vote at polling stations.
§ Mr. Peter LloydReturning officers are required to provide each polling station with a sufficient number of compartments in which electors can vote screened from observation. A number of manufacturers provide compartments or polling screens which are suitable for people in wheelchairs. We provide 80 per cent. grants towards the purchase of special polling screens.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure was devoted to publicising the right of elderly and disabled people to obtain a postal or proxy vote, during the last available financial year.
§ Mr. Peter LloydWe spent £ 11,210 in 1991–92 on a poster and leaflet campaign to let elderly and disabled people know about their right to an absent vote. In the period leading up to the general election we also spent about £ 1.5 million on television and newspaper advertising to tell people how to obtain an absent vote.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many disabled people are reliant on the postal vote system.
§ Mr. Peter LloydInformation on the number of disabled people on the postal voters list is not collected centrally.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many electors, in the 1992 general election, voted by postal vote; and how many persons lost their vote due to late return of ballot papers.
§ Mr. Peter LloydInformation on the number of people voting by post will be published in the "Return of the Expenses of each Candidate at the General Election" later this year. Information on the number of postal ballot papers returned after the close of the poll is not collected centrally.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the number of disabled persons voting at national and local elections has altered since the 1979 general election.
§ Mr. Peter LloydInformation on the number of disabled people voting at national and local government elections is not collected centrally.