§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what administrative guidance is issued in respect of the opening of sealed containers in which the counterfoils of ballot papers are placed at a general election in the absence of a court order. [1014]
§ Mr. HoonRule 55(1) of the Parliamentary Election Rules, embodies in the Representation of the People Act 1983, requires Returning Officers to send the sealed packets of counterfoils to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery. Rule 56 provides that the sealed packets may be opened only on an order of this Honourable House or a Court, and that the order may prescribe the conditions under which the order is to be carried out.