Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales who has the power to set the time at which votes will be counted in each constituency for the(a) Welsh Assembly elections and (b) council elections. [74564]
§ Mr. MichaelThe constituency returning officer will be responsible for making arrangements as soon as practicable after the close of the polls for counting the votes cast in his constituency at the Assembly constituency election and at the Assembly regional election. There has been considerable detailed discussion on the practicalities between my officials and representatives of returning officers in Wales to make sure that counting takes place in a way which enables the highest standards to be maintained in what is a new style of voting.
With Assembly elections being held on the same day as local government elections, in most parts of Wales there will be three sets of ballot papers to count. The verification and sorting stage is likely to take very much longer than usual. Constituency returning officers expect to complete this stage no earlier than 3 am on Friday 7 May. They will then stop the proceedings, store the ballot papers in secure conditions and reconvene from 9 or 9.30 am that same morning to count the votes. With verification having been completed the night before, the counting of the votes themselves should not take too long. We expect the results of all the constituency and regional elections to be declared by lunch-time on Friday (unless there is a re-count in a constituency).
Paragraph 49(4) gives the Secretary of State a discretionary power to direct that the counting of votes at an ordinary Assembly election should start between 9am and noon on the day following polling day. I do not propose to use that power on this occasion; I understand
960W that the constituency returning officers are having discussions to agree a co-ordinated start throughout Wales for the count of the Assembly votes on Friday morning.
Date submitted Competent authority Notifying company Description of GMO Scope of application Consent granted 3 June 1996 France AgrEvo France Maize modified for tolerance to glufosinate ammonium herbicide Agricultural use leading to animal and human consumption 3 August 1998 12 June 1996 France Monsanto Europe Maize modified for insect resistance Production of maize in the EC and import, storage and processing for use in feed, food and industrial products 3 August 1998 25 September 1996 Netherlands Florigene Europe BV Carnation with modified flower colour Cut flowers for purchase by consumers 1 December 1997 14 August 1998 Netherlands Florigene Europe BV Carnations modified for increased vaselife For production of cut flowers and horticulture 20 October 1998 14 August 1998 Netherlands Florigene Europe BV Carnations modified for altered flower colour For production of cut flowers and horticulture 20 October 1998 The counting of votes at a local government election is entirely a matter for the local government returning officer. My understanding is that nearly all returning officers for the local government elections have made arrangements for those ballot papers to be counted on the afternoon of Friday 7 May after the Assembly votes have been counted. A very few are still exploring the logistics of counting the votes on the Thursday night. The counts on Friday afternoon should be completed fairly quickly, since verification of the local government ballot papers will have been completed the night before.