Electoral Pilots (Hansard, 6 December 2001)

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether local authorities applying to run electoral pilot schemes in the May 2002 elections will be required to demonstrate how their schemes will be accessible to(a) visually impaired and (b) other disabled people before receiving approval. [19844]

§ Dr. Whitehead
[holding answer 5 December 2001]: Enabling greater access for sections of the community currently less likely to vote is one of the criteria for 441W selecting local authorities to pilot electoral innovations in the May 2002 local elections. Local authorities will be expected to demonstrate how their proposed pilot meet this criterion, including in the case of people with a visual impairment or other disability, as part of the selection process.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether his Department intends to initiate discussions with disability organisations over the accessibility of electoral pilot schemes for the May 2002 local elections to(a) visually impaired and (b) other disabled people. [19845]

§ Dr. Whitehead
[holding answer 5 December 2001]: My officials, together with representatives of the Electoral Commission, are meeting RNIB and SCOPE early in the new year to discuss, among other things, progress with the 2002 local election pilots.

§ Mr. Djanogly
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions whether the e-voting equipment to be procured by his Department for the electoral pilots in the May 2002 local elections will include an(a) screen magnification software, (b) screen reader software, (c) Braille displays and (d) other adaptive technology for visually impaired people. [19843]

§ Dr. Whitehead
[holding answer 5 December 2001]: Enabling greater access for sections of the electorate less likely to vote is one of the criteria for selecting e-voting pilots for the May 2002 local elections. Local authorities and suppliers chosen as pilots will be expected to show how they meet this criterion. At this stage the Government do not want to anticipate the outcome of these pilots about the best technology to help people with a visual impairment, but technologies such as screen magnification software and Braille displays could well feature in proposals put forward by local authorities and suppliers.