HC Deb 14 June 2004 vol 422 cc733-5W
Chris Ruane

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what procedures will be put in place to inform electors who have incorrectly filled in their postal ballot papers of their mistake. [178175]

Mr. Leslie

In the four all-postal pilot regions at the 10 June elections, the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (All-Postal) Pilot Order 2004 provided that where an incomplete declaration of identity was found within a ballot pack before noon on 8 June, the returning officer was required to return it to the elector, along with a letter explaining that a completed declaration was needed in order that the vote could be considered valid. If the elector then completed and returned the declaration before the close of poll, their ballot paper would be put forward to the count.

There was no similar requirement placed upon returning officer by the rules governing postal voting in the non-pilot regions.

Postal ballot papers that were returned spoilt were dealt with at the counting of the votes in the same way as votes cast at a polling station. However. if an elector voting by post reported their ballot paper spoilt before returning it, arrangements were in place both in the pilot and non-pilot regions to allow the issuing of a replacement.

Mr. David Amess

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people were on the electoral roll in the four regions for which all- postal voting pilots were to be held for elections on 10 June. [178407]

Mr Christopher Leslie

As at December 2003, there were 14,083,004 people on the electoral roll for the four all-postal pilot regions which are the North East, East Midlands, Yorkshire & the Humber and North West.

Mr. Amess

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in areas not subject to all-postal voting pilots who registered to vote by post at the elections to be held on 10th June in(a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) Essex and (e) Southend West. [178408]

Mr Christopher Leslie

Individual Electoral Registration Officers keep records of the number of postal voters in their registration area. For the elections on 10th June this year, in those regions not holding all-postal pilots, it was possible to apply for a postal vote at any time until Wednesday, 2 June and statistics are therefore still being compiled. I understand that the independent Electoral Commission are to publish details of the number of postal ballot papers issued and various other statistics relating to the European Parliamentary elections later this year. Available statistics show that at the 2001 General Election, 1,758,055 postal votes were issued in the UK in total.

Mr. Amess

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate he has made of extra costs arising from problems with distribution of ballot papers in regions for which all-postal ballots are being held for elections on 10th June. [178403]

Mr. Leslie

Returning officers have the contractual relationship with suppliers of ballot packs. They will be submitting claims for their costs of the all-postal ballots to the Elections Claims Unit in due course. When those claims have been received, it will be possible to make an estimate of any costs falling to Returning Officers arising from any problems with printing and distribution.

Mr. Boswell

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment will be made of the comparative outturn costs of all-postal ballots against(a) conventional ballots and (b) the prior assessments of all-postal costs; and what arrangements the Department will make to repay to local returning officers any unbudgeted expenditure. [178050]

Mr. Leslie

Returning Officers are required to submit their accounts to the Secretary of State within six months of the announcement of the results of the election. This will enable comparisons to be made with previous expenditure of elections in those areas and with other similar areas running conventional elections and against predicted costs.

The Electoral Commission will be reporting on the all-postal ballots within three months of the close of poll on 10 June. Their report will also include an assessment of the extent to which postal voting provides opportunities for savings in the costs of administering the election or any increase in such costs.

Unforeseen expenditure reasonably incurred to ensure the effective running of the all-postal ballots will be covered by central Government.