Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what dates were the first and last payments they agreed for each of the past five sets of elections, excluding by-elections, for which returning officers received payments from the Consolidated Fund.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government has not agreed any of the initial payments for the last five sets of elections funded from the Consolidated Fund. However, it will be responsible for settling the claims for both the 2024 Police and Crime Commissioner elections and the 2024 UK parliamentary general election. The timing of the final payments will depend on when responses to any queries for the last outstanding claims for each poll are submitted and payments settled.
Payments to statutorily independent Returning Officers (ROs) for UK parliamentary and Police and Crime Commissioner polls are made from the Consolidated Fund. An advance payment – typically 75% of the estimated cost – is issued in advance of the election, meaning ROs are not required to meet election costs upfront or wait a considerable length of time for the majority of the funding. The final payment reflects the balance due, following scrutiny and agreement of the expenses claim.
The table below sets out the dates of the first and last payments agreed for each of the last five sets of elections, based on records held by the Department. These figures relate to claims made by ROs for reimbursement of properly incurred costs.
Poll | First Payment | Last Payment |
2024 UK Parliamentary GE | 24/04/2024 | In progress |
2024 Police and Crime Commissioner | 20/03/2024 | In progress |
2021 Police and Crime Commissioner | 16/04/2021 | 21/05/2025 |
2019 UK Parliamentary GE | 15/11/2019 | 02/02/2024 |
2019 European Parliamentary | 21/05/2019 | 22/01/2021 |
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many requests police forces in England and Wales have made in each of the last three years to (1) Meta, (2) X, (3) Google, and (4) TikTok to identify users of those platforms in cases related to unlawful content; and what proportion of those requests were (a) met by the social media platform, (b) met by the social media platform but only after a court order, or (c) not met.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not collect data on the number of requests made by police forces to social media platforms, nor the outcomes of such requests.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to make more use of Bluesky in their digital communications.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
The Government uses a range of channels to reach and engage the public. Any use of these platforms is assessed against the high standards for digital safety set out in the Government Communication Service SAFE (Safety and suitability, Ads context, Freedom of speech and Ethics and enforcement) framework.
Individual departments make their own decisions on the best platforms within the GCS SAFE framework to use to communicate with the public.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have spent on reimbursement to Returning Officers for (1) poll card printing, and (2) poll card distributions, in each of the past eight years.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The cost of poll card printing and postage for Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and UK parliamentary elections from 2015 onwards are published in detail in the corresponding reports found here.
The costs for the 2021 and 2024 PCC and the 2024 UK Parliamentary general election will be available once all the relevant claims have been received, scrutinised and settled. This data will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review and update the Registered Parties (Non-constituent and Non-affiliated Organisations) Order 2000 (SI 2000/3183), as amended in 2002 and 2004.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government does not currently have plans to review the Registered Parties (Non-constituent and Non-affiliated Organisations) Order 2000.