Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at what domestic conferences the Valuation Office Agency has made presentations since July 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Staff members are supported to speak at, learn from and contribute to various conferences and meetings of valuation professionals here in the UK. We do not keep a central log of all these domestic activities.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2026 to Question 111691 on Valuation Office Agency: Conference, if she will publish the presentations from the Valuation Office Agency at the (a) December 2024, (b) March 2025 and (c) September 2025 international conferences.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
We do not routinely publish this information.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish all substantive communications made to the court by the Government in the context of the legal challenge on the cancellation of the May 2026 local elections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Correspondence with the court has been routine and administrative; there are therefore no substantive communications to publish.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2026, to Question 116479, on Elections: Proof of Identity, whether the cash withdrawal cards that will be accepted as identification will include reloadable, non-bank-account-linked payment cards.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 121736 on 27 March 2026.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2026, to Question 116488, on Absent Voting: British Nationals Abroad, what consideration has been made of using a QR code.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 116488 on 9 March 2026; the government has no plans to allow electors to use a QR code to download and print their own ballot papers.
The government also has no plans to introduce online voting in the UK or introduce QR codes to link to an online voting system. At present, there are serious concerns - shared internationally - about the risks of online voting, including cyber threats, fraud, and the challenge of ensuring a fully secure and anonymous ballot.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given on whether overseas broadcasts to influence elections in the United Kingdom are permitted.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Since March 2025, the Foreign Interference Offence has been a priority offence under the Online Safety Act, requiring platforms to put in place proportionate systems and processes designed to prevent users from encountering content that amounts to the Foreign Interference Offence, minimise the length of time it is on their service and remove any illegal content on user-to-user services where they become aware of it.
Ofcom has published its Codes of Practice which outline guidance on how platforms can comply with these duties. Platforms have already been required to assess the risk of illegal content (including foreign interference) on their services against this guidance.
Ofcom has robust enforcement powers to enforce compliance with the illegal safety duties, with providers being required to implement the safety measures set out in the Codes or use other effective measures to protect users from illegal content and activity.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the election pilots prospectus that has been sent to councils.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no plans to publish the prospectus regarding flexible voting pilots, which was previously shared with local authorities.
The government has published full details of the flexible voting pilots in the form of the orders, and factsheet.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to introduce statutory guidance to Returning Officers so there is an explicit obligation to enforce the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023 in polling stations and intervene to stop the practice of so-called family voting.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 119522 on 18 March 2026.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 Match 2026, to Question 116479, on Elections: Proof of Identity, whether the cash withdrawal cards that will be accepted as identification will include reloadable, non-bank-account-linked payment cards.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the Representation of the People Bill 2026, which sets out the requirements that a card must meet in order to be accepted at the polling station – they must be a physical credit card, charge card, debit card or prepaid card; they must display the individual’s first name and last name, or first initial and last name; the card must be issued by a person who is regulated or authorised by either the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority. It may be possible for a reloadable, non-bank-account-linked payment card to meet these criteria.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2026, to Question 116488, on Absent Voting: British Nationals Abroad, what consideration has the Electoral Commission made of this issue.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Electoral Commission operates independently of Government and addressed the experience of Overseas Electors in its report on the 2024 General Election.