Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of utilising (a) High Commissions and (b) Consulates to facilitate British Overseas Voters ability to vote.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No such assessment has been made at this time. We are focused at present on delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen our democracy and encourage participation – including by giving 16- and 17- year olds the right to vote in all elections.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to commission a lessons learned review with local authorities following the late arrival of postal votes in the 2024 General Election.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Electoral Commission is the independent electoral regulator and will be reporting on the administration of the May elections and the recent General Election. This will include the proportion of individuals turned away for lack of accepted identification. We anticipate publication of their initial findings on voter ID later this month and their full election report later in the year.
In line with our manifesto commitments, we will carefully review the voter ID rules and evaluate how they impacted citizens during the General Election before bringing forward firm proposals for reform in due course. This will of course include full consideration of the Electoral Commission’s findings.
With regard to postal voting at the 2024 General Election, I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 199 on 26 July 2024.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the future of the Shared Prosperity Fund.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I regularly talk to the Chancellor and her team to discuss many aspects of funding, across all the departments’ business and my officials work closely with those in the Treasury. The future of any departmental programme will be agreed as part of the budget and next fiscal event in light of those discussions.
The Government is committed to delivering economic growth across the country, and is considering how to best fund long-term local funding in line with wider fiscal and economic priorities.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will continue after March 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to delivering economic growth across the country and is considering how to best fund long-term local funding in line with wider fiscal and economic priorities.
Post-March 2025 funding is a decision for the Budget.