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, if she will make an estimate of the cost of procuring (a) audio and (b) tactile voting solutions at every polling station to guarantee blind and partially sighted people a secret and independent vote.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to ensuring eligible disabled electors are supported in being able to register and vote in elections.
The current law requires Returning Officers to take account of what electors want in terms of support and the Electoral Commission gives guidance on how to do this. The Tactile Voting Device, introduced in 2001, has proven effective for some voters with sight loss but we are aware that other options, such as magnifiers, digital reading applications and lighting aids, are also used to support individual elector’s preferences. The aim of the legislation is to support individuals and there is no one-size-fits all solution to achieve that.
To support the changes brought in by the Elections Act 2022, money was made available to local authorities through new burdens funding and to Returning Officers where polls are funded directly by central government.
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 proportion of funding from the most recent round of the Community Ownership Fund was allocated to bids from Scotland.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In Round 4 Window, this government awarded £36.2 million to 85 projects across the UK, with £5 million allocated to 11 projects in Scotland.
The full list of successful projects can be found on GOV.UK.
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.