Oral Answers to Questions

Patrick Grady Excerpts

Thursday 26th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

3. What estimate the Commission has made of the cost of introducing electronic voting in the Chamber.

[Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP)]

10. What estimate the Commission has made of the cost of introducing electronic voting in the Chamber.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tom Brake]

I have set out for the hon. Gentleman perhaps the most effective way in which he could voice his concerns, but an opportunity may well be provided shortly by a contingency Chamber, in which case it would of course be open to the House to decide to implement an electronic voting system if it considered that to be appropriate.

[Patrick Grady]

We do read reports about a contingency Chamber. Have any assessments been made of the differing costs of installing voting Lobbies—which I assume would have to include little toilets at the end, in which Members could hide if they accidentally made their way into the wrong Lobby—and simply installing an electronic voting system? Would the latter not be a more sensible use of public funds?

[Tom Brake]

I suspect that we have not yet reached the stage of deciding whether the provision of toilets will be needed for a contingency Chamber, or, indeed, establishing whether any financial assessment has been made of the installation of electronic voting. According to figures produced in past debates, however, it appears that the cost might be up to £500,000.