Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to Clause 16 of the Elections Bill, what assessment he has made of the costs or savings of removing the prosecuting function of the Electoral Commission.

The Electoral Commission has to date never brought criminal prosecutions. The measures in the Elections Bill simply maintain the status quo.

The Elections Bill clarifies that the Electoral Commission should not bring criminal prosecutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and provides that this should remain the responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service and Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland which are already experts in this domain. Having the Commission perform this function would risk wasting public money by duplicating the work of the prosecution authorities. We are committed instead to supporting the police and prosecution authorities as necessary to enforce electoral regulation proactively and effectively.

As a result, the Government does not anticipate that this measure will result in any impact on prosecution rates or any costs.

The Bill makes no changes to the Commission’s investigatory powers. The Electoral Commission will continue to have a wide range of investigatory and civil sanctioning powers available to it and, as is currently the case, it will continue to be able to refer matters to the police and the prosecution authorities.

More generally, the Government will invest an additional £80 million per year in the Crown Prosecution Service by 2025. This will allow for the recruitment of additional frontline staff to deal with all types of casework, including electoral offences.