Question

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission follows in determining whether statistics in answers to parliamentary questions are (a) provided in full, (b) provided via a link to a website and (c) placed in the Library.

Wherever possible, when responding to parliamentary questions for statistical data, the Electoral Commission aims to provide information that has not been previously published in full and in line with the Official Report's rules on the presentation of answers.

Where information has previously been published, such as in response to a previous parliamentary question or within one of the Commission's reports, it takes a view on whether it republishes the information or provides a link to where it is already published, on a case by case basis taking into account whether, for example, it would be helpful for it to be seen in its full context. Consideration of whether information is deposited in the Library includes whether the answer is longer than four pages and does not already exist in a consolidated format on a website.