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 assessment of the implications for her policies of the number of electors registered for a postal vote who were unable to vote in the General Election because of postal delays.

Returning Officers are required at elections to record the number of postal ballot packs received before and after the close of poll and this information is available for public inspection after the election. No separate record is kept by Returning Officers in Great Britain in respect of overseas electors.

The Electoral Commission will publish a report on the administration of the General Election held on 4 July later this year, and the Government will give careful consideration to any findings or recommendations made in the report in relation to the current arrangements for postal voting.