Question

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the Answer of 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 28W, on electoral register: Tower Hamlets, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Electoral Commission's steps to tackle electoral fraud in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets since concerns were raised in Parliament in 2012.

The Electoral Commission works closely with the police and returning officers in areas where there have been allegations of electoral fraud, and it has paid particular attention to Tower Hamlets since 2012. The Commission tells me it has focussed on election planning and electoral registration activities in Tower Hamlets, and has attended regular election planning meetings with the Returning Officer and the Metropolitan Police Service since 2013 to scrutinise and monitor the delivery of those activities in advance of the European Parliament and local government elections in 2014 and the UK Parliamentary elections in 2015.

The Commission has also published several detailed reports on electoral fraud and electoral administration in Tower Hamlets, including a report following allegations of electoral fraud at elections in May 2102 and following problems at the count for the May 2014 elections. These reports have included specific recommendations for the Returning Officer, the Metropolitan Police Service, political parties and candidates at future elections, and the Commission has continued to monitor progress towards those recommendations and provide additional support where it is required.