Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will provide funding to local authorities to use rapid international postal services to send postal ballot packs to overseas electors, in particular where an election occurs unexpectedly.

The Government has no plans to establish polling stations in other countries in the foreseeable future. However, the Government previously took action to make postal voting a more feasible option for overseas voters by lengthening the electoral timetable and removing the restriction on issuing postal votes ahead of the postal vote application deadline. Overseas voters can also appoint a proxy voter in the United Kingdom on their behalf. Introducing the use of embassies or consulates as polling stations would raise logistical and security issues in delivering, returning and counting ballot papers from embassies.

Rapid international postal services are not used to send postal ballot packs to overseas electors in order to keep the cost to the public purse reasonable when administering national elections. We will assess the balance between cost-effectiveness, and the importance of ensuring that overseas voters are able to engage in the democratic process, further in advance of future elections.