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28 Mar 2007 : Column 1596W—continued
Communities and Local Government
Commission for Equality and Human Rights
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has had with the chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights on the (a) mandate and (b) involvement of the Commission's Race Equality Group. [127450]
Meg Munn: The Race Equality Group referred to in the question was set up by Ministers to advise them on the establishment of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights—it is not a group of the Commission itself. The group met three times and discussed a variety of issues including the policy agenda of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights and issues of internal governance.
The Secretary of State has now appointed the chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights alongside a Board of Commissioners, and the Commission will determine how it wishes to engage with stakeholders. Officials and I have briefed the chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights about the group's work to enable the Commission to determine how it wishes to proceed.
Council Tax: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what obligations householders have to co-operate with requests from the Valuation Office Agency to fill in questionnaires to assist with council tax valuations; [129255]
(2) if she will place in the Library a copy of the questionnaire and covering letter which the Valuation Office Agency has sent to householders in the last 12 months in relation to requesting information to assist with council tax valuations; [129250]
(3) whether the Valuation Office Agency obtains property data from any estate agent industry business or organisation other than Rightmove; [129231]
(4) how the Valuation Office Agency identifies whether a domestic dwelling has a conservatory; [129223]
(5) which estate agent companies provide information to the Valuation Office Agency via the Rightmove interface; [129214]
(6) which external organisations have provided (a) information on individual domestic properties and (b) geo-spatial data to the Valuation Office Agency since 2000. [129213]
Mr. Woolas:
I am today placing in the Library an information note about the Valuation Office Agency's
valuation practices. The Government take the view that this, together with the detailed information on valuation which the VGA has already made available on its website and the additional information which has previously been placed in the Library or otherwise provided in response to a number of questions, constitutes a clear and satisfactory statement of how properties are valued for council tax purposes in England.
Constitutional Affairs
Absent Voting
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps to ensure that the qualifications required to vote by post in England, Scotland and Wales are the same as those required in Northern Ireland. [130262]
Bridget Prentice: The availability of postal voting on demand in England, Scotland and Wales has proved very popular, with many electors finding it a convenient way to vote.
Through the Electoral Administration Act 2006, as approved by Parliament, we have put in place a range of measures to strengthen the security of postal voting in England, Scotland and Wales, and to ensure postal votes are securely cast and counted.
The Government do not consider there is sufficient justification to make further changes that would restrict the availability of postal voting in England, Scotland and Wales, as is the case in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how her Department intends to ensure appropriate checks in the monitoring of the trials into (a) internet and (b) telephone voting to prevent electoral malpractice and fraud. [130268]
Bridget Prentice: The e-voting election systems used in the pilots are subject to rigorous quality assurance assessment by independent experts on behalf of my Department and also to extensive testing by suppliers and local authorities prior to use. All e-voting systems will also include audit processes and records to allow returning officers to have confidence that the numbers of votes cast electronically tallies with those cast.
Additionally the requirement for electors to provide a personally generated passcode or username reduces the potential for credentials to be stolen and misused.
The independent Electoral Commission is required to evaluate all electoral pilot schemes and publish their findings following the elections.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department is taking to prevent coercion and intimidation being used in the trials of (a) internet and (b) telephone voting. [130274]
Bridget Prentice: If an elector does not feel comfortable with using an e-vote or any form of remote voting they can still vote in person in a polling station.
Electors will be using identifiers that are specific to them in order to access the system and, as with a traditional ballot, there will be no receipt that can be shown by the elector to anyone else afterwards to show how an elector has voted.
My Department is also working with local authorities to ensure that there are good links with local police so that any instances of alleged coercion and intimidation can be investigated as in any normal election. Under new powers contained in the Electoral Administration Act 2006 any attempt to unduly influence an elector could result in a custodial sentence or unlimited fine.
Absent Voting: Proof of Identity
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department will take to verify the identification of people voting (a) by mobile telephone and (b) via the internet in the forthcoming trials. [130065]
Bridget Prentice: Electors wishing to vote remotely using via the internet or by phone as part of an election pilot scheme will be required to pre-register to use these voting channels, as they are for postal voting.
A combination of two codes, one provided by the elector and one by the local elections office, will be used to identify electors when they log on to vote.
Citizenship
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the UK is taking under the Fundamental Rights of Citizenship programme (EU budget code 18 04 06); and if she will make a statement. [130637]
Vera Baird: We expect the decision establishing the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship programme 2007-13 formally to be adopted at the Justice and Home Affairs Council of 19-20 April 2007. Once the decision comes into force, the European Commission will propose an Annual Work programme determining the thematic areas to pursue.
Coroners: Armed Forces
Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what her most recent estimate is of the backlog of HM Coroner's Service inquiries into deaths of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement. [130434]
Ms Harman: I shall shortly be making a further written ministerial statement which includes the information requested.
Council Tax: Personal Records
Mrs. Spelman:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance she has issued on the use of personal information held
for collecting and administering council tax in each of the last three years. [130563]
Vera Baird: The Information Commissioner's revised guidance on the use of personal information held for collecting and administering council tax differs from previous guidance by focussing on the questions to be considered when deciding how council tax information can be used.
Departments: Offices
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the (a) purpose and (b) functions of her Department's regional offices will be. [130063]
Bridget Prentice: The Department does not have regional offices.
Electoral Commission
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department (a) has taken and (b) intends to take to enforce the imposition of financial penalties for parties which fail to comply with the regulatory requirements of the Electoral Commission; and whether her Department intends to introduce additional financial penalties. [130064]
Bridget Prentice: The imposition of financial penalties on political parties that fail to comply with regulatory requirements is entirely a matter for the Electoral Commission.
The Government are currently considering the recent review of the Electoral Commission by the Committee on Standards in Public Life and also the recommendations of the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee and of Sir Hayden Phillips that relate to the regulatory role of the Electoral Commission.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the future role of the Electoral Commission in determining electoral boundary matters will be. [130314]
Bridget Prentice: The Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000 currently provides for the transfer of the functions of all the parliamentary boundary commissions, and the local government boundary commissions for England, Wales and Scotland to boundary committees of the Electoral Commission.
However, in its eleventh report, published on 18 January, the Committee on Standards in Public Life recommended that
“the Electoral Commission should no longer have any involvement in electoral boundary matters”.
The Government are currently considering its response to that recommendation alongside the others made by the Committee in its eleventh report.
Electoral Register
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to encourage local authorities to enforce the requirement for people to complete and return an annual registration canvass form. [130061]
Bridget Prentice:
Electoral registration officers (EROs) are aware of their powers to enforce the
requirement that electors complete and return annual registration canvass forms and use them at their discretion if they consider this would be effective.
The Electoral Administration Act 2006 (EAA 2006) sets out the necessary steps that local authorities must follow to ensure that eligible individuals are registered to vote. These include:
Sending the canvass form more than once to any address.
Conducting house to house inquiries and making contact by such other means as appropriate.
The Act also contains other measures to improve registration rates, such as:
Enabling registration up to 11 days prior to polling day.
Introducing performance standards for EROs.
These are all significant changes and their impact will be kept under review.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average fine was for failing to complete and return an annual registration canvass form in the latest period for which figures are available. [130066]
Bridget Prentice: This information is not collected.
Electoral Register: Proof of Identity
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make it a requirement for individuals registered to vote at polling stations to have to sign the electoral register so that their signatures can be compared against the signature of the person casting the vote. [130275]
Bridget Prentice: While the Government are committed to ensuring the security of UK elections, we have no plans to require all electors to supply a signature when registering to vote.
Land Registry: Digital Technology
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Land Registry is participating in the European Land Information Service (EULIS) project. [130562]
Vera Baird: Yes, the Land Registry is participating in the EULIS project. The service has been developed and financed by a consortium of European land registration authorities, including HM Land Registry.
Legal Services Commission
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of Legal Services Commission costs are accounted for by administration. [129121]
Vera Baird: The latest figures available (2005-06) show that the Legal Services Commission's administration costs equate to 4.8 per cent. of expenditure on legal aid.
Maintenance: Children
Mr. Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2007, Official Report, column 867W, on maintenance: children, what information is collected by the courts IT system in relation to child maintenance cases. [129912]
Ms Harman: In the County courts and the Principal Registry of the Family Division “FamilyMan” is the case management system. It is used to record the key events in each case, such as the date of listing of an application, and the date of making and nature of an order (i.e. interim order/final order/order by consent). The information collected by the courts' IT system in relation to child maintenance cases is limited to this. There is no unified IT system in the Family Proceedings Courts. Where a Family Proceedings Court and the County court administrations have been co-located, the Family Proceedings Court can use “FamilyMan”.
House of Commons Commission
Parliamentary Lobby Correspondents
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission (1) how many passes were awarded to lobby correspondents in each year since 2002; [130106]
(2) to which individuals (a) press and (b) passes have been awarded; and which publication employs each; [130107]
(3) if he will list the categories of passes which have been awarded to lobby correspondents; [130108]
(4) what role (a) the Serjeant at Arms Department and (b) the Metropolitan police play in the awarding of passes to lobby correspondents; [130109]
(5) how many passes awarded to lobby correspondents have been revoked in the last five years; and for what reasons; [130110]
(6) under what circumstances an individual's press pass may be revoked; [130111]
(7) whether it is the policy of the House authorities to remove press pass privileges from anyone involved in the publication of information relating to the internal security of the House; [130112]
(8) what processes apply to (a) applying for and (b) issuing (i) standard press passes and (ii) lobby correspondent passes. [130238]
Nick Harvey: The number of passes in issue to lobby correspondents, including temporary passes, in each calendar year since 2002 is as follows:
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