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10 July 2008 : Column 1725W

10 July 2008 : Column 1725W

Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 10 July 2008

Electoral Commission Committee

Absent Voting: Fraud

Mr. Maude: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what recent estimate the Electoral Commission has made of levels of postal vote fraud. [215493]

Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that in its view there is no reliable means of estimating levels of postal vote fraud. There are a number of offences which may encompass postal vote fraud and cases of such fraud cannot therefore be readily distinguished from other forms of electoral malpractice.

The Commission works closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, together with the prosecution services, to ensure that allegations of electoral offences are recorded and monitored.

The Commission informs me that in September 2008 it intends to publish an analysis of allegations reported to ACPO in relation to the May 2008 elections across England and Wales. The Commission also intends to update its analysis of Crown Prosecution Service files before the end of this year. These documents will be made available on the Commission's website at

Electoral Register

Mr. Pickles: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission if he will place in the Library a copy of the new Great Britain-wide manual on registration sent to electoral registration officers by the Commission. [217790]

Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that a copy of “Managing electoral registration in Great Britain: guidance for Electoral Registration Officers” is available in the Library. The document may also be found on the Commission’s website at:

Manpower

Mr. Love: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission how many staff are employed by the Commission in each Directorate; and how many staff are engaged in the Commission on work on the compliance with notification of political donations by hon. Members. [216830]


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Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the number of staff employed in each directorate as at 30 June 2008, measured in full-time equivalents (FTE), was as follows:

Directorate Staff in post (FTE) as at 30 June 2008

Chief Executive and Directors

7.0

Deputy Chief Executive

36.2

Legal advice and implementation of boundary review changes

7.92

Commission Secretariat, strategy and Planning

5

Research

3

Scotland Office (Edinburgh)

6

Wales Office (Cardiff)

5.81

Northern Ireland Office (Belfast)

6

Business Support

2.47

Electoral Administration and Boundaries

41.95

Electoral Administration

10

Performance Standards

4

North of England Office (York)

3.55

South of England Office (London)

3

South West Office (Exeter)

3

Midlands Office (Coventry)

3

Boundary Reviews

11.4

Business Support

4

Communication

28.0

Public awareness campaigns

5

Public inquiries

3

Partnership Grants

3

Publications and Websites

5

Media Relations

5

Parliamentary and Public Affairs

4

Business Support

3

Finance and Corporate Services

22.5

Finance

4.5

Human Resources

5.5

Information and Communication Technology

7

Facilities and Procurement

4

Business Support

1.5

Party and Election Finance

25.0

Guidance

8

Enforcement

9

Business Support

8

160.65


Within the party and election finance directorate nine staff (as at 30 June 2008) work in the enforcement function. These staff deal with the rules on notification of political donations among other duties.

Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Advantage West Midlands

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the capital budget for Advantage West Midlands was in
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each of the last two years; what it is forecast to be in the current financial year; and what capital projects were carried out by Advantage West Midlands with a value over £1 million in that period. [214314]

Mr. McFadden: The capital budget for the last two years and the forecast for 2008-09 are as follows:

Advantage West Midlands
Capital budget (£ million)

2006-07

134

2007-08

150

2008-09 (forecast)

164


The following list gives the capital projects that were carried out by Advantage West Midlands with a value over £1 million in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Project name


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Dietary Supplements

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what role the Better Regulation Executive will play in monitoring consistency with the principles of good regulatory practice of the forthcoming proposed maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements under the provisions of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive; and whether the executive has been involved in discussions of the Working Groups of the Council of Ministers on these matters. [213449]

Mr. McFadden: The Food Standards Agency leads negotiations for the United Kingdom on this issue. It is developing the impact assessment on the setting of maximum and minimum permitted levels and will consult fully on European Commission proposals which are now expected in early 2009. The Better Regulation Executive continues to work with the agency to help them ensure the UK negotiating position is developed in line with better regulation principles.

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