Committee publication · Special Report · 16 October 2025 · HC 1353

3rd Special Report – Proxy Voting: Review of arrangements introduced in the 2024–25 Session: Government Response

Inquiry: Proxy Voting: Review of arrangements introduced in the 2024–25 Session

Summary

The Government Response to the Procedure Committee's Second Report on proxy voting arrangements outlines the Government's position on parliamentary voting accessibility measures introduced in 2024–25. The Government supports permanent extension of ill-health and pregnancy-related proxy voting arrangements until end of Parliament, endorses a future review coordinated with other committees' accessibility inquiries, and commits to maintaining informal voting alternatives alongside proxy mechanisms.

Key findings

Government will table a motion to extend ill-health related proxy votes until end of current Parliament, strengthening Parliament's accessibility and diversity
Arrangements for complications relating to pregnancy and extended absence for fertility treatment introduced November 2024 should remain permanent; insufficient evidence currently exists to extend further
Government agrees the link between extended absence from parliamentary estate and proxy voting eligibility should be maintained and strengthened, with balance struck for Members with limited afternoon availability
Future changes to proxy voting should be considered holistically alongside Modernisation Committee's accessibility inquiry and Administration Committee's health and wellbeing inquiry, with further review later in Parliament
Government reaffirms commitment to informal voting mechanisms (slipping, pairing, nodding through) as complementary alternatives and recommends all party Whips increase awareness and use of these arrangements

Government position

The Government accepts the Committee's core recommendations. It will extend ill-health proxy voting and pregnancy-related arrangements until end of Parliament on a permanent basis. It supports a future review of proxy voting coordinated with other committee inquiries into accessibility and health/wellbeing. The Government maintains that informal voting mechanisms remain effective and should be better publicised. It rejects immediate extension of proxy voting to additional circumstances, pending further evidence and wider accessibility reviews. The Procedure Committee is endorsed as the appropriate forum for voting procedure reforms.

Tone

Factual

Topics

parliamentary-procedurevoting-arrangementsaccessibilitydiversity-inclusionhealth-wellbeing

Key actors

Procedure Committee, Sir Alan Campbell (Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons), Cat Smith (Procedure Committee Chair), Modernisation Committee, Administration Committee, Government

Notable line

“The introduction of the proxy voting scheme in 2019 was a huge step forward in making Parliament more accessible and family-friendly …”

Key Quotes

“The introduction of the proxy voting scheme in 2019 was a huge step forward in making Parliament more accessible and family-friendly, and the subsequent changes to the scheme in relation to ill-health and complications related to 2 childbirth have strengthened this further.”
— Sir Alan Campbell · opening statement on proxy voting accessibility

“I am pleased to confirm that I will table a motion to allow the House to consider extending the current arrangements for ill-health related proxy votes until the end of the current Parliament.”
— Sir Alan Campbell · commitment on ill-health proxy voting extension

“(Paragraph 29) We agree that the assumption underlying the entitlement to have a proxy vote, that a Member is unable to be physically present on the Estate due to a health-related matter, should be maintained, and moreover, strengthened.”
— Government Response · first principles on proxy voting eligibility

“It is vital to ensure that the House and its voting system retains the full confidence of the public.”
— Government Response · emphasis on credibility of proxy voting scheme

“The well-established informal arrangements for slipping, pairing and nodding through continue to provide an effective alternative that allows Members to be absent from votes where necessary.”
— Government Response · commitment to informal voting mechanisms

“The Government welcomes the Committee's assessment that the arrangements introduced in November 2024 relating to complications during pregnancy and ongoing fertility treatment have been effective and agrees that these should be retained on a permanent basis.”
— Government Response · pregnancy and fertility treatment proxy voting

“The Government agrees with the Committee's assessment that the proxy voting arrangements for those suffering from serious long-term illness or injury should be extended until the end of the current Parliament.”
— Government Response · serious long-term illness proxy voting extension

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