Written questions by Simmonds.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if he will take steps to help reduce family voting.

The Electoral Commission takes allegations of electoral fraud very seriously. It is a criminal offence to attempt to pressure someone to vote in a certain way. The Commission encourages anyone who believes an offence has occurred to report it to the police.The Commission supports the electoral community to prevent, detect and take action against electoral fraud. It supports electoral administrators and polling staff to protect the integrity of the polls, including through guidance and its polling station handbook which sets out how to protect the secrecy of voting in polling stations.The Commission also runs its ‘Your Vote is Yours Alone’ fraud prevention and awareness campaign – in partnership with Crimestoppers – to remind voters to complete their ballot independently and in private.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the Electoral Commission's report entitled Automatic registration pilots evaluation, published in December 2025, how many and what proportion of people who were automatically added were subsequently removed from the annual canvass.

Across the piloting local authorities 16,000 people were added to the registers automatically. At the time of publication of the Electoral Commission’s evaluation, data from piloting authorities showed that 83 of those electors had been removed during the annual canvass. This is less than 1% of the number registered automatically as a result of the pilots.As the annual canvass was not complete when the evaluation was finalised, the Commission recommended to the Welsh Government that they should request final data from Electoral Registration Officers to enable a final assessment of the matching accuracy.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 102773 on Local Government: Elections, whether the Parliamentary Parties Panel was consulted on the local election pilots.

The Westminster Political Parties Panel was not consulted on the local election pilots.The Commission has a statutory duty to independently evaluate the May 2026 pilot schemes and will report on the pilots by August 2026. The Commission will also support local authorities taking part in the pilots as needed.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has issued guidance to Returning Officers on whether election observers can raise points of concern on the conduct of an election when inside a polling station.

The Commission’s guidance for Returning Officers notes that they have a legal duty to have regard to the Code of Practice for observers when managing the attendance of observers at polling stations. The Code states that observers may bring irregularities, fraud or significant problems to the attention of election officials on the spot, unless this would contravene the secrecy requirements, and must do so in a non-obstructive manner.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84203 on Voting Methods, whether the Electoral Commission was consulted by the Government over the use of early voting pilots in the May 2026 local elections in England.

The Government was required to consult the Electoral Commission before making the draft orders providing for flexible voting pilot schemes at the May 2026 elections in England. The Commission has a statutory duty to independently evaluate and report on the May 2026 pilot schemes.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the Electoral Commission's document entitled Accredited Observer Organisations, published in February 2026, for what reason accredited election observers include (a) the Zimbabwe Diaspora Community Network, (b) the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara and (c) World Peace Volunteers.

The Commission is responsible under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 for accrediting individuals and organisations who wish to observe electoral processes at elections and relevant referendums held in the United Kingdom.Anyone over the age of 16, including those from outside the UK, can apply to become an electoral observer, provided they are politically impartial, have not been found or reported guilty of a corrupt or illegal electoral practice in the UK, and have not had previous accreditation revoked within the last five years.Observers must adhere to the Code of Practice for electoral observers.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has produced guidance on how non-monetary donations in kind should be reported.

The Electoral Commission provides guidance on notional spending, which outlines the reporting requirements for services or goods provided for free or at a discount.The Elections Act 2022 changed the legal test for when a candidate must record notional spending. The Commission supports parties and campaigners to understand and comply with the updated law and how it should be applied in practice to their campaigns. It produced a statutory Code of Practice on controlled spending for non-party campaigners, which include the changes introduced to notional spending.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has produced guidance on whether social media companies intentionally adjusting network algorithms to favour specific political (a) candidates and (b) parties constitutes a donation in kind for the purposes of election finance requirements.

The Electoral Commission has not published specific guidance on network algorithms used by social media companies.Delibaretely adjusting an algorithm to favour specific candidates or parties may constitute a donation in kind, if this has been agreed with the candidate or party in question.If the candidate or party is unaware of the adjustment, it is unlikely to be a donation as donations require acceptance from the recipient.Intentially adjusting an algorithm may constitute regulated non-party campaigning by the social media company, but this would depend on the nature of the platform and the adjustment made.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has produced guidance on foreign donors channelling funds through UK-registered corporate bodies.

The Commission provides guidance and support for parties and campaigners on the donation laws, including the permissibility of donations given to UK-registered companies. The Commission has highlighted that the limitations of the current law mean it is possible for money from foreign sources to enter the UK electoral system, through donations from UK companies.Since 2013, the Commission has called for the laws around company donations to be strengthened. It has recommended changes to ensure parties and campagners cannot accept money from companies that have not made enough money in the UK to fund the amount of their donation or loan. It also recommends a duty on campaigners to carry out enhanced know-your-donor checks and improved transparency over the political donations made to unincorporated associations.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued on political donations (a) from impermissible foreign donors and (b) funnelling money to avoid political donation restrictions.

The Commission provides guidance and support for parties and campaigners to ensure they understand and comply with donation laws.Its guidance sets out the requirements and checks necessary when accepting donations. Parties and campaigners are responsible for carrying out checks on donations they receive to ensure they are from permissible sources, and for properly and accurately reporting them.The guidance makes clear that the law requires political parties to report unlawful donations and return them to the donor. It also explains that parties must not knowingly or recklessly make a false declaration about the true origin of the donation.As well as issuing guidance, the Commission carries out permissibility checks on a sample of donations. It has the powers to sanction parties that accept impermissable foreign donations or do not comply with the political finance laws.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the Electoral Commission's timetable is for the publication of third party data for the 2024 general election.

The Commission has recently published a range of data, including on the experiences of voters and candidates, from the 2024 general election as part of its statutory duty to report on elections.It also publishes spending and donations data from parties, campaigners and candidates. It will publish returns received from political parties and register non-party campaigners in two stages, with returns under £250,000 published shortly and those over £250,000 published later in the year.This will provide transparency to voters about the money spent and received by non-party campaigners at the general election.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what discussions the Electoral Commission has had with the Government on reforms to regulation on political donations.

Since 2013, the Electoral Commission has recommended changes to strengthen the political finance regime, including changes that would improve the transparency and controls on donations. It has regular discussions with the Government on these proposals and will use its expertise and experince regulating the political finance regime to ensure any changes are workable and evidence based.