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Written question asked by Jacqui Lait (Conservative) on Tuesday, 22 July 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 October 2008. It was answered by Lord Wills (Labour) on Monday, 6 October 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Elections: Fraud

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 24 June 2008, Official Report, columns 9-11WS, on consultation on weekend voting, what the evidential basis is for the statement that there is no evidence that overall levels of fraud are increasing in elections.
Answer

The Electoral Commission's report ““Allegations of electoral malpractice in England and Wales 2000 to 2006””, gives details of allegations of electoral malpractice. The report found that between 2000 and 2006 there were 402 allegations of offences under the Representation of the People Act (RPA) 1983 (RPA offences include tampering with nomination papers, making false declarations as to election expenses, bribery, treating, undue influence and personation offences). A breakdown of the figures is set out as follows:

Number of allegations
2000 50
2001 66
2002 59
2003 90
2004 59
2005 59
2006 19
Total 402

The figures show that the number of allegations reached a peak in 2003 and has since declined.Further, the Electoral Commission's report ““Further analysis of CPS files on allegations of electoral malpractice in England and Wales, 2000 to 2006””, gives details of prosecutions for electoral malpractice. The report found that there were 23 convictions for RPA offences between 2000 and 2006. Though convictions do not necessarily occur in the same year that proceedings are initiated, the information published with the report shows that the number of convictions relating to RPA offences in the period 2000 to 2006 peaked at 11 in 2001, and the number of convictions has since declined.The Electoral Commission's separate reports on the introduction of absent voting personal identifiers in England and Wales and on the May 2007 local government elections note that the introduction of personal identifiers for postal voters has had a positive impact on the safety and security of the electoral system, and that at the 2007 elections the scale and volume of allegations of offences were both considerably down on 2006. More recently, the Electoral Commission concluded in its report on the May 2008 local elections in England that the available information suggests that the scale and volume of allegations of offences during the elections in May 2008 were down on 2007.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
223070; 480 c176-7W
Session
2007-08
Related items
Consultation on Weekend Voting
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Written statements
House of Commons
Subjects
Fraud Elections
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk