Elections: Pilot Schemes

The Government are continuing to look at ways to modernise our electoral system and to increase the opportunities that people have to vote. To test the effectiveness and robustness of these innovations and to build public confidence in them, we are continuing to conduct a programme of pilots in 2006 which maintains the momentum that was started in 2000. With this aim in mind, at the end of October 2005, in conjunction with the Electoral Commission, we issued a prospectus inviting expressions of interest from local authorities seeking to run electoral pilots at the May 2006 local elections. Today I am pleased to announce that I have accepted 16 applications from local authorities to hold pilots at the May 2006 local elections. The names of the successful local authorities are attached at the end of this Statement. A background paper providing further details on the pilots has been placed in the House Library. The local authorities will pilot innovations including:"trials of changes to the administration of elections proposed in the Electoral Administration Bill, such as changes to the ballot paper to support more secure efficient production of postal votes and the checking of signatures on postal ballots;""voting in alternative locations such as shopping centres and rural locations to allow us to further test how voting in different locations and at different times can enhance access; and""electronic counting of ballots which will build on past work and test how this can be refined to ensure confidence and support future use of technology to gain efficiencies in the administration of elections. This will also enable us to identify how technology can support counting in the different voting systems used in local authority and regional elections." Some of these pilots will assist us in planning the implementation of the proposals in the Electoral Administration Bill, in ensuring the ongoing integrity of electoral mechanisms and in refining and developing the programme of work for ensuring electoral processes fit with the needs of modern lifestyles. The next step will be for us, working in consultation with the Electoral Commission and the local authorities, to draw up the statutory orders authorising the pilots. We are grateful to all local authorities that applied to pilot in May 2006 and are keen to continue to engage local authorities in looking at innovative ways to improve the elections process and take advantage of new technologies."Total: 16""London Borough of Brent""Brentwood Borough Council""Borough of Broxbourne""Epping Forest District Council""London Borough of Harrow""London Borough of Lewisham""Merseyside Authorities (Knowsley, Liverpool,    St Helen's and Sefton)""London Borough of Newham""Peterborough City Council""Rushmoor Borough Council""Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council""Stevenage Borough Council""Swindon Borough Council""Stratford-on-Avon District Council""Tyne and Wear Authorities (Gateshead, Newcastle,    South Tyneside and Sunderland)""City of Westminster"