Mr Bob Russell (Shadow Minister (Culture, Media & Sport), Culture, Media & Sport; Colchester, Liberal Democrat)

Whether the Commission intends to reissue advice to (a) election returning officers and (b) election agents on the level of penalties which will be imposed for breaches of the postal voting system.

Mr Peter Viggers (Gosport, Conservative)

The commission informs me that, with the political parties, it has developed an advisory code of conduct on postal voting. A draft was published in April 2004 and the commission intends to publish the final version shortly. The code is intended to give guidance to candidates and campaign workers. The commission has also worked with the police on guidance on fraud prevention and has issued a comprehensive guidance manual for returning officers. I shall ask the commission to place copies of all those publications in the Library of the House.

Mr Bob Russell (Shadow Minister (Culture, Media & Sport), Culture, Media & Sport; Colchester, Liberal Democrat)

I am most grateful for that reply and I hope that the hon. Gentleman and everybody involved will ensure that the information is drawn to the attention of everybody who is actively involved in elections, whenever they are held, because we have seen instances when the rules have not been complied with.

Mr Peter Viggers (Gosport, Conservative)

Indeed. It may not be widely recognised that postal voting is now very widespread. I am advised, for instance, that in some areas, such as Newcastle, Cardiff and Stevenage, some 50 per cent. of voters have registered for postal votes. The commission expects that demand—in Great Britain only, not in Northern Ireland—in the forthcoming general election, whenever it may be, will be in the region of 15 per cent. It is obviously extremely important that proper scrutiny and supervision should be exercised.

Mr Peter Viggers (Gosport, Conservative)

The Electoral Commission has made recommendations for changes to the law on postal voting. However, its current position is that, under the code of conduct, it is committed to self-regulation to begin with, but it will keep the operation of the code under review.

Dr Julian Lewis (Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, Leader of the House of Commons; New Forest East, Conservative)

Is it not a fact that the reservations expressed by the hon. Members for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) and for Hornchurch (John Cryer) carry great weight? The creation of a system of postal voting on demand, in which the genuineness of those applying for and receiving the ballot papers cannot be verified, has been a disaster. The secrecy of the ballot box has been destroyed by the wholesale expansion of a scheme that used to be properly reserved for people who had special reasons for voting by post because they were not able to go to the polling station.

Mr Peter Viggers (Gosport, Conservative)

The Electoral Commission would probably take the view that the language used by my hon. Friend was rather stronger than is justified by the circumstances. The commission believes that there is a place for postal voting, but it has moved away from the concept that all-postal voting should be the norm in local elections. It now believes that the norm should be based on what it calls its foundation model. The commission's work on voter choice is nearing completion and will be published in due course.

Mr David Winnick (Walsall North, Labour)

I have supported the postal voting system, if only because it means greater participation by those who might not otherwise vote. Is the hon. Gentleman aware, however, that greater safeguards are now needed and, if they are not introduced, the whole idea should be reconsidered? The secrecy of the ballot is our main concern and must always be so.

Mr Peter Viggers (Gosport, Conservative)

The House will have heard the hon. Gentleman's contribution. I repeat that the Electoral Commission takes the view that postal voting has an important part to play in our electoral system but that safeguards are extremely important.

Mr Eric Forth (Bromley & Chislehurst, Conservative)

Surely, though, we must not sacrifice integrity for participation. The views that have just been expressed in the Chamber echo a widespread unease about the slackness of the new postal voting regime. I hope that my hon. Friend will not think that his code of conduct will in any way be sufficient, and that he will go back to the Electoral Commission and stress that the rules must be applied with the greatest vigour in order to ensure that we can be satisfied that postal votes are properly recorded and used.

Mr Peter Viggers (Gosport, Conservative)

The Electoral Commission will hear the points that are made in the House. The commission has made a series of recommendations to the Government to strengthen the legal framework for postal voting. The Government have accepted many of those, and the commission will continue to keep under review the structure and operation of postal voting in Great Britain.