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Absent Voting

Asked by Freddie van MierloLiberal DemocratMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled Answered 23 April 2026UIN 128543

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish his Department's review on deadlines and practices relating to the dispatching of postal ballots.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

The Government is committed to strengthening the resilience of our electoral processes, including the postal voting system.

In the 2025 policy paper, Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections the Government set out a package of proposals intended to improve the overall resilience and responsiveness of postal voting. These include moving the postal vote application, and candidate nomination deadlines earlier in the election timetable. This will provide more time for the production, distribution and return of postal votes. This package of measures is now being delivered as part of the Representation of the People Bill 2026.

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