To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of people prevented from voting in a polling station due to postal vote fraud in the 2006 local elections. (123676)

None. Proven cases are very few and far between. Forming an estimate based on unproven allegations would require unsafe speculation.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether her Department collects information from local authority returning officers on (a) irregularities with postal votes and (b) personation. (123677)

My Department does not routinely collect information on such allegations from local authority returning officers. We would expect information of this nature to be referred to the police as the proper investigating authority.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many electoral petitions have been submitted since 1 January 2007, and what the details are of each case in respect of which no arrangements have been made for a court hearing. (123855)

No petitions have been submitted to the Petitions’ Office since 1 January 2007.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the Government are taking to tackle electoral fraud; and if she will make a statement. (124092)

The Government have taken significant steps in recent years to tighten up the security of the electoral process and assist the police and prosecutors in tackling electoral fraud. These measures are primarily established by the Electoral Administration Act 2006 and associated secondary legislation.

The new measures include: specific new offences of false registration and false application for a postal or proxy vote; strengthened offence of undue influence; new clear secrecy warnings on postal and proxy vote papers; increased time for police investigations; requiring reasons for a redirection of a postal vote; more time for administrators to consider postal vote applications; and requiring formal acknowledgement of the grant of a postal vote to be sent to an elector's qualifying registered address.