To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps to ensure that the qualifications required to vote by post in England, Scotland and Wales are the same as those required in Northern Ireland. (130262)

The availability of postal voting on demand in England, Scotland and Wales has proved very popular, with many electors finding it a convenient way to vote.

Through the Electoral Administration Act 2006, as approved by Parliament, we have put in place a range of measures to strengthen the security of postal voting in England, Scotland and Wales, and to ensure postal votes are securely cast and counted.

The Government do not consider there is sufficient justification to make further changes that would restrict the availability of postal voting in England, Scotland and Wales, as is the case in Northern Ireland.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how her Department intends to ensure appropriate checks in the monitoring of the trials into (a) internet and (b) telephone voting to prevent electoral malpractice and fraud. (130268)

The e-voting election systems used in the pilots are subject to rigorous quality assurance assessment by independent experts on behalf of my Department and also to extensive testing by suppliers and local authorities prior to use. All e-voting systems will also include audit processes and records to allow returning officers to have confidence that the numbers of votes cast electronically tallies with those cast.

Additionally the requirement for electors to provide a personally generated passcode or username reduces the potential for credentials to be stolen and misused.

The independent Electoral Commission is required to evaluate all electoral pilot schemes and publish their findings following the elections.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department is taking to prevent coercion and intimidation being used in the trials of (a) internet and (b) telephone voting. (130274)

If an elector does not feel comfortable with using an e-vote or any form of remote voting they can still vote in person in a polling station.

Electors will be using identifiers that are specific to them in order to access the system and, as with a traditional ballot, there will be no receipt that can be shown by the elector to anyone else afterwards to show how an elector has voted.

My Department is also working with local authorities to ensure that there are good links with local police so that any instances of alleged coercion and intimidation can be investigated as in any normal election. Under new powers contained in the Electoral Administration Act 2006 any attempt to unduly influence an elector could result in a custodial sentence or unlimited fine.