To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Indra electronic counting system used in the electoral pilot of May 2007 by Bedford borough council; and if she will make a statement. (137684)

The independent Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to evaluate and report on each of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes, and will assess the effectiveness of the electronic counting system used by Bedford borough council. My Department awaits the Electoral Commission’s findings which will be published by 4 August 2007.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of (a) advance voting during the week before polling day, (b) voters providing their signature before being issued with their ballot papers, (c) electronic counting and (d) use of a single column on the ballot paper for the mayoralty election in the electoral pilots of May 2007 by Bedford borough council; and if she will make a statement. [137685]

The independent Electoral Commission has a statutory duty to evaluate and report on each of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes, including the effectiveness of each of the elements of the Bedford borough council pilot scheme. My Department awaits the Electoral Commission's findings which will be published by 4 August 2007.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what representations her Department has received from the Electoral Commission on the use of electronic vote counting technology and equipment for the May 2007 electoral pilots; and if she will make a statement. (137689)

My Department sought the Electoral Commission's views on all of the applications that were made to conduct electoral pilot schemes at the May 2007 local elections, including the use of electronic vote counting technology. The Commission's comments were received on 1 December 2006.

A number of issues were raised by the Commission which were resolved following ongoing discussions with my officials.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what independent safeguards were put in place for electoral pilots in May 2007 using electronic counting technology and equipment; and if she will make a statement. (137690)

My Department carried out a rigorous procurement process to identify suppliers to work with local authorities to conduct electoral pilot schemes at the May 2007 local elections in England. Each pilot scheme involving the use of electronic voting or counting systems was also subject to a rigorous quality assurance assessment by independent experts on behalf of my Department, and also to testing by suppliers and local authorities prior to use.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what steps the Government are taking to ensure public confidence in electronic vote counting technology and equipment in elections; and if she will make a statement. (137691)

My Department is implementing a programme of work to develop effective and secure electoral systems for the future, including electronic vote counting technology. The programme includes the piloting and evaluation of new technologies, and research and development activities with suppliers, electoral administrators and other organisations. Public confidence in electoral systems is essential, and no new technologies will be rolled out for general use until we are satisfied that they are accurate and secure.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice at what time the final election result was declared in (a) Bedford borough council, (b) Breckland district council, (c) Dover district council, (d) Stratford-on-Avon district council and (e) Warwick district council in the electoral pilot schemes of May 2007; how much was spent on the use of electronic counting and equipment in each area; how many spoilt ballot papers were rejected as a percentage of the total vote in each area; and if she will make a statement. (137695)

The times of the declaration of the final election results and the percentages of ballot papers rejected in each of the five electoral pilot schemes in May 2007 are listed in the following table.

It is expected that the details of the total costs for the electoral pilot schemes using electronic counting in May 2007 will be provided in the independent Electoral Commission’s statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes, which will be published by 4 August 2007.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many electoral pilots in May 2007 which used electronic counting technology and equipment reverted to manual counting of votes; and if she will make a statement. (137697)

Two electoral pilots reverted to manual counting of votes. These were Breckland council, and the joint pilot by Stratford-on-Avon district council and Warwick district council. The Electoral Commission is currently evaluating each electoral pilot scheme, and their findings will provide valuable information about the issues that arose in these authorities and will also help us to identify how to address any future issues.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what representations her Department has received on the use of random hand counts of ballots in electoral pilots of May 2007 which used electronic counting and equipment; and if she will make a statement. (137698)

My Department has not received any representations on the use of random hand counts of ballots at the electoral pilot schemes which used electronic counting in May 2007.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what measures were put in place to ensure that electoral pilots using electronic counting and equipment in May 2007 could be independently verified; and if she will make a statement. (137699)

My Department commissioned independent quality assurance audit and testing to support the delivery of electoral pilot schemes using electronic counting at the May 2007 local elections. Under provisions introduced by the Electoral Administration Act 2006, independent observers were also permitted to monitor all elections, including those where electoral pilot schemes were held.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many of the electoral pilots of May 2007 which used electronic counting and equipment undertook random hand counts of ballots; and if she will make a statement. (137700)

I am not aware that any of the electoral pilot schemes of May 2007 which used electronic counting undertook random hand counts of ballot papers.

To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what plans the Government have to use electronic counting and equipment in future electoral pilots; and if she will make a statement. (137701)

My Department is currently considering the future role of electronic counting technology, and how it might be developed through further piloting or other research. The findings of the independent Electoral Commission’s statutory evaluation of the May 2007 electoral pilot schemes will inform that ongoing consideration before any decisions about future pilot schemes are made.