Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Not Addressed
External supplier dependence creates significant weakness in election system
Conclusion
Elections have become dependent on external suppliers over which the Government have little control. This creates points of weakness and even potential failure in our elections system. (Conclusion, Paragraph 71)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response does not directly address the committee's conclusion regarding the dependency of elections on external suppliers and the vulnerabilities this creates. It reiterates that planning is the responsibility of Returning Officers and the Electoral Commission, and rejects the production of an annual readiness report.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
We note the Committee’s recommendation for a resilience plan in case of supplier failure. Elections are delivered on a local level, and it is for statutorily independent Returning Officers to ensure they have necessary supply contracts and contingencies in place. However, as set out in our Strategy for Elections, we intend to bring forward changes to legislation which will support both electors and administrators in the postal voting process, including the ability to use different voting mechanisms should issues arise. These changes will aid in ensuring the robustness of the postal voting system.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗