Friday, November 05, 2010

Prisoners: Voting

Prisoners: Voting

Question


Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners have outstanding complaints about their exclusion from the right to vote in British elections. [HL3008]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The Government are aware of approximately 250 claims in the domestic courts relating to the general election this year. The Government have made an

4 Nov 2010 : Column WA446

application to the High Court for these claims to be struck out on the basis that there is no action for damages under the Human Rights Act for a failure to introduce legislation. This application will be heard by the High Court on 9 February 2011. There are three cases against the UK before the European Court for Human Rights in relation to prisoners' voting rights. The Committee of Ministers, in its decision statement following its 15 September 2010 meeting, noted that the Court had received a further 1,340 applications. These have yet to be communicated to the Government.

Source: Hansard

Hat-Tip to Charles Hanson

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