Prisoners: Voting Rights Coalition under pressure

Prisoners: Voting Rights Coalition under pressure

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) whether he plans to allow ballot boxes to be taken into prisons in order to enable franchised prisoners to vote in elections; [40238]

(2) whether his proposals for the enfranchisement of certain prisoners requires primary legislation; [40192]

(3) what provision for voting will be made for prisoners detained in mental health establishments; [39900]

(4) whether prisoners without a residential address or a local area with which they have a connection will be able to register the prison as their eligible address for the purpose of voting; [40137]

(5) what his policy is on extending the franchise to prisoners found guilty of electoral fraud; [39897]

(6) whether primary legislation to enfranchise prisoners will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny; [40136]

(7) what steps the Government is taking to ensure that people convicted of serious offences but who are serving a short sentence are not enfranchised; [40138]

(8) whether prisoners denied the right to vote by a sentencing judge will have a right to appeal; [40135]

(9) whether candidates for elections in which prisoners are to have the right to vote will be permitted to canvass prisoners in prisons; [40239]

(10) what his policy is on the enfranchisement of prisoners when they become eligible for parole; [41335]

(11) when he plans to publish legislative proposals in respect of enfranchisement of certain prisoners. [40193]

Mr Harper: The Government are considering the next steps on prisoner voting rights in view of the strength of feeling on this issue in the UK, as demonstrated by the recent debates in Parliament. The Government have sought to refer the Greens and MT judgment against the UK to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. If the Grand Chamber agrees to the referral they will look again at the case and issue their own judgment.

The Government will set out their intended approach in due course.

Mr Bain: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many prisoners in Scotland he estimates will receive the right to vote in parliamentary elections as a consequence of his plans to extend the franchise to those serving custodial sentences of up to four years. [33361]

Mr Harper: The Government are considering the next steps on prisoner voting rights in view of the strength of feeling on this issue in the UK, as demonstrated by the recent debates in Parliament. The Government have sought to refer the Greens and MT judgment against the UK to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. If the court agrees to the referral they will look again at the case and issue their own judgment.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cases in relation to UK prisoner voting are pending before the European Court of Human Rights. [39899]

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Mr Harper: I understand that as at the beginning of February 2011 the European Court of Human Rights has received approximately 3,500 claims from UK prisoners unable to vote in elections. It has suspended consideration of those claims pending the Government's implementation of the Hirst and Greens and MT judgments.

More generally, the Government are considering the next steps on prisoner voting rights in view of the strength of feeling on this issue in the UK, as demonstrated by the recent debates in Parliament. The Government have sought to refer the Greens and MT judgment against the UK to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. If the Grand Chamber agrees to the referral they will look again at the case and issue their own judgment.

Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 20 December 2010, Official Report, columns 150-52WS, on voting entitlement (1) what the evidential basis was for the distinction made between serious and other offences for the purposes of sentencing in respect of proposals to allow convicted prisoners the right to vote; and if he will make a statement; [33192]

(2) what assessment he made of the merits of setting a sentence guideline lower than four years in respect of proposals to allow convicted prisoners to vote; and if he will make a statement. [33193]

Mr Harper: As I indicated in my written ministerial statement on 20 December 2010, Official Report, columns 150-52WS,

“Four years has in the past been regarded as the distinction between short and long-term prisoners, and the Government consider that permitting prisoners sentenced to less than four years’ imprisonment to vote is sufficient to comply with the judgment.”

The four-year distinction historically has its statutory basis in the Criminal Justice Act 1991, and is still recognised in law as a dividing line in Scotland. More generally, the Government are considering the next steps on prisoner voting rights in view of the strength of feeling on this issue in the UK, as demonstrated by the recent debates in Parliament. The Government have sought to refer the Greens and MT judgment against the UK to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. If the Grand Chamber agrees to the referral, they will look again at the case and issue their own judgment.

Helen Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many prisoners in (a) the North West and (b) Warrington he expects to receive the right to vote in Parliamentary elections as a result of his plans to extend the franchise to those serving terms of up to four years. [34040]

Mr Harper: The Government are considering the next steps on prisoner voting rights in view of the strength of feeling on this issue in the UK, as demonstrated by the recent debates in Parliament. The Government have sought to refer the Greens and MT judgment against the UK to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights. If the Court agrees to the referral they will look again at the case and issue their own judgment.

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Thomas Docherty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2010, Official Report, column 497W, on prisoners: voting rights, what representations he has received from Scottish Ministers on the implementation of prisoners’ voting rights; and if he will publish each item of correspondence between him and Scottish Ministers on the issue. [34495]

Mr Harper [holding answer 18 January 2011]: Neither I nor the Deputy Prime Minister have received any representations from Scottish Ministers in relation to prisoners voting rights.

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what legal advice he has received on the compatibility with judgements of the European Court of Human Rights on the introduction of a prohibition on the enfranchisement of prisoners sentenced to terms of over one year. [38807]

Mr Harper: The Government do not disclose their legal advice. Disclosure of legal advice has a high potential to prejudice the Government’s ability to defend their legal interests—both directly, by unfairly exposing their legal position to challenge, and indirectly by diminishing the reliance it can place on the advice having been fully considered and presented without fear or favour. Neither of these is in the public interest.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will publish the legal advice which informed the Government’s decision on which prisoners to enfranchise. [40185]

Mr Harper [holding answer 11 February 2011]: The Government do not disclose their legal advice. Disclosure of legal advice has a high potential to prejudice the Government’s ability to defend its legal interests—both directly, by unfairly exposing their legal position to challenge, and indirectly by diminishing the reliance they can place on the advice having been fully considered and presented without fear or favour. Neither of these is in the public interest.

Priti Patel: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) recent discussions he has had and (b) legal advice he has received on the extension of the franchise to prisoners. [40256]

Mr Harper [holding answer 11 February 2011]: The Government do not disclose their legal advice. Disclosure of legal advice has a high potential to prejudice the Government's ability to defend its legal interests—both directly, by unfairly exposing its legal position to challenge, and indirectly by diminishing the reliance it can place on the advice having been fully considered and presented without fear or favour. Neither of these is in the public interest.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether any cases in relation to prisoners' voting rights are pending before domestic courts. [41337]

Mr Harper [holding answer 16 February 2011]: Around 585 prisoners made a claim in the domestic courts for compensation and/or a declaration that their rights were infringed for the fact that they were denied the


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right to vote. The court struck out those cases on the basis that damages cannot be awarded in the domestic courts under the Human Rights Act for a failure to introduce compatible legislation. The judgment was published on 18 February.