Committee calls for proxy voting scheme for parental absence to be made permanent

10 Sep 2020 03:46 PM

The House of Commons Procedure Committee publishes its extensive report on proxy voting in the House. The report follows a detailed inquiry by the Committee reviewing the pilot arrangements ahead of the expiration of the pilot scheme later this month.

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The Procedure Committee’s report closely assesses the practical operation of the scheme, considering the duration and scope for eligibility of proxy votes under the pilot and the administrative arrangements, including Speaker certification and the practicalities of casting proxy votes.

The review also considers the impact of COVID-19 on the scheme, and how proxy voting use has been extended to MPs unable to attend at Westminster for medical or public health reasons related to the coronavirus pandemic.

The full report, “Proxy Voting: review of pilot arrangements”, gives the considered view of the committee and makes recommendations to the House on how to proceed with proxy voting. Some of the key findings from the report include:

Chair's comments

Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, Chair of the Procedure Committee, said:

“The Procedure Committee report, published today, strongly recommends that proxy voting for parental absence is made permanent. Proxy voting is a vital tool which empowers MPs who are new parents to represent their constituents as fully as possible.

“Establishing proxy voting for parental absence on a permanent basis will greatly benefit parliamentary democracy in general and the House in particular.

“Our Procedure Committee report also calls for proxy voting for Members subject to coronavirus restrictions to continue, though careful consideration must be given to the eligibility criteria for this facility once the current scheme expires at the end of September.

“The proxy voting system for coronavirus absences was rushed in hurriedly and without proper consultation. The pilot was never designed to handle proxy votes on the scale we have seen. It has been bolted on to a physical voting system which itself is sub-optimal.

“Despite the commendable work of the House Service, the physical voting system has numerous and significant challenges in terms of social distancing, and in efficient and accurate recording of vote results. That is why today’s report recommends a return to the temporary system of remote digital voting for as long as the division lobbies cannot be used in thetraditional way.

“The Committee will continue to review House procedure and practice during the pandemic as the situation evolves.”

A 12 month proxy voting pilot scheme was initially approved by the House on 28 January 2019.

Following the dissolution and early general election in 2019, combined with the changes to House proceedings on account of the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year, the House extended the pilot to give the Committee time to complete this review.

The inquiry was significantly expanded earlier this year to consider proxy voting for absences due to the pandemic, and the report makes recommendations on this issue as well as on the current temporary system of physical divisions used by the House.

Further information