Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2026 [Draft]
Out of respect for my good friend John Mason, I will let that one slide.
On a serious point, the order will mean that, if a person who has been detained on a mental health ground has been sentenced to 12 months or less or has received a mental health detention rather than a prison sentence, they will be able to vote if the maximum sentence or sentences possible would have amounted to 12 months or less. That is in line with the law that is in place for prisoners, and we envisage that about 20 people—20 people—might be impacted.
One aspect relating to consistency with prisoner voting concerns people who are subject to temporary compulsion orders. They are in a similar position to a remand prisoner. They have been detained but not convicted, sentenced or found to have committed a criminal offence following an examination of the facts. Remand prisoners across the UK are able to vote, so the order provides for the voting rights for those who are subject to temporary compulsion orders to be the same as those for remand prisoners.
The order is also temporary. It applies only to elections between 7 May 2026 and 28 February 2030. That will allow the arrangements to be consulted on by the next Government and revisited by the next Parliament.
In the light of some recent ill-informed commentary, I must also stress that people are not excluded from participating in elections on the basis of mental capacity.
I invite members to approve the order.