ELECTION officers in East Lancashire are set to be quizzed by a House of Commons committee about this year's all-postal election pilot.

Returning officers at all local authorities taking part in the voting experiment have been asked for their judgements.

The House of Commons select committee of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, headed by Manchester MP Andrew Bennett, is set to re-open its inquiry into this year's local and European elections.

The committee has written to all returning officers for their views.

Earlier in the year the committee called on the government to make its mind up about all-postal elections and said no further pilots should be held after this year's. The committee recommended all elections should either be all-postal or traditional polls.

East Lancashire, like other parts of the country, has encountered problems with the system, prompting fears over security and the secrecy of the ballot.

In Burnley police are due to quiz 60 party workers about alleged voting fraud in Daneshouse and Stoneyholme and voting packs were sent to dead former nursing home residents.