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Mr. Heald : I beg to move amendment No. 18, in page 11, line 11, leave out subsections (2) to (4) and insert—
'(2) In section 10 (maintenance of registers: annual canvass), after subsection (4) there is inserted—
"(4A) Subject to subsection (4B) below, the information to be obtained by the use of such a form for the purpose of a canvass shall include—
(a) the signature of each of the persons in relation to whom the form is completed;
(b) the date of birth of each such person; and
(c) in relation to each such person—
(i) his national insurance number or a statement that he does not have one,
(ii) a statement of whether or not he has been resident in the United Kingdom for the whole of the three-month period ending on 15th October in the year in question, and
(iii) any address in the United Kingdom in respect of which he is or has applied to be registered (other than the address in respect of which the form is completed), and the power in subsection (4) above to prescribe a form includes power to give effect to the requirements of the subsection.
(4B) The Chief Electoral Officer may dispense with the requirement mentioned in subsection (4A)(a) above in relation to any person if he is satisfied that it is not reasonably practicable for that person to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any incapacity of his or because he is unable to read.".
(3) In section 10A (maintenance of registers: registration of electors)—
(a) after subsection (1) there is inserted—
"(1A) Subject to subsection (1B) below, an application for registration in respect of an address in the United Kingdom shall include—
(a) the signature of each of the persons to whom the application relates;
(b) the date of birth of each such person; and
(c) in relation to each such person—
(i) his national insurance number or a statement that he does not have one,
(ii) a statement of whether or not he has been resident in the United Kingdom for the whole of the three-month period ending on the date of the application, and
(iii) any other address in the United Kingdom in respect of which he is or has applied to be registered, and the power in subsection (1) above to prescribe requirements includes power to give effect to the requirements of this subsection.
(1B) The Chief Electoral Officer may dispense with the requirement mentioned in subsection (1A)(a) above in relation to any person if he is satisfied that it is not reasonably practicable for that person to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any incapacity of his or because he is unable to read.",
(b) in subsection (5), at the beginning there is inserted "Subject to subsection (5A) below,",
(c) after subsection (5) there is inserted—
"(5A) A person's name is to be removed from the register in respect of any address if—
(a) the form mentioned in section 10(4) above in respect of that address does not include all the information relating to him required by virtue of section 10(4A) above; or
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(b) the registration officer determines that he is not satisfied with the information relating to that person which was included in that form pursuant to that requirement.".
(d) in subsection (6), after "above", there is inserted "or his name is to be removed from it by virtue of subsection (5A) above,", and
(e) in subsection (8), after "5", there is inserted ", (5A)".
(4) In section 13A (alteration of registers), after subsection (2) there is inserted—
"(2A) Subject to subsection (2B) below, an application for registration under subsection (1)(a) above in respect of an address in the United Kingdom shall include—
(a) the signature of each of the persons to whom the application relates;
(b) the date of birth of each such person; and
(c) in relation to each such person—
(i) his national insurance number or a statement that he does not have one,
(ii) a statement of whether or not he has been resident in the United Kingdom for the whole of the three-month period ending on the date of the application, and
(iii) any other address in the United Kingdom in respect of which he is or has applied to be registered, and the power in subsection (1)(a) above to prescribe requirements includes power to give effect to the requirements of this subsection.
(2B) The Chief Electoral Officer may dispense with the requirement mentioned in subsection (2A)(a) above in relation to any person if he is satisfied that it is not reasonably practicable for that person to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any incapacity of his or because he is unable to read.".'.
The First Deputy Chairman: With this it will be convenient to discuss amendment No. 20, in clause 15, page 14, line 23, after 'provisions', insert
', including collection of National Insurance numbers,'.
Mr. Heald: The purpose of the amendment, which follows the wording of the Northern Ireland legislation, is to include national insurance numbers in the personal identifiers listed in the clause. It is also designed to make it not just a pilot, but a permanent scheme, with national insurance numbers included.
Why? We know that postal voting on demand has led to an upsurge in postal voting, which is welcome, but there is a need for proper anti-fraud measures. We have already discussed this evening strengthening the accuracy of the register, but most of those who have looked into the problem believe that individual voter registration, coupled with proper personal identifiers, is the answer. Ensuring proper verification is important.
The hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) spoke earlier about the Australian system. In Australia, it is an offence not to vote, so if someone on the register is to be prosecuted for not voting, the register has to be an accurate. That has been the spur in Australia. Personally, I am not in favour of compulsory voting, but I believe that we should have an accurate register, and the amendments provide an opportunity to bring that about.
The amendments follow the wording and pattern of what was successfully introduced in Northern Ireland. The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 introduced individual voter registration, coupled with
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personal identifiers—and it worked. The numbers registered have fallen, but the levels are still high—92 per cent. of census—and the accuracy is excellent. The Northern Ireland Office and the Select Committee praised the new system, saying that it had been successful in reducing the perception among the electorate of the prevalence of fraud and the actual level of fraud.
Some suggest that some of those who are entitled to vote have missed out and that 120,000 have been disenfranchised, but that is simply untrue. The Electoral Commission said clearly:
Anyone who has spoken to Denis Stanley, the electoral registration officer in Northern Ireland, will know that that argument is simply unsustainable.
I am the first to agree with Government Members who say that we need not only accuracy, but a really good campaign to increase registration.
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