The
Committee consisted of the following
Members:
Bottomley,
Peter
(Worthing, West)
(Con)
Etherington,
Bill
(Sunderland, North)
(Lab)
Holmes,
Paul
(Chesterfield)
(LD)
Howarth,
David
(Cambridge)
(LD)
Ingram,
Mr. Adam
(East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
(Lab)
Jones,
Helen
(Vice-Chamberlain of Her Majesty's
Household)
Laing,
Mrs. Eleanor
(Epping Forest)
(Con)
Leigh,
Mr. Edward
(Gainsborough)
(Con)
Lepper,
David
(Brighton, Pavilion)
(Lab/Co-op)
Purchase,
Mr. Ken
(Wolverhampton, North-East)
(Lab/Co-op)
Rifkind,
Sir Malcolm
(Kensington and Chelsea)
(Con)
Smith,
Geraldine
(Morecambe and Lunesdale)
(Lab)
Todd,
Mr. Mark
(South Derbyshire)
(Lab)
Ward,
Claire
(Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
Justice)
Wright,
Mr. Anthony
(Great Yarmouth)
(Lab)
Wright,
Jeremy
(Rugby and Kenilworth)
(Con)
Eliot Wilson, Committee
Clerk
attended the
Committee
Twelfth
Delegated Legislation
Committee
Tuesday 2
March
2010
[Mr.
Joe Benton in the
Chair]
Draft
Service Voters Registration Period Order
2010
4.30
pm
The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Claire
Ward): I beg to
move,
That
the Committee has considered the draft Service Voters
Registration Period Order
2010.
It
is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Benton.
The order, to be made under section 15(9) of the Representation of the
People Act 1983, relates to the statutory time limit on the period of a
service declaration made by those electors who are qualified to make
such a declaration under section 14(1) of the 1983 Act. I shall talk
about the technical amendments later. First, I should like to set out
some context and explain why the Government think that the order is a
good way to support the electoral registration of service
voters.
As
hon. Members will know, members of the armed forcestogether
with their spouses or civil partnerswho are not resident in the
United Kingdom are part of a category referred to for the purposes of
electoral administration as service voters. Other members of
the category include people employed in the service of the
Crown abroad, such as members of the diplomatic service. As such, they
are entitled to register as an elector under a service declaration.
That has allowed for special arrangements to be made in respect of the
fact that they are likely to be serving overseas at any given time.
Those electors who have made a service declaration are registered in
pursuance of it for a period of 12 months orif they
are a member of the armed services, or the spouse or civil partner of a
member of the armed servicesfor three years. At the end of the
12-month or three-year period as appropriate, the service voter can
make a fresh service declaration and application for registration as an
elector.
The
Government remain of the view that a time limit of some length on the
period of a service declaration is necessary to maintain the integrity
and accuracy of the electoral register. Indeed, existing primary
legislation cements that view and enables the service declaration
period to be extended only to a maximum of five years for members of
the armed forces and their spouses or civil partners. Other service
voters continue to benefit only from a 12-month
period.
Let
us say that service personnel were registered indefinitely. They would
be likely to continue their very mobile careers, and would perhaps
expect to be re-registered automatically in any new UK constituency in
which they might come to be resident. Some might fail to re-register
when moving constituencies and disfranchise themselves unknowingly as a
result.
Mrs.
Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest) (Con): On that point, is the
Ministers argument that because someone has been in the armed
forces for some years and might have got used to the fact that they
were automatically registered, once they have left the armed forces and
are no longer automatically registered, they will not think that they
then have a duty to register themselves? I think that is
what she is saying, but it might not be. I hope that it is not, and if
it is not, I am giving her the opportunity to clarify
that.
Claire
Ward: This is simply a practical exercise. If someone
registers for three years, they may move constituency within that
period. The reality is that if they returned to try to vote within the
three-year period, they might find that the address at which they were
registered differed from their current one. They might assume, because
of the process whereby they can register for a much longer period, that
they are registered where they are hoping to vote and might find that
actually they are registered at a previous address. We are seeking to
ensure, as much as possible, that people remain on the electoral
register and have the opportunity to vote. That is why there is a time
limit, and why there is a five-year limit in the
legislation.
Registering
service personnel to vote in one place for an indefinite period has, in
previous decades, created unhealthy inaccuracies in the electoral
register, which led to the introduction of a 12-month limitation on
service voter registrations in the Representation of the People Act
2000.
Peter
Bottomley (Worthing, West) (Con): It always helps to be
able to be accountable under the measure, and to be able to manage. Can
the Minister give us any indication of how unhealthy the register was
and how much worse the situation became when the changes were
made?
Claire
Ward: I will come back to that and try to provide as much
information as I
can.
As
an exception, a power was inserted at the same time that allowed
secondary legislation to increase the service declaration period to a
maximum of five years for members of the armed forces and their spouses
and, later, their civil partners. The Service Voters
Registration Period Order 2006, made under section 15(9) of the RPA
1983 as inserted by the Electoral Administration Act 2006, extended the
declaration period from one year to three years, because that was seen
as a typical length for a military posting overseas. I should add that
the Secretary of State has powers under section 15(9) of the 1983 Act
to substitute another period not exceeding five years, as they think
appropriate.
The
order will amend the provisions that enable members of the armed forces
and their spouses or civil partners to register to vote under a service
declaration. It will extend the statutory time limit on a declaration
made by those who are entitled, and who wish to register in that way,
from the current limit of three years to a period of five years which,
as I have said, is the maximum extension permitted by existing primary
legislation. We propose that the order, which applies to the United
Kingdom as a whole, should come into force the day after it is
made.
The order
will require amendments to current legislation in three respects.
First, section 15(2)(a) of the 1983 Act, which governs service
declarations, will now have the effect that service declarations made
by members of the armed services and their spouses and civil partners
will last for five years. Furthermore, the order and section 15(2) of
the 1983 Act will operate together automatically to extend any
subsisting declaration in place when the order comes into force, so
that it lapses five years after the date on which it was originally
made, rather than three years from that date.
Secondly,
the following consequential amendments to secondary legislation will be
required. Article 3 of the order makes a consequential
amendment to regulation 25(3)(b) of the Representation of
the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001. The amendment ensures
that a service voter, or spouse or civil partner, to whom the order
applies will be written to by their electoral registration officer to
remind them to renew their service declarations three months before the
end of the new five-year period.
Peter
Bottomley: This question may help to speed up proceedings.
Most people will have their name and address registered with the
electoral returning officer. We are moving towards the electronic age.
Are there any suggestions that part of the Governments
technology drive will allow electoral registration officers to collect
e-mails or mobile telephone numbers, so that text messages and e-mails
can be sent as well as letters by post?
Claire
Ward: Obviously, a lot of work is being done on the
advancement of electoral registration and the impact of technology. I
am sure that that issue could be looked at.
Articles 4
and 5 make corresponding consequential amendments to the Representation
of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001 and the Representation of the
People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008 respectively.
Thirdly, the
Service Voters Registration Period Order 2006 and the Service
Voters Registration Period (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 will
be revoked. Those proposals follow an announcement made by Lord Bach on
17 June last year. They are also the result of the
Government consulting representatives of service families, the Ministry
of Defence, the Electoral Commission and hon. Members from across the
House. They aim to address concerns shared by many, both inside and
outside the House, that all service personnel who are stationed
overseas in Her Majestys armed forces, especially those men and
women on active service in Afghanistan and other parts of the world,
should be allowed ample opportunity to register and cast their votes,
irrespective of their location at the time of an election. It is surely
the duty of this House to ensure that our service personnel are allowed
to participate effectively as electors in the democratic
system.
The order
also addresses concerns that have been expressed in this House and
another place about registration rates among members of the armed
forces. The Ministry of Defence undertakes an annual service voting
survey, which gives an indication of registration and electoral trends
among armed forces personnel. The 2008 survey carried out by the
MODs statistical branch, Defence Analytical Services and
Advice, estimated that 65 per cent. of service personnel, and only 48
per cent. of those service personnel stationed overseas, were
registered.
In the MOD
survey, a significant number of service personnel commented that
registering was important and that they considered themselves to have a
personal responsibility to do so. Our aim must be to facilitate the
process of registration, not to remove a service persons
ability to take responsibility for exercising their democratic rights.
Increasing the declaration period to five years would still retain that
individual responsibility.
Although
the Government believe that the current three-year declaration period
has encouraged more service personnel to register and has helped to
maintain an accurate register, the current deployment situation does
not always fit into three-year postings. It is the duty of the House to
improve convenience for this category of elector.
Many in the
House remain concerned that more needs to be done to register service
personnel. In response to such concerns, we propose in the order to
extend the service declaration period to the maximum allowable under
the 1983 Act. Announcing the proposal in another place last year, Lord
Bach
stated:
An
increase to five years offers the additional benefit of being the same
period as the one in which postal voters must provide new identifiers.
Indeed, the service voters registration form, as issued by the
Electoral Commission, includes a postal vote
application.[Official Report, House of Lords, 17
June 2009; Vol. 771, c.
1144.]
The
draft order strikes the right balance, addressing the desire to improve
convenience for service personnel and their families and to encourage
higher registration rates in that category of elector, while reflecting
the need to maintain an accurate electoral register. I commend the
order to the Committee.
4.41
pm
Mrs.
Laing: May I echo the Ministers words and say what
a pleasure it is for the whole Committee to serve under you,
Mr. Benton?
Before I
address the Ministers remarks, let me make a short procedural
point. This important order is being dealt with by the Ministry of
Justice, but at the same time that we are debating it in Committee, the
Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, which is also being dealt
with by the Ministry of Justice, is being debated on the Floor of the
House. That has led to a clash for some us, and we are grateful to the
Minister for stepping in to fill the role normally taken by the
Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, the right hon. Member for North
Swindon (Mr. Wills). Of course, the Minister who is present
discharges her duties with excellence as usual, but it is not easy for
her to deal with this clash, and it certainly is not easy for
the Opposition to deal with it, simply because we have fewer people on
our side of the House at present. To put it in the kindest possible
way, it was not very thoughtful of the House authorities to timetable
debate on these two issues at exactly the same
moment.
Having
made that procedural point, let me say that I agree with the
Ministers general argument. The Opposition totally support the
Governments proposals, although the Minister will not be
surprised to hear me say that the reforms in the order do not go
anything like far enough. As far as they go, however, I totally support
them, and my colleagues and I will not oppose them.
I appreciate
that the register needs to be accurate, as the Minister said, and that
is our highest goal, too. However, having listened carefully to what
the Minister
said about developments on this issue over the past decade, I have to
say that before 2001 all service personnel registered as service
voters. That meant that they had to register only once, through the
Ministry of Defence, which had a duty to ensure that all service
personneland their spouses, civil partners and so
onwere registered. When the Government decided to change the
1983 Act, they changed that situation and made it more difficult for
people serving in our armed forces to register and cast their
vote.
Ministers
frequently say how important it is that the electoral register be not
only accurate, but comprehensive. However, we are talking about a huge
chunk of people who are serving their country, risking their lives and,
in some cases, laying down their lives, but who are unableas
are their spouses or civil partnersto take part in the
democratic process; they are effectively disfranchised. The Minister
said, apparently with some pride, that the last DASA survey showed that
65 per cent. of service personnel were registered to vote. That is an
absolute disgrace. It means that 35 per cent.well over a
thirdof the people who are out there risking their lives for
this country cannot cast their vote in an election. Frankly, that just
is not good
enough.
I
appreciate that the Government are taking steps through the order, but
we are, at most, three months from a general election, and possibly
much closer than that. The very longest period that there can be from
today to a general election is three months and a day. The Government
have at last come forward with their proposals to extend the
registration period, but they will have no effect whatever in getting
more service personnel to register so that they can cast their vote, if
they choose to do so, in the forthcoming general election.
No one on
the Labour Benches will be able to argue against what I have said: what
we are doing this afternoon will have no effect on the general
election. I have raised the matter many times. The last time was on the
Floor of the House, during Justice questions on 5 January, when I
challenged the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, the right hon.
Member for North Swindon, to promise that more people in the armed
forces would be able to vote at the general election than did in 2005,
when only 60 per cent. were eligible. At the last general election, 40
per cent. of the people who were fighting and risking their lives for
this country could not take part in the democratic process. This time,
if the present figure is, as the Under-Secretary said, 65 per cent.,
more than a third of those people will not be able to cast their
votes.
I
shall be brief as we are about to have a vote in the Chamber. The
current state of affairs is not surprising, as 42 per cent. of
respondents to the 2005 DASA survey did not even receive an electoral
registration form. I appreciate that the Government say that
they have taken action and that the Register to vote
booklet has been distributed among service voters. It is not a good
statistic, however, when we must say that 44 per cent. of those asked
said they had received it.
Frankly, the
Government are not trying very hard to make sure that people in the
armed services can vote in a general election. It would better if the
Government now organised a proper campaign, to ensure that service
personnel know, for example, that they can vote by post
or proxy. Proxy is the most efficient way, but we appreciate that many
people do not want to vote by proxy because they do not have someone
whom they can trust to cast their vote; and who can blame
them?
The
Government should end service voter re-registration, so that those who
declare as a service voter must do so only once. That is what a
Conservative Government would do.
4.49
pm
Sitting
suspended for a Division in the
House.
5.4
pm
On
resuming