Draft Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2013
The Committee consisted of the following Members:
Bradshaw, Mr Ben (Exeter) (Lab)
† Bray, Angie (Ealing Central and Acton) (Con)
Donaldson, Mr Jeffrey M. (Lagan Valley) (DUP)
† Gapes, Mike (Ilford South) (Lab/Co-op)
† Godsiff, Mr Roger (Birmingham, Hall Green) (Lab)
† Goodwill, Mr Robert (Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty's Treasury)
† Hamilton, Fabian (Leeds North East) (Lab)
† Hilling, Julie (Bolton West) (Lab)
† Laing, Mrs Eleanor (Epping Forest) (Con)
† Paice, Sir James (South East Cambridgeshire) (Con)
† Penning, Mike (Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office)
† Pound, Stephen (Ealing North) (Lab)
Reed, Mr Steve (Croydon North) (Lab)
† Shelbrooke, Alec (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)
† Smith, Henry (Crawley) (Con)
† Ward, Mr David (Bradford East) (LD)
† Whittaker, Craig (Calder Valley) (Con)
† Williams, Roger (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)
Peter McGrath, Committee Clerk
† attended the Committee
Tenth Delegated Legislation Committee
Wednesday 10 July 2013
[Sandra Osborne in the Chair]
Draft Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2013
2.30 pm
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mike Penning): I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2013.
I hope not to detain the Committee for long because the statutory instrument is a technical one and the shadow Minister and I have already discussed it. The regulations provide the wording of the form for the canvass, which I have agreed with the Electoral Commission should take place in 2013, so that we have an up-to-date register and know exactly who is and is not entitled to vote within the Province. I hope that the Committee sees the sense in doing that, and will agree quickly to the regulations.
2.30 pm
Stephen Pound (Ealing North) (Lab): When the matter was considered in Grand Committee in the other place last month, there was a very limited discussion because it is a technical matter, as the Minister says.
I would like to ask a couple of small questions, which came up in last night’s debate on the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. The first is about access to the canvass information. What safeguards will be in place to ensure that even restricted data are protected
from access? The noble Lord McAvoy asked Baroness Randerson, the Minister in the other place, about the recommendations made by the Information Commissioner’s Office. I appreciate that the Minister will not give us that answer today, but we will need it at some stage.Secondly, and more worrying, there is the inaccuracy of the register. We are talking about a 22% level of inaccuracy in one of the most heavily regulated canvasses anywhere in the United Kingdom. I will not ask the Minister now how we will deal with the inaccuracy, but we must, at some stage, address it. Such a high level of inaccuracy in such a sensitive area is simply not acceptable.
Nevertheless, Her Majesty’s Opposition entirely support the Government collectively, and the Minister personally, on the matter.
2.32 pm
Mike Penning: I will answer those quick questions. Naturally, any restricted data have to be protected and all necessary measures will be taken. Probably more measures are taken in Northern Ireland than anywhere else in the United Kingdom, because of the obvious sensitivity of not only the electoral roll but donations, and the risk of their becoming public. I agree that as more normalisation takes place, the registration issue will have to be addressed. Although that is not a matter for this statutory instrument, I will work continually with the shadow Minister on the issue.
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that if we want normalisation in society in Northern Ireland—or anywhere in the United Kingdom—the accuracy of the electoral roll is paramount. We do not have that in Northern Ireland, and that is why it was an absolute no-brainer when I introduced the full door-to-door canvass for 2013, the questionnaire for which the statutory instrument provides. I hope that we can agree the regulations today, so that those involved can get on with their work.