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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

We have said—this was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for South Down—that we want national security to be tackled on a United Kingdom basis. Indeed, paragraph 6.15 of the Patten report recommended that"““responsibility for policing be devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive as soon as possible, except for matters of national security””." We want to support the Patten recommendations in that respect. A number of hon. Members have mentioned electoral reform, support for which came from the hon. Members for Belfast, North and for Aylesbury. We are making provision in the Bill for the reforms that were outlined in the consultation paper that we published on 24 January. Those measures were developed in conjunction with the chief electoral officer for Northern Ireland and the aim is to increase the number of members of Northern Ireland society who are able to vote, so that we can ensure that we increase turnout and participation in elections. Specifically, as hon. Members have mentioned, those measures will lift the burden of the annual canvass, and I am pleased that that has been welcomed generally. The hon. Member for Montgomeryshire mentioned the fact that that will be done by Order in Council. Yes, it will certainly be done by Order in Council, but I very much hope that the clauses that deal with that matter will be taken on the Floor of the House. We want to replicate the effect of clause 10 of the Electoral Administration Bill, while taking into account the different registration and anti-fraud measures in Northern Ireland.