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Electoral Administration Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister because I know that this issue has been of particular concern. I wrote to the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, to try to clarify the position. As the noble Baroness knows, electoral registration officers deal with postal vote applications. They are well placed, as I am sure the noble Baroness agrees, to spot any irregularities in the postal voting process. Electoral registration officers are already required to keep a list of all those who are entitled to vote by post at any given election. Anyone who successfully applies for a postal vote during the campaign period will also be added to that list, which will then be made available to election candidates and their agents. The noble Baroness’s amendment is therefore unnecessary, because the postal voters’ list is already required to contain details of all those who are entitled to vote by post, regardless of whether their application to vote by post was made before or during the election. The list is updated, so changes to it become obvious to those involved. I hope that that addresses the noble Baroness’s concern and that she is able to withdraw her amendment.