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Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the Minister for that detailed reply. The only point that I want to come back on is the question of authentication. It is easy enough to provide authentication when you are working from your own e-mail address on your own computer. However, what happens if other members of the same household or friends use the same e-mail address in order to add their names to a petition? That is a problem. Similarly, what happens for those who do not have their own e-mail address and have to use the computer facilities available in cybercafés and places like that? Identification is not as easy as it seems. In my view it is simple: the petition is published and, if someone does not want their name on it, they make a complaint and it is removed. It is the knowledge that your name is on a petition and you do not want it to be there that is likely to get around. As long as the list of names is public knowledge, the petition will not be abused too much.