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European Parliamentary Elections (Franchise of Relevant Citizens of the Union) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

Before I speak to these regulations, I should indicate a non-pecuniary interest: I have sat on an informal advisory committee of Peers and MPs at the Electoral Commission. Although I do not purport to represent the views of the commission, I have been involved in some of the discussions on some of the issues with which the Committee is concerned this afternoon. I, too, look forward with considerable interest to what the Minister will be able to tell us about individual registration. The Electoral Commission has been very forthright about this issue—it has not always been as forthright on others. The Minister may recall that earlier in this Session I raised this issue on the Floor of the House. There is clearly a considerable loophole in the present law on registration in that we still have household registration which is, I fear, open to a great deal of sometimes inadvertent, but sometimes carefully planned, corruption. That is extremely unfortunate because it gives a bad impression of what is otherwise a very good system, of which we should be very proud. There was, as the noble Lord said, some reference to this issue in the other place earlier this week. I hope that the Minister will take this opportunity to spell out exactly what is intended. It would be very helpful, in preparation for the Political Parties and Elections Bill coming to this House, if we had a clear idea of what was intended. If, as I read, the timescale is as leisurely as the noble Lord has just indicated, that is extremely unfortunate. After all, this issue has been around a long time; there must have been plenty of time to think through the practical implications. There is a false dilemma between trying to make sure that the register is as comprehensive as possible and discouraging illegal registration. The integrity of the register must surely be far more important than its simple quantity. Simply because a register has a lot of people on it does not necessarily mean that it is very effective or legitimate. I hope that the Minister will say something about that. On the regulations, I believe that the Government are absolutely right to try to achieve greater consistency while at the same time ensuring that that consistency is on as simple a basis as possible. The integrity of the register relies on relative simplicity. If it gets extraordinarily complicated, we have a problem. In that respect it is right that we should go for individual registration, but in so doing we should not try to build in too much complexity because that will undermine the effective registration of our fellow citizens and therefore the integrity of the register. In that regard, will the Minister say a little more about the issue of anonymous listing? I notice that on 25 February in the Third Delegated Legislation Committee in the other place my honourable friend Mr Mark Oaten raised the issue of just how many people are currently applying for anonymous registration. The Minister has been kind enough to tell us that he thinks it is about 500. I have a supplementary question. Five hundred is a small number, which implies to me that perhaps the process is too rigorous. I can think of a lot of people who legitimately should be asking for anonymous listing. Maybe it is a problem of publication or there is not sufficient publicity about the way that this could happen, but the regulations before us, and the existing regime for those who are already eligible for anonymous listing, is a tortuous process. It is quite discouraging to those who may have a legitimate request to be listed anonymously on the register. I hope that the Minister may be able to tell us whether he thinks that the present regime is over-rigorous and is therefore discouraging people who have a legitimate reason for wanting this protection of their personal circumstances. Apart from those quick questions, I do not have any other concerns. My noble friends in this House feel, as do my honourable friends in the other place, that this is a useful bit of tidying up, and we thank the Minister for bringing it forward.