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European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

My Lords, the purpose of these regulations is to ensure that the legislative framework governing European elections in Northern Ireland is fully up to date. The Committee will have noticed that this is a long and complex statutory instrument, and I hope it will be of assistance if I set out the legislative background to these regulations and why they are needed. The conduct of European elections in Northern Ireland is currently governed by the European Parliamentary Elections (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2004. The regulations apply similar provision to European elections to those that apply to parliamentary elections, with the necessary modifications to take account of the different voting systems. Similar regulations governing the conduct of European elections are in force in Great Britain. Since 2004, a number of changes have been made to the legislation governing parliamentary elections in the UK, most of which are provided for in the Electoral Administration Act 2006. In the light of those changes, it has been necessary to update the legislation relating to elections to other legislatures. The Committee may recall that we updated the law regarding elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly earlier this year. Regulations updating the law governing European elections in Great Britain and Gibraltar were also recently approved by this House, and the regulations before us today will make the necessary updates for European elections in Northern Ireland. When we updated the law relating to Northern Ireland Assembly elections earlier this year, the Government also took the opportunity to make a number of possible changes specific to Northern Ireland following a full public consultation last summer. As many of the proposals included in the consultation could also be applied to European elections, we again consulted with key stakeholders on whether such changes should be brought forward for European elections. As a result, a number of changes discussed in the earlier consultations have been included in these regulations, and it will no doubt assist the Committee if I briefly explain these proposed changes. The first relates to suspension of the count. Currently at a European election the returning officer may suspend the count between 7 pm and 9 am, but only if the election and counting agents agree. In a PR STV system, counting rarely finishes before 7pm and agreement can usually be reached to suspend the count until the following day if it appears that it will last long into the night. However, in a number of constituencies in the 2007 Assembly elections, agreement to suspend could not be reached. Counting in an STV system is complex, and it is important both for the welfare of counting staff and the integrity of the count itself for it to be suspended at a reasonable time. It is for that reason that Parliament recently approved that there should be an automatic suspension of the count at Assembly elections at 11 pm unless there is agreement between the agents and the returning officer that it should continue. These regulations would make the same change for counting at European parliamentary elections. Under the 2004 regulations, candidates for the European Parliament must have their nomination papers subscribed by two electors, as proposer and seconder, and 28 other electors. During the consultation, there was widespread support for the view that this places an undue administrative burden on those seeking to be candidates and also on those responsible for verifying that the subscribers are in fact genuine. The regulations before us today would bring Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK by removing the requirement that a candidate’s nomination paper at European elections must be subscribed. The Committee may wish to note that a new provision has been introduced to regulate the release of information by presiding officers on the number of ballot papers issued on polling day. It has been common practice for many years in Northern Ireland for this information to be released by presiding officers on polling day. However, there is no statutory provision to regulate the practice. This has led to concerns that presiding officers are not taking a consistent approach to releasing this information, and some presiding officers have had to endure excessive demands for this information, often to the extent of distracting them from carrying out their primary duties. It is clear therefore that statutory guidance is necessary in relation to this issue. The question is whether we should legislate to prohibit this practice altogether or seek to regulate it. None of the respondents to the consultation were in favour of legislating to prohibit this practice. For this reason, the draft regulations include provision for the chief electoral officer to direct presiding officers on when and how they may release this information on election day. Presiding officers will be able to release this information only in line with the chief electoral officer’s directions. I believe that this will protect presiding officers from excessive requests and against claims of favouring one party over another, while still allowing parties to continue to pursue as large a turnout as possible in areas where the turnout may be low. However, I appreciate that this is a new policy and, for this reason, the Government will closely review the operation of the policy with the chief electoral officer and the Electoral Commission shortly after the election. If the new policy is deemed to be a success, the Government will look towards extending this to other elections in Northern Ireland. If it is not a success, the possibility of prohibiting the release of this information entirely will be considered. In summary, these regulations are necessary to ensure that the current law governing European elections in Northern Ireland is fully up to date with legislative developments elsewhere in the UK. The consultation demonstrated that there is widespread support in Northern Ireland for these updates and the other changes contained in the regulations. I strongly believe, therefore, that the regulations are essential to ensuring that the June elections are administered successfully, and I hope that the Committee will agree. I beg to move.