Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill - Clause 8 - Provision of information to voters
Regional Assemblies (Preparations) Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Nick Raynsford (Minister of State (Local and Regional Government), Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
As the Committee is aware, the Electoral Commission has the function under section 108 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 to designate one permitted participant, such as a political party or campaign group, as an effective campaign representative for each possible outcome of referendums. That includes referendums held under the Bill. Designation means financial and other assistance for a designated organisation. However, in some circumstances, the Electoral Commission does not designate either a ''yes'' or ''no'' campaign, either because there has been no application from one or the other, or no suitable body is in place to be designated. Choosing to go down this route means having to designate both a yes and a no campaign.
In practice, not designating a yes and no campaign is an unlikely scenario, but in the overwhelming majority of cases, we are confident that yes and no campaigns will be duly designated, so the clause will not apply. However, in the rare circumstances where yes and no campaigns are not designated, the clause provides for the Electoral Commission to undertake the necessary publicity. It is right for it to do so. Whatever our disagreements about specific provisions, the whole Committee agrees that in certain rare circumstances it is appropriate for the Electoral Commission to step in to provide impartial information to individuals.
The Electoral Commission will want to give considerable thought to how that can best be done. The hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) highlighted problems surrounding broadcasting, which often arise because the footprints of broadcasters do not coincide with the regions. The hon. Member for Ludlow (Matthew Green) and my hon. Friends the Members for South Dorset (Jim Knight) and for Scarborough and Whitby (Lawrie Quinn) spoke about the extent to which their constituents can hear broadcasts from different regions.
I can imagine no better person to decide how best to deal with the problem than Sam Younger, a distinguished ex-broadcaster who chairs the Electoral Commission. I am sure that he will present appropriate and practical responses to make the most of opportunities to use the broadcast media. Recalling our earlier debate on one of the hon. Gentleman's amendments, if the Electoral Commission concluded that it could not use the broadcast media to reach all persons entitled to vote, it would have to explore alternatives rather than be satisfied that they are reaching a majority of the people entitled to vote. I hope that the hon. Gentleman concedes that the Bill's wording is more appropriate to ensure that the Electoral Commission is obliged to consider how best to reach all those who are entitled to vote.