Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 7:14 pm on 6 June 2016.
Lord Kennedy of Southwark
Shadow Spokesperson (Housing), Opposition Whip (Lords), Shadow Spokesperson (Communities and Local Government), Shadow Spokesperson (Home Affairs)
7:14,
6 June 2016
I say at the outset that I am generally happy with these regulations. As such, my remarks will be fairly limited, but I have two specific points to make and would be grateful if the noble Baroness, Lady Chisholm, could respond to them when she replies to this very short debate.
Among other things, the regulations correct an error in existing regulations concerning the requirement to provide fresh signatures following the rejection of a postal vote. However, the Government should also look at the design of the forms, because the box requiring you to give your date of birth is so close to the signature that a very common mistake, which leads to postal votes being rejected, is that people put the date they complete the form in the box rather than their date of birth. Lots are disqualified for that very reason.
The regulations also allow for the transfer of the full electoral register to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England and make a consequential Amendment following the passing of the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013. As we have heard, EROs have a duty to maintain the completeness and accuracy of the register and have discretion to conduct the canvass or other checks on records.
I welcome the proposal to send an invitation to register and reminders by electronic means as more and more of how we engage with the state in its various forms is by electronic means, although the point about EROs still being able to use paper forms is well made and I am pleased that they will have the discretion to use either or both media when seeking to get the most accurate and complete register possible.
On page 5 of the Explanatory Notes, the Scottish Government made the point—and I very much agree with them—that EROs in England and Wales should be able to seek assurances from EROs in Scotland and Northern Ireland and, one hopes, vice versa. That is entirely right. The comment from the Cabinet Office, however, was that cross-border attestations were a matter to develop joint policy on with the relevant Governments in due course. That is a bit odd. Could the Minister give us some idea how long “due course” is, as it is one of those phrases like “How long’s a piece of string”? As for cross-border attestations, I thought we lived in a United Kingdom. We need a review of the language used by the Cabinet Office and should never again have such phrases in documents. I am very disappointed that the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, is not here, as I am sure he would have something to say about that—perhaps I should have brought it to his attention.
I conclude by saying that I support the regulations, which do good things. If the Minister could respond to that one point, it would be great.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
