UK Parliament / Open data

Electoral Administration Bill

I do, actually. If the hon. Gentleman listened to what I said on Second Reading, he would know that I disagreed with Conservative proposals relating to national insurance numbers. Not everyone in the country knows that number instantly, so it could prove an obstacle to registration, but that does not rule out the possibility of using other identifiers with which people are more familiar, particularly if they are more easily accessed. That could help to maintain confidence in the system. I listened to what the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Djanogly) said about amendment No. 14. I am afraid that it has changed the context in which we read the Bill. It is absolutely right that electoral registration officers should"““take all necessary steps to remove individuals from the electoral register who are no longer eligible””." Of course that should be a duty. However, making that the first duty, even before there is a duty to create the register, is not sensible. The first duty should not be to remove people from a register that is not yet created. The amendment certainly overstates the case a little.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
439 c194 
Session
2005-06
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
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