Political Parties and Elections Bill

We are merely going through the orderly process of making legislation, which is our custom. We have received a report; we have a particular recommendation; we recognise the wide support for it, but we are aware that it will have negative impacts on a number of businesses and charities and we feel a need to consult more widely before we make a final decision. The timing of the consultation has not been decided but we intend to launch it by the summer Recess. In the mean time, noble Lords may take comfort in the fact that electors may continue to opt out of the edited register under the current provisions. That is a real legislative safeguard that we moved quickly to put in place following a legal challenge on the point and demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that personal data are properly protected. That commitment is ongoing and serious and our desire to consult on Recommendation 19 is fully consistent with that. In view of our intention to consult, and particularly in the light of the difficult economic climate, I believe that it would be more sensible to examine the results of the consultation before making any changes to the current regulations. We certainly cannot accept amendments in this Bill that could risk having a negative impact on the UK’s recovery, without gauging the possible size of such an impact and considering the other advantages or disadvantages that removing the edited register might have.