Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962 (Amendment) Order 2009

I thank all noble Lords for their comments. I think that in general noble Lords welcomed the orders but they obviously also raised significant concerns about some aspects. I start with the noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, who asked whether the May 2011 election was still achievable and voiced his concerns about the reality of the timing. All those involved in the reorganisation of local government are working towards a May 2011 election. We are reassured by the fact that Edwin Poots, the Minister of the Environment in the Northern Ireland Executive, has indicated that he expects the Assembly to debate the legislation for which it is responsible by the end of the year. On 20 October 2009, he stated: ""I am confident that, by working together, we will achieve our goals of creating 11 strong and effective councils in May 2011"." This will allow for the remaining stages of the review, including the DEAC review that we are discussing today, to be completed in time for a May 2011 election. The noble Lord, Lord Glentoran, expressed his concerns about the timing of the publication of the 2010 polling station scheme. The Polling Station Scheme Regulations 1972 set out in further detail when exactly a draft polling station scheme should be prepared in the relevant year. These regulations will be updated shortly and, therefore, I cannot give the noble Lord a specific answer as to whether it will be January or December. However, the regulations that will decide that will be updated shortly. We will, of course, relay the noble Lord’s concerns over timing to the chief electoral officer. The noble Lords, Lord Smith of Clifton and Lord Kilclooney, raised concerns about the removal of the requirement for DEAC to publish his recommendations in local newspapers. The noble Lords feel that this will make them less accessible to sections of the community. I emphasise that that is not the intention of the order. If anything, the intention is to increase accessibility. The DEAC must still give notice to newspapers circulating locally of where his provisional recommendations may be inspected and he may still, at his discretion, publish them in the newspapers. The suggestion of the noble Lords, Lord Kilclooney and Lord Smith, about providing an inset or a publication inside the newspaper will of course be passed on.