My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction. Clearly, these amendments are technical and we agree with noble Lords that they are required.
I agree with my noble friends Lord Lipsey and Lord Foulkes that this enormous number of amendments was chucked at us in one go, with very little time to look at the detail, not just of what they say but of what the implications are. Noble Lords made an extremely important point about that. That has happened with
other Bills as well. In debates on the Building Safety Bill, which I have also been working on, an enormous number—38 pages—of amendments were given to us with a very short time to assess them. Can the Minister take that away and think about it for future legislation? It is difficult for noble Lords to assess such amendments in a reasonable fashion.
We need to look at why the amendments are necessary. Clearly, as noble Lords have explained, it is to do with the devolved Administrations. When the Bill was originally proposed, it was for legislating on a UK-wide basis, and that included some areas where the devolved Parliaments in Scotland and Wales could legislate in respect of their own local and devolved elections. Clearly, the Government had to seek legislative consent Motions from the devolved Parliaments. Unfortunately for the UK Government, the Governments of Scotland and Wales both declined to lay consent Motions and requested that all aspects which relate to devolved matters be removed from the Bill, hence the large number of amendments.
I will just draw the attention of the Committee to the fact that, out of more than 350 legislative consent Motions, consent has been denied just 13 times, according to the Institute for Government. UK Bills have been redrafted previously when devolved Administration consent has been withheld under the Sewel convention. Can the Minister say why that option was not considered? Perhaps it was considered and we do not know about that, but it was rejected.
The Government have said that they were disappointed by the move—the Minister used the word “regrettable”—but said that they would respect this request by preparing the necessary amendments to the Bill, which is why we have so many before us in this group. I thank the Minister for apologising for this to the Committee—I appreciate that, as I am sure other noble Lords do.
I want to look at why the Welsh and Scottish Governments did not agree with the Bill. As the Government did not redraft it following the concerns raised but instead decided to plough on regardless, it is important to draw this to the attention of the Committee to fully understand the implications of many of its proposals.
In the Welsh Government, the Elections Bill was scrutinised by two Senedd committees: the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, and the Local Government and Housing Committee. I commend the noble Baroness, Lady Humphreys, on her excellent speech about disappointment in Wales over the Government’s behaviour around the Bill, particularly because they completely refused to listen to the findings of the Llywydd’s Committee.
The Local Government and Housing Committee report agreed with the Welsh Government’s memorandum that consent should not be granted, saying:
“The majority of the Committee believe any proposals to legislate on these devolved matters should be brought forward by the Welsh Government and subject to full scrutiny by the Senedd.”
The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee also expressed concern at the lack of engagement between the UK Government and the Welsh Government. Can the Minister say why there was a lack of engagement —what went wrong with that process?
In addition, the committee agreed with the Welsh Government that some of the reserved measures would have a considerable impact on electoral administrators in Wales, particularly around voter ID. The same will happen in England. It highlighted the potential for voter and candidate confusion and complexity for electoral administrators if devolved elections happen close together or on the same day as a reserved election, as happened in May 2021. This could lead to a situation where postal and proxy voting rules were different and voter ID requirements in polling stations were different for polls happening together. My noble friend Lord Foulkes talked about the importance of consistency. Diversion will only cause confusion.
On voter ID, the committee also cited Electoral Reform Society Cymru concerns about poll clerks becoming
“bouncers at the ballot box”
and being required to turn away
“potentially thousands of would-be voters each election.”
Concerns have also been raised by Jess Blair, director of the Electoral Reform Society Cymru, who said that the Elections Bill makes
“sweeping changes to our democracy.”
She said that
“it looks like UK ministers have barely engaged with Wales or Scotland so far. This bill is being swiftly rammed through with little consultation”.
That echoes the concerns expressed already in your Lordships’ House. She continued:
“Moreover, the changes to the Electoral Commission represent a UK government power grab, with ministers given new controls over our elections watchdog. This is a dangerous and unprecedented move that the Welsh Government is right to oppose. This Elections Bill could lead to a ‘two tier franchise’ in Wales, with some elections banning those without ID, and others remaining open and free. Both the Welsh Parliament and Holyrood should use their powers to pause this power-grab bill, and secure changes to protect the right to vote.”
So they have done.
1.30 pm
The Scottish Government also recommended that the Scottish Parliament should not give consent to the Bill and would not lodge a legislative consent Motion. The lead committee of the Scottish Parliament tasked with scrutinising the Bill was the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee. The majority of that committee agreed with the Scottish Government that consent should not be granted.
The committee also noted that the Elections Bill requires Scottish Ministers to be consulted on a draft of the strategy and policy statement for the Electoral Commission. The Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 transferred financial responsibility for funding the Electoral Commission in relation to Scottish elections from Scottish Ministers to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The committee considered that the SPCB should be added as a statutory consultee to the statement. Can the Minister confirm whether that will be the case?
On voter ID, the committee noted that changes to reserved elections in the Bill had a potential impact on Scottish elections. It raised concerns about the administrative burdens placed on elections staff by the
various new measures; in particular, the administration of voter ID in polling stations and registration staff determining applications for overseas voters and absent voting requests. These concerns for England remain within the Bill, and we will come to them as we move through Committee.
The committee in Scotland heard evidence from the Electoral Management Board for Scotland that voter ID requirements are
“out of proportion to the problem they attempt to address”.
The EMB voiced concern over the effect on polling station staff of having to implement voter ID provisions, saying that polling staff would no longer be able to help citizens in elections, but, instead, officials would be checking voters’ identity papers. It is concerned that it will be a less attractive job given the likely associated conflict and bureaucracy.
On the digital imprint measures in the Bill, the Scottish Government and the UK Government disagreed on whether or not the measures are fully reserved. The UK Government believe that the measures are wholly reserved under the “internet services” reservation in the Scotland Act 1998, but the Scottish Government disagree. Their view is that only the measures requiring removal of electronic material that would breach the new measures are reserved. They view the rest of the measures on digital imprints as devolved and consider that the provisions in the Elections Bill would override measures already in place.
The Scottish Government do not recommend legislative consent in this area. Their initial position is that the existing Scottish regime should remain in place, with any necessary adjustments made to accommodate the reserved aspects of the Bill in relation to the “takedown” of material on the internet. I note that the Minister talked about amendments in the area of digital reform. As I have said, we have not had time to go through the detail of all the amendments. I would be grateful if he could comment on what exactly the amendments and the Bill still mean for Scottish powers in this area.
I want to look briefly at some specific government amendments. Those relating to Clause 14 would remove matters relating to the Electoral Commission’s devolved Scottish or Welsh functions from the scope of the proposed strategy and policy statement. They would remove the requirement for the Secretary of State to consult Scottish and Welsh Ministers on a draft statement. In addition to the UK Parliament, the commission is accountable to and funded by the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd. While devolved matters may be removed from the strategy and policy statement, it remains likely to affect how the commission delivers some devolved functions; for example, in terms of resourcing. It will also affect the commission’s core functions, which benefit voters, parties, campaigners and electoral administrators in Wales and Scotland. Does the Minister agree that it therefore remains important that, if the proposed strategy and policy document is brought into law, the processes for development, consultation and approval should reflect those shared accountability relationships with the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd?
Amendments to Clauses 18 to 27 would ensure that provisions in Part 4 of the Bill did not apply to devolved elections in Scotland and Wales. The Government should set out clearly how the amended clauses on notional expenditure and third-party campaigning will apply when there is a combined regulated period covering both reserved and devolved elections.
I return to the Minister’s comments on PACAC being removed as a consultee. This is a backward step in transparency, and it is of concern.
To sum up, the Government have had to table all these amendments relating to the devolved Administrations because they would not give consent. The reasons for withholding consent are due to concerns that should deeply worry us all; in particular, that the Bill risks disenfranchising voters and threatens the independence of the Electoral Commission. It is a great shame that the UK Government did not heed the concerns of the devolved Administrations and go back to the drawing board.