Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 28th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith]

We entrust electoral registration officers to do that task, and we think it is very important that they do so. Electoral registration officers have the ability to make nationality checks where they believe it is appropriate. Indeed, this House also recently agreed to changes to the registration forms to emphasise to would-be voters that such checks will be made, and we think that is important.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

Over 40 leading charities and academics have written to the Minister expressing their concern that these voter ID pilot areas have failed to carry out equality impact assessments adequately. Most participating authorities have identified negative impacts on various groups, such as people with disabilities, Asian and black communities and Travellers, but astonishingly Bromley Borough Council claims the pilot will have no impact on any of those groups. Why is the Minister allowing these pilots to proceed on the basis of such clearly inadequate equality impact assessments?

[Chloe Smith]

These pilots are, in fact, very important. They allow us, as a country, to begin to be sure that the people voting in any given election are eligible to do so. I continue to be disappointed that the Labour party seems to think that that is not necessary. Each local authority involved in these pilots has clear plans, first, to be able to communicate with voters to instruct them on what to do on the day and, secondly, to help anybody who might find themselves unable to produce the required ID. Nobody will be left behind in these pilots.

Overseas Electors Bill

Cat Smith Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 23rd February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Glyn Davies) for promoting this Bill so that we can debate the extension of voting rights to overseas electors. As a modern, progressive, socialist party, we are committed to building a truly global Britain, and to championing our core values of equality, social justice and opportunity for all. Globalisation has led to a broad section of British citizens living around the world, and despite settling in all corners of the globe, overseas electors make a contribution to British society.

As the hon. Gentleman said, under the current system, British citizens who have moved abroad can register to vote as an overseas elector in the last constituency in which they were entered on an electoral register. British citizens who have lived overseas for more than 15 years cannot register to become an overseas voter. The Opposition are committed to taking radical steps to ensure that all eligible voters are registered and able to use their vote. The issue of extending voting rights for overseas electors is important and must be considered properly.

There has been a significant rise in the number of overseas electors registered to vote, and that number now stands at a record high of 285,000. As has been said, this is the centenary of the start of suffrage for women and many working-class men. That has encouraged many Members across the House to reflect on that journey towards equal and wider suffrage.

The extension of overseas voting rights has come a long way since 1985, when British citizens living outside the UK were unable to register to vote in any elections. The Representation of the People Act 1985 introduced new provisions to allow British citizens living overseas to qualify as electors in the constituency where they were last registered to vote before moving, with a time limit in 1985 of just five years. In 1989, that was extended to 20 years before being reduced again to 15 years in 2002. In the 2015 and 2017 general elections, the Conservative party made a manifesto commitment to abolish the 15-year rule and allow British citizens a “vote for life” in parliamentary elections.

[Jo Stevens]

I do not understand why, if it was in the Conservative party manifesto to introduce this legislation, we are here today debating a private Member’s Bill. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government could have taken the opportunityto have an all-encompassing electoral reform Bill to include automatic voter registration, votes at 16 and online voting, as well as extending the lifetime of ex-pat voting?

--- Later in debate ---

[Cat Smith]

I fully support my hon. Friend’s private Member’s Bill. I hope that Members across the House who want a more inclusive democracy where every eligible voter is on the electoral roll will continue to support her Bill. She raises an interesting point about why this matter is before us on a Friday as a private Member’s Bill. It is deeply concerning that this measure has been put into a private Member’s Bill, introduced by the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire, that is being used to push Government business.

Private Members’ Bills serve an important function in our parliamentary process by enabling Back-Bench Members of Parliament, rather than the Government of the day, to initiate legislation. Indeed, private Members’ Bills have made significant changes to the law over the years—for example, the Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1965 and the Abortion Act 1967. However, with limited time available for consideration of private Members’ Bills, we cannot allow the Government to disrespect an important part of the parliamentary process and an important power that our Back Benchers have.

The Opposition are committed to building a political franchise that works for the many, not the few. However, it is also vital that we maintain the integrity of the electoral process. Unfortunately, it has been undermined by the Government, who have pushed local authority election teams to the absolute limit, damaging their ability to deliver elections effectively. The introduction of individual electoral registration added significant cost pressures by making it more expensive to compile the register. Election administrators have criticised the Government for massively underestimating the scale of the task at hand.

[Mark Tami]

My hon. Friend is making an important case on registration. Experience, particularly that from Northern Ireland, has shown that it is poorer areas where registration drops by the largest amount.

[Cat Smith]

My hon. Friend makes a valid point. That is the context of local government funding being reduced significantly over the years, which has forced local authorities to review their electoral services. That has led to significant reductions in core service funding and staffing levels, with a growing number of skilled professionals leaving local authority elections teams.

The impact of austerity was recently evidenced by the University of East Anglia, which found that 43% of local authorities experienced real-terms funding cuts to their budget for running elections from 2010-11 to 2015-16. According to survey responses from 254 local electoral authorities administrating the EU referendum, only a quarter of electoral officials said they had enough funding to support their work on the electoral register.

[Thelma Walker (Colne Valley) (Lab)]

The Electoral Commission’s report on the 2017 general election warns of risks to the administration of well-run elections, which are becoming increasingly apparent due to reduced resources and a growing number of skilled professionals leaving local authority election teams. Does my hon. Friend agree that cuts to local government will affect this service?

[Cat Smith]

The report that my hon. Friend raises is very worrying and should be of concern to Members across the House. When 43% of local authorities agree that they do not have sufficient funds to administer a poll, we should all be worried about the integrity of our electoral system. The Government fail to understand that cuts to public services can have devastating consequences.

Last year, the Electoral Commission report on the general election warned of

“wider risks to the administration of well-run elections,”

which it stated were “becoming increasingly apparent.” Problems in some places have caused some voters to receive an inadequate service. That was evidenced most recently in Newcastle-under-Lyme, where two council officials were suspended after almost 1,500 people were unable to vote in last year’s general election.

[Mark Tami]

It has been estimated that probably more than 7 million people in this country are not registered to vote. Should we not be concentrating on them and making sure that they are on the register, rather than what we are talking about today—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

Order. The hon. Gentleman has intervened several times. He must talk about the Bill, not about other matters.

[Cat Smith]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. My hon. Friend’s intervention was particularly about the capacity of local elections offices. Were the Bill to be successful, the impact on local elections offices in councils up and down the country would be huge, because the process of registering an overseas elector can take around two hours. If those offices were to see a huge increase in the number of overseas electors registering at a time when local councils have had huge funding cuts, the pressure would be absolutely huge.

There was further evidence in June about how under-resourced election staff are. My hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly) described the issues on polling day as “a shambles”. Significant issues also occurred in Plymouth, with hundreds of voters unable to cast their votes in the June general election. An independent investigation found that 35,000 postal vote holders had received two polling cards—a postal vote polling card and a polling station card. In addition, 331 people who received a polling card that was issued on 5 May were removed from the register after that point.

These failings clearly illustrate that more action must be taken now to deal with the increasing challenges that returning officers face in delivering elections effectively. Those concerns have been raised on multiple occasions by the Association of Electoral Administrators, which has called on the Government for a

“full and thorough review of the funding of the delivery of electoral services…as a matter of urgency”.

Not only is that impacting on voters, but it might also be having a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of electoral administrators and the public servants who work in local elections offices. Following the 2017 general election, the Association of Electoral Administrators wrote that

“we have collectively been concerned for the health and well-being of…our members”.

As a result, the AEA contracted the Hospital and Medical Care Association to provide members with free-of-charge access to confidential counselling services. That is not an indication of healthy elections offices up and down the country.

In the context of austerity, we cannot allow the Government to dismantle our electoral system any further. The existing provision of checking registration against electoral registration officer records within 15 years is already a challenging and resource-intensive process. Some applications contain vague or incorrect previous addresses, which can cause problems in checking the register—so much so that the Association of Electoral Administrators has estimated that it takes roughly two hours to register one overseas elector. Because overseas electors fall off the register after 12 months, the vast majority of registration applications occur immediately ahead of a general election, when the pressure on electoral administrators is at its most intense.

Abolishing the 15-year rule, and therefore presumably increasing the number of British citizens overseas who can register to vote, would completely overstretch electoral administrators, who are already being pushed to the limit. In addition, the requirement to keep copies of previous revisions of registers for more than 15 years, whether in data or in paper format, will have a resource implication in the form of increased ICT server capacity or physical storage area.

In the light of those concerns—

[Paul Flynn]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. As we appear to have passed the point at which it would have been possible to consider the next Bill, I want the House to know that there will be a public demonstration outside in which democracy will work, and we will have a debate on the cruel effects of the present law on young children and those in serious health difficulties, including a young boy who is suffering, and whose parents are suffering, in a terrible way. What has happened here today has been a filibuster organised by one party, and I am ashamed to say that I am a member of that party—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

Order. I allowed the hon. Gentleman to make a point of order about his Bill—although he knows that it was not a point of order—because I appreciated that he had a point to make, and I allowed him to make it. However, I will not take from him criticism of the Chair through the use of the word “filibuster”.

[Cat Smith]

Let me return to the Bill. I want to ask the Government three questions. Have they any indication of how many of the estimated 5 million Britons living abroad would apply to be overseas electors in the run-up to a UK parliamentary election or national referendum if the 15-year rule were removed? How do they intend to fund EROs for the additional costs incurred by these proposals? What steps will they take to ensure that election teams have the resources and the capacity to manage the increased volume of electors?

The devil is also in the detail, which the Government have failed to provide. According to the Bill, an overseas voter will qualify as a resident if

“the person has at some time in the past been entered in an electoral register in respect of an address at a place that is situated within the constituency”.

However, many questions remain unanswered.

If an overseas elector was registered at a previous address but then moved to a different address before leaving the UK where they did not register, at which address should they register to vote? As time goes by, potentially over several decades, it could be very difficult for EROs to check previous revisions of registers owing to ever-changing localities. Problems include local government reorganisation, polling district and ward boundary reviews, the demolition or redevelopment of properties, street renaming, house renumbering, and limited availability of local authority records. Can we seriously expect someone who has not lived in this country for 40 years to remember the exact date on which they were last registered to vote, and the precise address at which they lived? I think not.

I also question whether the current deadline to apply to register as an overseas elector and make absent voting arrangements is sufficient, in the context of abolition of the 15-year rule. The Association of Electoral Administrators has urged the Government to consider bringing forward the voter registration deadline for overseas electors to allow sufficient time to process and check previous revisions of registers. What steps will the Government take to address those concerns?

Not only is the likelihood of error extremely high, but we are leaving our democracy wide open to potential fraudulent activity. In response to the Cabinet Office policy statement about overseas voters, the Association of Electoral Administrators warned that scrapping the 15-year rule would increase the potential for electoral fraud. Under the Government’s proposals, applicants who cannot provide a national insurance number or UK passport could have their identity verified by another registered overseas elector using an attestation. That would be a signed written statement from another British citizen who was registered to vote in the UK. Can we honestly expect this to be sufficient security to prevent fraudulent applications? When the attester as well as the applicant live abroad, what is the likelihood of a false declaration resulting in prosecution proceedings? My guess is, very low.

There is also no way of checking whether an overseas voter is living at the stated address abroad. Overseas voters who owned and lived in more than one home could register more than once and we would have no way of knowing whether people were registered multiple times.

[Mark Tami]

If there was a concern, would there be people in Spain or whatever country who would go to see whether those addresses existed?

[Cat Smith]

Given the overstretched nature of elections offices up and down the country, I suspect there would not be the capacity for such a check. Given that the Government are this May planning to trial requiring ID at polling stations, it seems that the requirements to prove the identity of an elector living in the UK are far greater than—

[Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown]

claimed to move the closure (Standing Order No. 36)

Question put.

A Division was called; Dame Cheryl Gillan and Geoffrey Clifton-Brown were appointed Tellers for the Ayes, but no Members being appointed Tellers for the Noes, the Deputy Speaker declared that the Ayes had it.

Question accordingly agreed to.

Question put, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

Question agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time; to stand committed to a Public Bill Committee (Standing Order No. 63).

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 21st February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith]

My hon. Friend reminds us that in the 2017 Conservative manifesto, there was the commitment to maintain first past the post as the way that we vote in this country and to roll it out to additional elections. I look forward to speaking further to him about that.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

It is clear that disabled people are under-represented in our democracy and our politics, but in 2015, the Minister’s Government abolished the access to elected office fund, which supported many disabled people in meeting the extra costs in standing for office. How can the Government claim to be making democracy more accessible when these financial barriers are put in their place?

Draft Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018

Cat Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 7th February 2018 General Committees

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

As we all know, the Representation of the People Act 1918 was a crucial step forward in the empowerment of women. Yesterday, as we marked the centenary of property-owning women over the age of 30 winning the right to vote, we were reminded that the fight for equality is a journey. This is just one of the first steps for women—sorry, I am delivering this speech again. The struggle for equality continues. There are still far too few women in Parliament and women still face discrimination in the workplace and in everyday life. As the Minister has outlined, the purpose of this legislation is to give survivors of domestic abuse in England and Wales a voice in our democracy. The issue of domestic abuse is one that concerns all of us, and many of us will know somebody who has experienced some form of domestic abuse. National figures show that one in four women experience domestic violence at some point in their lifetime, and two women are killed by a current or former partner every week.

Sadly, although we are here to discuss changes to the system of anonymous voter registration among other things, we cannot ignore the wider context of Government cuts. As someone who has been a trustee of a women’s aid organisation, I have seen at first hand the amazing work done by women’s refuges in turn round the lives of women and their children. However, women’s refuges have had their budgets slashed by nearly a quarter over the past seven years, despite the Prime Minister’s pledge to boost funding for women escaping violent partners.

Turning specifically to anonymous voter registration, it is not right that survivors who have faced the physical, emotional and psychological impact of abuse are then silenced in our democratic process. Why? Because it is too dangerous for their name and address to be listed on the electoral roll, and too difficult for them to register anonymously. As the Minister has explained, under existing legislation, domestic abuse survivors must provide a court order or have their application supported by a senior independent witness, such as a high-ranking police officer, in order to appear anonymously on the electoral roll. The proposals outlined today will add doctors, nurses and refuge managers to the list of people who can act as an attester, and will lower the rank of police officer—from superintendent to inspector—authorised to perform this function. It is vital that every eligible elector is able to participate in our democracy, which is why the Opposition very much welcome the proposals announced today. We would like to note our thanks to Women’s Aid, which has been at the forefront of shaping and co-ordinating responses to domestic abuse for over 40 years, including this legislation.

However, it is clear that these measures do not go far enough. Survivors still have to re-register to vote anonymously year on year, and those in new homes will have to repeat their application. I hope that in future there will be time to correct that in primary legislation, as the Minister outlined in our first Committee meeting this morning.

The Minister has outlined proposals to expand data sources available to registration officers to enable them to remove entries from the register as a result of death. I recall many campaigning experiences—I am sure that Members on both sides of the Committee can do so—in which it was clear that the person I was seeking to speak to had passed away. It is distressing for the families involved. We welcome the measure, but it is disappointing that the Government seem to be focusing their energy on removing people from the electoral roll, but refuse to use the same data-sharing techniques to address the millions of voters missing from the electoral roll. The Opposition are committed to taking radical steps to increase voter registration and turnout among eligible electors, which is why we have called on the Government multiple times to examine the use of Government data to automatically place eligible electors on the electoral roll. As the Minister is new to her role, can she outline her views on this? The year 2018 cannot be a year for complacency. As we celebrate 100 years of democratic change, we should be looking for a progressive and radical solution to address this country’s democratic deficit.

Draft Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2018

Cat Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 7th February 2018 General Committees

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

It is 100 years since the Representation of the People Act 1918. As we all know, that was a crucial step forward in the emancipation and empowerment of women. Yesterday we marked the centenary of property-owning women over the age of 30 and some university graduates winning the right to vote. We are reminded that the fight for equality is always a journey and this is part of the next step forward in that equality for women.

That was just one of many steps for women and, 100 years later, the struggle for equality continues. There are still far too few women in Parliament and women still face discrimination in the workplace and in everyday life. As the Minister outlined, the purpose of this legislation is to give survivors of domestic abuse in Northern Ireland a voice in our democracy. The issue of domestic abuse concerns us all. Many of us will know somebody who has experienced some form of domestic violence. National figures show that one in four women experience domestic violence at some point in their life, and every week two women are killed by a current or former partner. The draft regulations are desperately needed.

Sadly, although we are here today to discuss changes to the system of anonymous voter registration, I cannot ignore the wider context of the Government’s cuts agenda and its impact on women. As someone who was for many years a trustee of a Women’s Aid organisation, I have seen at first hand the amazing work that women’s refuges do to turn around women’s lives, and often the lives of their children too. However, women’s refuges have seen their budgets slashed by nearly a quarter over the past seven years and, despite the Prime Minister’s pledge to boost funding for women escaping violent partners, that is a continued blight up and down the country.

Turning specifically to anonymous voter registration, it cannot be right that survivors who have faced the physical, emotional and psychological impacts from abuse are then silenced in our democratic process. Why? Because it is too dangerous for their names and addresses to be listed on the electoral register and too difficult, at the moment, for them to register anonymously.

As the Minister explained, under existing legislation, domestic abuse survivors must provide a court order or have their application supported by a senior independent witness, such as a high-ranking police officer, in order to appear anonymously on the electoral roll. These proposals will add doctors, nurses and refuge managers to the list of people who can be an attester and will lower the rank of police officers, from superintendent to inspector, authorised to perform that function.

It is vital that every eligible voter is able to participate in our democracy, which is why the Opposition very much welcome the proposals. I put on the record my thanks to Women’s Aid, which has been at the forefront of shaping and co-ordinating responses to domestic violence and abuse for more than 40 years, including this legislation. However, it is clear that the measures do not go far enough. Survivors still have to re-register to vote anonymously year on year, and those who move home often have to repeat their applications. For many survivors, anonymity is a matter of life or death, and women are often on the run from domestic abuse for the rest of their life.

We support Women’s Aid, which has called on the Government to use the Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill to pass legislative changes to make survivors’ anonymous voter registration valid indefinitely, so that they can vote in safety for life. Will the Minister outline the Government’s position on that proposal? What conversations has the Minister had with her colleagues in the Home Office about it? I recognise that she is new to her post, so that might take some time.

Contaminated Blood Inquiry

Cat Smith Excerpts

Monday 29th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Chloe Smith]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for some, I think, undeserved compliments, but he is absolutely correct that I do personally wish to see this done. As the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North has mentioned, like many other Members, I have constituents affected by this. I think this is a national disgrace and I want to see it put right. I do therefore bring the personal passion that has been asked of me to this and I have pressed my officials to move on this as quickly as we possibly can.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) for raising this important issue and echo the concerns that she and others colleagues in this House have raised.

The victims of this appalling tragedy have been waiting decades for answers and for justice, and it is unacceptable that they are now having to wait even longer as the Government miss their own deadlines. That is simply not good enough. It has been over six and a half months since the Government first committed to an inquiry into this tragedy. Can the Minister today finally commit to a clear timetable for action, including for the appointment of a chair and setting the terms of reference, because “as soon as possible” is not going to be good enough for the families and victims who are listening to this statement, who have seen the issue kicked into the long grass for too long? Can the Minister also explain why the Government have failed to do so to date?

It is vital that families are put first and that the Government avoid the failings that have plagued the ongoing inquiries into child abuse and Grenfell, with the resulting loss of confidence in both. Will the Minister outline what lessons have been learned from these inquiries and how she intends to ensure that the voices of families and victims are heard throughout the inquiry process?

[Chloe Smith]

I believe I have already answered those questions in answer to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North, but I reiterate that the Government expect to be able to announce the name of the judge leading this inquiry as soon as possible—very shortly indeed. Mr Speaker, you have already heard me refer to my personal interest in seeing this happen and the same goes for every member of this Government. This is too important an issue to play party politics with, which I am sure the hon. Lady on the Labour Front Bench was not doing. None the less, let me reiterate that I, too, want to see this done for the sake of victims and for the sake of those who have asked that this should be a judge-led inquiry. That means getting it right and taking the necessary time to do this properly—not more time than is necessary, but the right amount of time that is needed. I want there to be confidence that the inquiry will get to the root of the answers.

Draft European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 (Amendment) Regulations 2018 Draft European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2018

Cat Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd January 2018 General Committees

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Moon. I welcome the Minister to her post. We share not only a first initial and a surname, but now a policy brief. I am sure there will be no confusion whatever.

As the Minister said, the regulations allow for vacant seats in the European Parliament to be filled by the sitting party’s nomination, or in the case of independent parties, substitution. That is what we are discussing. The purpose of the regulations is to reduce the likelihood of a by-election in the run-up to 2019. As we prepare to leave the EU, our country needs certainty and stability, not confusion and chaos. A European Parliament by-election between now and our departure from the EU is certainly not in the interest of the public purse.

While we do not oppose the adoption of the regulations, given the huge cost of an EU by-election and the fact that we are leaving the EU, there are some points that I would like to place on record. My concern is that the proposals give far too much power to political party machines, further adding to our country’s democratic deficit. That will allow party leaders to nominate whoever they want, overlooking the confidence of the people and the list of names that was placed before the people at the last election to take place in this country.

I do not want to comment too much on private party matters. The fiasco concerning the replacement of two Conservative MEPs in the north-east, which went public last summer and during which the candidate next on the nomination list was overlooked, shows that the Conservative party is expert in this regard. Does this perhaps explain why the Government are so keen to introduce the regulations—to save further embarrassment later? Unlike the Conservative party, the Opposition are truly democratic and we recognise the huge contribution of our many Labour party members—of course, we do not know how many Conservative party members there are—in the decision making of our party.

The proposals are also timely, given what we all suspect is the imminent or possible collapse of UKIP. I am sure the Minister will be aware that MEPs elected under a particular party label have left the party to become independents in the last few days. If such a person subsequently resigns as an MEP, what is the position? Does the replacement come from the party under whose banner the first person was elected? I would like to hear the Minister’s comments on that.

Those are a few of my concerns regarding the proposals, but, as I have said, the Opposition will not oppose the regulations, given the huge cost of an EU by-election and the fact that we will be leaving the EU.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 10th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

It has always been an accepted strength of our constitutional arrangements that we have a parliamentary boundary commission for each part of the United Kingdom that is wholly independent of party politics and party influence. I hope, therefore, that all parties in this House will rally behind the recommendations of the parliamentary boundary commissions.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

On behalf of Opposition Front Benchers, I welcome the Minister to his new role.

The chair of the Electoral Commission has warned that our electoral system is facing a “perfect storm” due to funding pressures, and 43% of local authority election teams have experienced real-terms cuts since 2010. Will the Minister outline why the Government’s democratic engagement plan fails to address these concerns, and will he ensure that a full and comprehensive review of the delivery and funding of electoral services is implemented as a matter of urgency?

[Mr Lidington]

I thank the hon. Lady for welcoming me to my new responsibilities. I repeat to her what I said in my initial response: the Electoral Commission concluded that, although there were problems in a number of specified constituencies, overall the 2017 general election was successfully delivered. The Government are committed to strengthening our electoral processes. As part of that, we are planning to run pilot schemes in a number of local authorities later this year to test requirements for voters to present ID before voting. We will look seriously at recommendations to us from the Electoral Commission on these matters.

Draft Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) (amendment) Regulations 2017 Draft Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (Amendment) Order 2017

Cat Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 13th December 2017 General Committees

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

It is vital that our electoral system is fit for purpose. Pilot schemes can be an effective tool to test electoral innovations and identify key learning points through the evaluation process. The Opposition strongly believe in handing power back to communities: not the piecemeal devolution adopted by the Government but real, meaningful devolution complete with the necessary funding to give it legs. We therefore welcome measures to extend the rights to local authorities to make applications to run electoral pilots in local mayoral elections.

It is somewhat concerning that the combined authorities order is amending a drafting error in the original order for metro Mayor elections. It is not the first time that has happened this year: just days before the general election polling day, the Government were forced to table a new set of rules for the election after numerous errors in the 2017 parliamentary elections order came to light. That is hardly a good sign for how the vastly greater and more complicated reams of legislative change required for Brexit will go.

It is also disappointing that we are debating yet another statutory instrument that offers sticking-plaster solutions to an already broken system. The law governing elections is fragmented and flexible, inconsistent and complex. There are 40 Acts of Parliament and more than 170 statutory instruments relating to our electoral legal framework, with some provisions dating back to the 19th century.

It is widely accepted by those involved in administering and competing in elections, including the Electoral Commission and the Association of Electoral Administrators, that fundamental reform of electoral law is needed, yet the Government refuse to listen and continue to bury their head in the sand. In February 2016 the Law Commission published its interim report calling for the current laws governing elections to be rationalised

“into a single, consistent legislative framework governing all elections”.

Nearly two years on, the Government are yet to respond to that.

While we in the Opposition do not stand in the way of efforts to extend democracy to local authorities, we do not support this Government’s priorities on electoral pilots. The Government are fixated on introducing a photo identification requirement for electors in polling stations at the next election, and will be running pilots in May. We are deeply concerned by that. Electoral fraud is a serious crime, and it is vital that the police have the resources they need to bring about prosecutions. However, there is no evidence of widespread personation. Last year, there were 44 allegations of personation out of nearly 64 million votes. That is one case for every 1.5 million votes cast.

The introduction of photo ID presents a major barrier to democracy. Limiting acceptable ID to passports and photographic driving licences would potentially leave 11 million electors, or 24% of the electorate, without acceptable ID. Decades of international studies show that highly restrictive ID requirements make it harder for people to vote, reduce turnout and exclude some parts of the electorate, while doing little to stop determined fraudsters. It is disappointing that, rather than combating the real challenge that undermines our democratic process, the Government are creating further barriers to democratic engagement.

[Mr Mark Prisk (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)]

What, then, would the Labour party do to stop personation? I have seen it in a number of wards and it has proved quite critical in some elections. What would the Labour party therefore do, in those circumstances, for the returning officers?

[Cat Smith]

May I speak sitting down, Chair?

[The Chair]

indicated assent.

[Cat Smith]

Thank you. I hope that, if the hon. Gentleman has seen evidence of personation, he has reported it to the police. It is a serious criminal matter. One of the biggest challenges we face in tackling voter fraud is the cuts to local authorities. Delivering smooth and efficient elections is essential to our democracy, but the cuts we have seen to local authority election teams have pushed a lot of teams to the absolute limit. Without the staff necessary to deliver a quality service for voters during elections, the system is vulnerable. According to a study—

[Mr Prisk]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Cat Smith]

I will finish this point. According to a study conducted by the University of East Anglia, 43% of local authorities experienced a real-terms funding cut to their budget for running elections between 2010-11 and 2015-16.

[Mr Prisk]

I know that the hon. Lady is not well, and I do not wish to push the matter too far, but she is reading out what is in front of her. My simple question was: for a returning officer who faces a challenge and is unsure about someone’s identity, what would the Labour party propose other than a photographic identity?

[Cat Smith]

One of the challenges, of course, is that our police forces have seen huge cuts. My own constabulary in Lancashire has lost hundreds of frontline police officers since 2010. Without the resources to target people who are determined to be fraudsters in elections, all that introducing ID does is discourage genuine electors from turning out to vote. I am sure that, like me, the hon. Gentleman has campaigned in many elections where he found voters who thought they could not vote if they had misplaced their polling card and did not turn up.

The requirement for photo ID, with the potential for people not having it or not being able to find it on election day, will mean fewer entitled electors turning up, but it will not discourage determined fraudsters. In that situation, if they are determined to commit electoral fraud, we might assume that they are determined to commit identity fraud too, potentially by forging driving licences. I do not believe that requiring photo ID at polling stations will do anything to deter those determined fraudsters. The only real way to deter them is to focus police investigations on people who are known to be committing that crime.

The Opposition have a serious concern about the number of electoral administrators leaving the profession; it has doubled since 2010. Given that core electoral services are generally delivered by a very small team and in some cases by an individual employee, any loss of experienced staff can have a significant impact on service delivery. How can we expect local authorities to deliver electoral pilots when they face such challenges?

As I said, we welcome the measures to extend the right to local authorities to apply to run electoral pilots for local mayoral elections. However, it is not enough, and fundamental reform is needed if we are to maintain the integrity of our electoral process.

Oral Answers to Questions

Cat Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Sir Patrick McLoughlin]

Bearing in mind what the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), said when a statement was made on the Paradise papers, perhaps he should have checked that out, because I can confirm to my hon. Friend that the last investment of this sort was made in 2005.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

Donations to political parties show stark differences between our party and the Government’s. They are dependent on the ultra-wealthy few, while our party is powered by the many. In the light of the revelation in the Paradise papers that key Tory donor Lord Ashcroft was using offshore tax havens to shelter his wealth, will the Minister and his colleagues be accepting his donations to the Conservative party?

[Mr Speaker]

That is all very well, but unfortunately it does not in any way appertain to the Queen’s private estate, which is rather a different matter from the Conservative party. We will press on. Well done.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Skidmore]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The registration website has been incredibly successful: there were nearly 3 million applications to register at the last general election. Of course, there will be people who register having been registered locally already. There are local solutions to the issue. Local authorities such as Hackney have a look-up tool, and it is right that we explore further what solutions there may be, but I believe that a centralised database may be too costly.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

According to figures published by the Electoral Commission, nearly 11,000 people tried to vote on 8 June but found that they were not registered to vote once they reached the polling station. Will the Government examine the use of Government data to place electors on the roll automatically and pilot the idea of polling day voter registration to ensure that every eligible voter is entitled to vote?

[Chris Skidmore]

The Government sincerely believe in the principle of individual elector registration; we will not be returning to automatic voter registration. We want a register that is complete and accurate as possible. I am delighted that the Electoral Commission has demonstrated in a recent report that the accuracy of the register has risen from 87% to 91%.