Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Recommendation 19

Fifth Report - The Elections Bill Published 13 Dec 2021 Paragraph 99

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee The Elections Bill All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Recommendation (the committee's words)

The Government has said the measures in the Bill are proportionate. Given the potential for a significant number of people not to vote as a consequence of the voter ID requirement, the Government should not proceed with its proposals for the introduction of ID for voting until at least it has set out the criteria that were used in this proportionality assessment and explained the weight given to each criteria in the assessment. The Committee notes the widely voiced concerns about the potential impact of the introduction of mandatory voter ID on certain societal groups and for some with protected characteristics, including people with disabilities, members of LGBTQ + communities, black and ethnic minority groups and older people and consequently recommends that the Government pauses legislation on this issue until The Elections Bill 67 further research and consultation has been undertaken into the impact on these groups and the potential of any mitigation measures with the aim of securing greater agreement for any voter ID proposals.

From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Fifth Report - The Elections Bill (HC 597), paragraph 99, 13 December 2021

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 10 February 2022 (deadline 13 February 2022).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government accepts some of the Committee's recommendations in part, for example agreeing "in principle" that electoral law would benefit from consolidation, but disagrees with others, including removing the Electoral Commission clauses, and does not accept that there was a lack of pre-legislative consultation and scrutiny.

On consolidating electoral law, the government "agrees in principle" that it would benefit, but calls it "a long-term project" and "not something to rush", with its immediate priority being its manifesto pledges.
On post-legislative scrutiny, it says an amendment is not necessary as scrutiny after Royal Assent is "standard practice", and a statutory requirement "risks not allowing for the necessary flexibility".
On the Electoral Commission, the government says it "disagrees" with the recommendation to remove the relevant clauses, and does not consider the effect of the duty to "have regard" to the Statement needs clarifying on the face of the Bill.
On voter ID, it does not pause the policy, citing its Equality Impact Assessment and a 2021 survey finding 98% held accepted photographic identification, and says it will "carry out thorough research" on implementation.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error