R11-42

The Electoral Commission has already begun to examine case files of the Crown Prosecution Service opened under election offence provisions in the legislation, from 2001-2006. The Commission has subsequently released the initial findings, and has said it will do further more detailed analysis, which will also be published.
The Government welcomes the above recommendation and agrees that the Commission should continue to research the nature and extent of electoral fraud in the UK, as this will provide an objective evidence-base, facilitating better-informed political and media debate around the issue.
The Commission has undertaken a formal evaluation of the new measures on postal vote identifier checking and published its report in July. As is the case with every election, the Ministry of Justice and the Electoral Commission will review the administration of the election to determine what refinements to the process may be appropriate.
The Government believes that the current arrangements are adequate, whereby the Commission is: a) consulted early in the policy development process, so that their views can be reflected early in the drafting of the legislation; b) formally consulted again on the final draft of the legislation under an existing statutory requirement; and c) at liberty to make its views publicly known on draft electoral legislation before Parliament. We believe formal new requirements to lay a copy of their views alongside the draft legislation before Parliament would be an additional burden for no added benefit.
During the passage of the Electoral Administration Act last year, Parliament voted against introducing individual registration to Great Britain. The Government supports the principle of individual registration but it has not been determined how it could be implemented without causing significant numbers of eligible people to fall off the register.
We need to ensure that our system is secure, but at the same time also encourages participation and encourages people to register to vote. The Committee's report ignores the evidence that three and a half million people have been disenfranchised by not being on the register.
Should Parliament decide to introduce individual registration, all concerned parties will need to work together to minimise under-registration. This will include the Electoral Commission as well as the political parties, the Ministry of Justice and electoral administrators.
Individual registration alone will not increase security. The introduction of personal identifiers would be one way of doing this but there is a concern that it would lead to a drop in the number of eligible people who are registered. The Government is committed to ensuring that the voting system is secure and will continue to keep under review a range of options for the registration process including the introduction of personal identifiers.
If the Northern Ireland system is successful there is no guarantee that it would be successful in Great Britain. Any registration system should be designed specifically for the communities it serves and not merely introduced because it has been seen to work in a different set of circumstances. While the Northern Ireland system may be suitable for the rest of the UK, this issue would need to be fully explored.