Electoral Administration Bill

I am grateful to the Minister for her response. I will give her the good news and the bad news. The good news is in respect of Amendment No. 31, which could quite easily have been grouped with the preceding group. I am responsible for the grouping together here. I hear what the Minister says and I can understand where she is coming from; I am grateful for her response. That is the good news. I am less persuaded by the noble Baroness’s response to Amendment No. 32. In many respects, what she said as much reinforces the case for my amendment as constitutes an argument against it. When Parliament makes that decision, it will need information for the purpose of evaluating the first scheme. Despite all the expertise that we have in our House, it will none the less be useful to have it complemented by a proper, thorough examination of the scheme so that we can make an informed judgment about how it has worked. Her response reinforces the case rather than undermines it, as the amendment would aid Parliament in that process. I will give careful thought to what the noble Baroness has said but I reserve the right to come back to the proposal contained in Amendment No. 32 at a later stage. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 3 agreed to. [Amendment No. 32 not moved.] Clause 4 [Electoral Commission]: On Question, Whether Clause 4 shall stand part of the Bill?