Electoral Administration Bill

I shall be absolutely clear, in reassuring the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, that the CORE keeper cannot delegate his functions. The provision is precisely what I believe noble Lords will have in their minds; it enables the CORE keeper to have a contract with a third party, for the supply and support of software, for example. That is the obvious one in this case—it is not the only one, but it is the obvious one. The noble Lord, Lord Greaves, and other noble Lords are probably aware that over 98 per cent of EROs in the UK have contracted arrangements in electoral registration software and related support—so it is very common, if not the norm. In fact, it is the norm; I do not know what the other 2 per cent do, but there you go. That is precisely what we are making sure we have catered for. There is no question—and I have checked this, because I could see precisely what the noble Lord was asking about—that the CORE keeper could delegate his functions. The provision is to enable him to carry out his functions.