Electoral Administration Bill

I understand why the noble Lord, Lord Beaumont of Whitley, must be deeply frustrated on this matter. Certainly, since I have been a Minister, he has very consistently raised what is a genuine issue and a concern to him. As the noble Lord has indicated, this amendment is based on the work of the Electoral Commission and its recommendations in its report published in December 2004. I will not go into the details of current policy development grants because I think that noble Lords are familiar with how they work. Our difficulty is that the Electoral Commission, in working with us, has been unable to provide us with a workable scheme, largely for the reasons that the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, will be familiar with. That is, how do you ensure that you have fair and equitable sharing of resources? We would propose to the noble Lord, which is not entirely what he wishes to hear, that this is something that the review lead by Sir Hayden Phillips will be able to consider. The noble Lord will know that there are months before that report is produced, but not longer than that. Therefore, it will form part of the broader important question about political party funding. Although I cannot say to the noble Lord today that I can answer his question, it is not because the Government are trying to stand in the way of it, rather that finding a workable scheme is much more complicated. I am not moving any amendments today; the noble Lord is right to say that I would not have the effrontery to do that to him. Today we are having a discussion, but we will be moving amendments. The issue that we will come to is probably more straightforward than this, but I will ensure that this is looked at properly. I will endeavour, because I think that the noble Lord deserves it, to keep him informed, as far as possible, of progress and make sure that his views and comments are taken on board. I hope that before too long the noble Lord will have a resolution to it, one way or the other, in a way that he feels comfortable with.