Political Parties and Elections Bill

My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendment 80. I appreciate that it may seem a little impertinent, or at any rate discourteous, to intervene for the first time in the debates on this Bill at this late stage. The subject of these amendments is a discrete matter and I declare an interest in that I was asked to put forward these amendments by the Greater London Authority. I was a member of the London Assembly, which was a part of the Greater London Authority, for eight years until just over a year ago. I am also a joint president of London Councils. The GLA has been in discussion with officials about this matter, and I am extremely grateful for their assistance. Both what I have to say and the amendments will be very familiar to those officials. Amendment 79 allows the proper officer of the Greater London Authority—that is, the Greater London Returning Officer—to be appointed by the Secretary of State as regional returning officer at a European election in any region in England and Wales. In practice, it is likely that the GLRO would be appointed only as regional returning officer for London, but there could be circumstances in which the GLRO may be appointed to a neighbouring region or, if there are boundary changes—if anyone is brave enough to address that—to a region which includes London and an area outside London. The GLRO will not be appointed automatically as regional returning officer. It will be open to him or her, alongside acting returning officers for parliamentary elections, to put himself forward for designation as the regional returning officer by the Secretary of State. Amendment 80 provides for the GLA to place the services of its employees at the disposal of the GLRO. If he is appointed as regional returning officer, this would apply only if the GLRO is appointed as regional returning officer for the London region. To speak off script for a moment, I should like to place on record my admiration for the work done by those who have been running GLA elections for some years now. I should explain that the funding that the GLRO would receive under Section 6(6) of the 2002 Act if he were appointed would be calculated on the same basis as that for regional returning officers in other regions and that for the RRO appointed for London at the June 2009 European elections. In other words, the GLRO will not be treated any different from other regional returning officers. A couple of days ago I saw briefing from the Electoral Commission which I understand supports this amendment. The commission says that the experience that the GLRO gains in carrying out the role may mean that he or she is best placed to ensure the efficient running of the European parliamentary elections in the London region and that he or she should therefore be appointed in the way that the amendment provides. I beg to move.