Political Parties and Elections Bill

Conservative Members do not disagree with the Government in any respect on Lords amendment 33. It is unfortunate that, owing to time constraints, the issue was not debated on Report in the other place, but we are able to explore some aspects of it this evening. We have already raised the working of the Electoral Administration Act 2006, and I have sought reassurances from the Minister about the data protection arrangements relating to the position of the CORE keeper. We are pleased to note that unauthorised disclosure is now to be an offence, but what security support will the Government give the CORE keeper to avoid such a breach of the rules and the legislation? I am sure that Ministers are well aware—as are we all—of some of the dreadful data losses that the Government have suffered. The larger government becomes, the more risk there is of data losses. The information that we are discussing is very sensitive, and we are anxious to ensure that there is no chance of data loss—or rather, given that accidents happen, that the chance of data loss is minimised as far as possible. That can be done if the Government provide the right safeguards at the outset. Can the Minister give us any more information about the timetable for the establishment of the CORE keeper, and for the CORE scheme to be fully up and running? We appreciate the importance of the anti-fraud work that it will provide. We have already debated the cost of the scheme, and I have been told that the overall cost will probably be about £4 million. Perhaps the Minister will be able to bring the House up to date. However, we will not oppose Lords amendment 33. Let me now deal with the really important amendments. Conservative Members are delighted that they are before us, even at this very, very late stage. We Conservatives have been calling for individual voter registration for four years and more. The Government have promised it on many occasions. This may be difficult to believe, but even on Third Reading of this Bill the Government were still only making promises and had proposed nothing substantial at all. We appreciate, however, that the full panoply of the amendments was brought forward in the House of Lords, and we are delighted to have them before our House now.