Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. That is precisely the sort of issue that I believe should be covered by instructions, as we must also ensure that the simplicity of the form does not provide an unintentional additional obstacle. He is therefore right to raise that concern, and his point underlines the importance of my amendments. These amendments would allow direction to be given to deal with that concern by, for instance, ensuring that there is a simple form that enables people to understand what they are being advised to do in the polling booth. I have tried to think of any reason Ministers and their advisers might have for not accepting the amendments. I hope I do not need to anticipate that, as I hope the Minister will respond by saying that the amendments are so clear and straightforward, and the case for them has been so well argued by myself and my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree, that he is totally convinced and accepts them all. Having listened to his response to the debate on the previous group of amendments however, it seems that he might say the amendments should not be necessary because our expectations—in his case from Government, in our case from Parliament—are clear in the phrasing of the Bill. For instance, paragraph 3(1) of schedule 1 states:"““The Chief Counting Officer, Regional Counting Officers and counting officers must do whatever things are necessary for conducting the referendum in the manner provided by this Part.””" I do not think that is good enough, however. I have had enough experience of ministerial office to have seen how such very clear intentions written into a piece of legislation can be strangled by those who implement the law in the subsequent rules and interpretations unless we are very clear about our expectations, and I believe that our disabled and partially sighted citizens deserve us to be absolutely clear and unequivocal in respect of these amendments. Paragraph 7 of the schedule states:"““The Electoral Commission must take whatever steps they think appropriate to promote public awareness about the referendum and how to vote in it.””" Well, yes, but that is not always the way things are delivered and the Electoral Commission is not very good at using its powers to ensure consistency in electoral arrangements. So these amendments are necessary, as we must ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place. There are grounds for concern, because the Polls Apart 2010 general election survey found a number of worrying results. A total of 67% of polling stations had accessibility issues, such as poor access for people with mobility problems—I get the impression that things have not improved everywhere in recent years in that regard—and 47% of postal voters found accessibility problems with the ballot papers. Somebody voting by post from home may have people who can assist them, but they may not, so the clarity of the ballot paper is crucial for them. Perhaps the most worrying finding in relation to my amendments is that nearly half of all polling stations failed to display a large-print ballot paper. That is worrying not only in itself, but because that figure represented a drop of 31% since the 2005 general election survey. I am surprised that a deterioration occurred on something that I am sure Members across the Chamber would agree ought to be in place as a matter of course and something that we can depend on as being understood by election staff and returning officers as the expectation of Members of Parliament right across this Chamber. These things should be basic, but I hope that the Minister will not suggest that we just leave it to the electoral officer and the returning officer, or to the Electoral Commission, which has, in general, tended to fail as a regulator and has been poor in a number of aspects. It has grievously disappointed those of us who feel that it should have acted much more vigorously in promoting the full registration of the electorate, because in practice it left about 3.5 million people omitted from the register. That is a matter for this Government to pursue, but I can say with confidence that Labour Ministers and Members have, for a number of years, expressed those concerns vigorously. The Electoral Commission has not covered itself in glory in using its powers to regulate. It has been good at asking for greater powers, but it has powers that could have taken us much further and much faster over recent years in ensuring that a number of improvements were made in areas where, as I have said, worrying deteriorations have occurred, had it used the capacity to name and shame and to encourage the bringing together of people. One point made by the Committee on Standards in Public Life, of which I was a member at the time, was that there should be regional arrangements in order to ensure that the Electoral Commission drilled down much more effectively to that local level and that it produced something that is not really a regional arrangement. In Wales, the situation has been better. Having a Welsh commissioner and a chief executive covering Wales and working with all the local authorities in Wales as a team produced far better results in the last government and Assembly elections than was the case across the regions of England. That demonstrates to me that things could have been done better had the Electoral Commission been more determined and followed more clearly the expectations of this House and of Ministers. For all those reasons, it is important that these amendments should be made. Amendment 328 seeks to delete ““may”” and replace it with ““must””. Surely our fellow citizens should have the right to expect that we insist that things are done in this way and that we do not just leave them to whim. Taken with that, amendment 329 would require chief counting officers to give directions to regional counting officers about their functions, specifically in regard to disabled voters. Amendment 330 would insert a specific reference to disabled voters. Proposed new sub-paragraph 7A would state:"““The Electoral Commission must take steps to ensure that disabled voters are able to access information and support to facilitate understanding and participation in voting and elections.””" Being a little old-fashioned, I would have preferred them to be able to ““gain access”” to that information and support; nevertheless, I am sure we know what is intended. The amendment would make that a requirement, and that is what is important. It does not go into detail or try to micro-manage, but it would make that an essential requirement. The amendment goes on to propose:"““The Electoral Commission must issue guidance in relation to ensuring voters with disabilities have equality of access to the places and process of voting.””" That would ensure that access, and access to relevant information, was guaranteed for disabled voters. Amendment 331 would make it clear that any notices must"““be published in a minimum 12 point font size””" and that they must"““include a prominent message in minimum 16 point font highlighting the availability of accessible formats.””" Anyone who has dealt with someone whose sight is failing—I recall this happening to my mother in her later years—will be aware of how frustrating and difficult it can be for them if they are unable fully to understand the papers that they are trying to read. That is a generality in life, but it is a particular burden for people who are losing their sight. Many elderly people feel passionately, and this is an especially important matter for citizens who want to exercise their democratic right to cast their vote, whether in a referendum or an election. I was tempted to table a further amendment to ensure that such information be printed in a sans script, but I hope that we can trust the Electoral Commission—and the chief counting officers and regional counting officers—to seek the advice of the RNIB so as to ensure that everything is done to make the ballot papers and the information for voters as accessible as possible. It is therefore with some pride that I have moved amendment 328. I know that my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Wavertree wants to outline some other points on this group of amendments.