If the noble Lord remembers, we had the death of Her Majesty, and that put things back slightly, but we are doing it now, and people register continually, so that issue is not terribly important.
The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, also brought up the deadline for applying for the certificate. She is right that it has gone to six days before the poll; I remember that we talked about it being the day before. We have been working with stakeholders in the electoral sector. We are mindful of the impact on administrators during a busy period and, on balance, have decided that six days strikes an appropriate balance between accessibility and certainty for not only the elector but the electoral officers.
One noble Lord said that a national insurance number was required, but actually individuals do not need a national insurance number to vote. They will be able to apply using other documents or attestations where they can provide an explanation for why they do not have a national insurance number. Some people have lost it or cannot find it, so there are other ways of doing that to make sure that they can get those documents.
There was quite a lot of talk about putting it back to the next election. After May 2023, there is a possibility that the next election will be a general election. In May 2023, only about two-thirds of authorities will hold polls. That means there will be more opportunity for authorities to learn from and support each other if necessary. If we have a local authority that is not holding an election next to a local authority that is, if it needs extra help in this first period, that is a possibility. The system is not at full stretch, as it always is during a general election. This is not about testing or devaluing local politics. It is a sensible way to run any new process in a system, rather than running it when we are at full capacity.
My noble friend Lady Verma got involved in the Bill; I thank her very much for her support. Again, she is somebody who talks to people on the ground, as we all do, and who has an understanding of how people in all communities feel about the importance of a fair voting system that they can trust.
The noble Lord, Lord Wallace, raised overseas voters. I will take that back to the department, but if he does not mind, I do not intend to talk about that today. My noble friend Lord Cormack raised identity cards, but I will not get into that debate today either.
Publicity is absolutely critical. I do not think I have talked about this, but once the legislation goes through, we will start this in mid-January, so there will be four to five months of clear publicity. That is important.
I thank my noble friend Lord Hayward. He and the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, are the ones in the House who talk and know the most about elections and associated matters. He is absolutely right about students. They will be home for Easter and, by then, they will have seen the campaign over two to three months. They will get their driving licence or passport, or will go to get the identity documents required. As he said, the launch in January is the launch of the big national campaign, but this has been going on for a long time.
I will look at Hansard, but I think I have answered most of the issues that were raised. I return to the fatal amendment tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock. I have already made it clear that we disagree with its substance. We are confident of electoral administrators’ ability to deliver this important policy for the May 2023 elections. We have been working hard alongside
them to refine and develop these processes and are at present conducting extensive testing of the digital systems that will support them.
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I also cannot agree with the assertions made that the policy will prevent electors from voting. The overwhelming majority of electors already hold an appropriate form of ID, and the small proportion who do not will be able to apply for a voter authority certificate from their local authority free of charge. That will ensure that everyone eligible to vote will continue to have the opportunity to do so. I therefore again urge noble Lords across the House not to support this amendment.
I turn now to the regret amendment to the Motion, which the Opposition have indicated that they will not press. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman of Ullock, for bringing her concerns to me last week, and I am pleased that we have been able to agree on an excellent solution to them. We will ensure that the review of the policy, which will take place following the May 2023 local elections, involves an independent research agency and analysis of any impacts on voter turnout. We have requested that the review be scrutinised subsequently by parliamentary Select Committees—to whose chairmen I have already written. That will ensure a highly effective review and enable us to refine and improve the delivery of those vital new processes.
The noble Baroness raised some additional questions to which I will also respond. On expanding the list of accepted identification documents, the legislation was intentionally drafted to allow for that to be done via secondary legislation. We intend to monitor the list and will consider amending it in future if appropriate.
I have already said a bit about working closely with local authorities. To ensure that the voter card application process is launched as soon as possible and that we support local authorities as they implement those processes, I can confirm that we fully intend to work closely with them. We are currently carrying out considerable engagement with local authorities and other stakeholders to support implementation. The engagement will not stop; it will continue as we go live with the policy.
On ensuring that we make voters aware of the free voter authority certificate, the Electoral Commission, as I said, will lead the national communications campaign early in the new year—we think in mid-January, providing that we can pass the legislation. In addition to highlighting the need to show identification, the campaign will also inform the electorate of the free identification documents that will be available to them. Furthermore, as I said, we have also given £4.75 million to local government across Great Britain to support local communications campaigns.
On the noble Baroness’s concern about polling station staff, we will of course work closely with local authorities to support them in ensuring that their polling stations are appropriately staffed. If there is a queue outside a polling station when it should close, legislation already provides that the polling station should remain open until those electors are able to vote. I know that there were issues with that, but that is the legislation, and we need to ensure that it continues to be implemented.
More broadly, the policy has a critical role to play in maintaining public confidence in our electoral system and reassuring people that their vote is theirs and theirs alone. It is also a natural and considered way of modernising our voting structures, and one that protects us all against the threat of impersonation. I hope that noble Lords will therefore join me in supporting the regulations.