Lord Hayward (Con)

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her introduction. I note that within it she observed that the processes for registration differ between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That is for specific reasons in terms of the system, which is somewhat different in Northern Ireland from that applying in Great Britain. However, the process suggested here is substantially more elongated than what would apply within Great Britain. I can understand why this is, given the difference in processes, but I am not convinced that it is absolutely necessary so to do. I am not against these regulations because, given the circumstances, they make sense, but I am making a comparison with Great Britain. I understand that there is a capacity to register online. At the last general election, 3 million people across the whole United Kingdom took advantage of that, only for half of them to be told that they were already registered, because there is no read-only access to the electoral roll in this country. I am talking here about the United Kingdom and commenting on a decision of the previous Government. It is striking that they would not introduce read-only access to the electoral roll, despite the fact that in Ireland they have one and it only cost them £6 million. There are alternatives in tackling the issue of people who do not respond. The route which has been gone down of accessibility, with the capacity for individuals to register online for elections, is one we should give serious consideration to. I know there are alternatives such as automatic registration, which is being considered and advocated. I am not convinced of that route. While I can understand why this is being proposed in these circumstances, it would be sensible if we acknowledged—across the whole of the United Kingdom—the position whereby people can register simply for an election and then participate. They are the people who will be willing to participate. We are asking for a fairly lengthy and costly process to be undertaken, when people who fail to respond are more likely to be those who do not participate in elections anyway. I have made a few brief comments in broad terms, contrasting the processes in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I understand why this is being done on this occasion but online registration is a much better system, from which we could all operate.