The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Lord Khan of Burnley) (Lab)

My Lords, the Elections Act 2022 amended the parliamentary election rules set out in Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983. This set out the requirement for voters to show photographic identification when voting in person in a polling station in Great Britain. The list of accepted forms of photographic ID is set out in rule 37 of Schedule 1 to the Act. It includes: passports; driving licences; various concessionary travel cards; identity cards bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram, such as the Young Scot card or the NUS TOTUM card; blue badges; and the defence identity card. As set out in our manifesto, the Government are committed to improving how voter ID works by addressing the inconsistencies and ensuring that legitimate electors are able to vote. We are carefully and thoroughly reviewing the voter ID rules and evaluating how they impacted citizens during the general election. Work is already under way on this evaluation, using data gathered at polling stations along with public opinion surveys and qualitative research with electors and the electoral sector. The Electoral Commission has also conducted a thorough review of the 2024 general election. It published an interim report on voter ID in September, and a final report on the wider conduct of the polls earlier this month. We will, of course, carefully consider the findings and recommendations of the Electoral Commission as part of our own review of the voter identification policy and will respond formally to both commission reports in the new year. If, in our assessment, we find that changes are necessary or appropriate, we will bring forward further proposals on the wider voter ID policy in due course. I do not wish to speculate today on what they might be, but I will of course keep noble Lords informed on the outcomes of our work. However, there is a clear gap in the existing provisions, which we can and should address now: the absence of His Majesty’s Armed Forces veteran card from the accepted voter ID list, which is why we made its inclusion on the list a manifesto commitment. The veteran card is a recognition of the service and dedication of our veterans to our country. This is just one of the things this Government are doing to honour their contribution. We should not allow the need for fuller consideration of the policy in the round to stop us making a necessary change that will support veterans to exercise their democratic rights. I know that noble Lords opposite were supportive of this change when in government, and I hope that consensus remains. This instrument makes changes to the current legislation that sets out the accepted forms of voter ID and will result in the veteran card being added to the list of accepted forms of ID for the purposes of voting in Great Britain. It will mean that holders of the veteran card can use it to prove their identity when voting in person in polling stations for all elections from May 2025 onwards. The veteran card was fully launched in January this year and is now available free of charge to all veterans. This, alongside the already accepted defence identity card, will bring parity between veterans and serving armed services personnel when voting. The regulations also make two further small changes, which are technical clarifications to support the smooth and consistent application of the law. They have been highlighted by electoral administrators operating the policy in practice. First, they provide clarification regarding the entry relating to Commonwealth passports by updating it to refer to the specific list of Commonwealth countries in the British Nationality Act 1981. This will make voter ID legislation consistent with electoral registration legislation. In particular, it will allow Zimbabwean passports to be used as identification at the polling station from May 2025.