Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)

Absolutely; it is about take-up as well as who is likely to have access to those pieces of ID. On absentee voting, Northern Ireland security checks are among the most stringent in the whole of the UK. As in the rest of the UK, applications are checked to ensure that the name, address and national insurance number of the applicant are valid. Requiring a digital registration number means a further level of security that does not exist elsewhere; I hope that that is reassuring to the noble Lord, Lord Weir, and my noble friend Lady Ritchie. Noble Lords, including my noble friend Lady Ritchie and the noble Lord, Lord Dodds, touched on the potential issue of electoral fraud. The Government, the Chief Electoral Officer and the Electoral Commission are all clear that there is no current evidence of organised electoral fraud in Northern Ireland. Research commissioned by the Electoral Commission following the 2024 general election suggested that public confidence in the electoral system is growing, but this does not mean that we should not always be vigilant about current initiatives—especially as the use of technologies develops—and about what people can and cannot access. On the addition of new IDs and communication, my noble friend Lady Ritchie was absolutely right about making sure that people have enough time to know what is coming in front of them. I assure her that the Government have been working closely with the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland and the Electoral Commission on these changes. They will publicise the changes in their literature and voter information campaigns. This is why it is so important that we do these SIs now: so that both voters and future candidates are aware of the changes that are in front of them. The noble Lord, Lord Dodds, asked whether any other ID documents are being considered. The Government have not seen any demands or had any requests for additional pieces of identification, so we have not considered any and dismissed them. However, as and when other forms of ID appear, we will keep electoral legislation under constant review in case there is additional demand. The noble Lord also mentioned postal ballots and their reissue. Given my ministerial responsibilities, I would very much welcome the opportunity to have a meeting with the noble Lord to discuss what can and cannot be done in that space. The noble Lord, Lord Caine, raised two issues—well, more than two, but I will come on to his last one right at the end. On ID for voters at 16, we will consider what measures in the system may need to be updated to ensure that 16 and 17 year-olds are able to vote at polling stations in Northern Ireland as the legislation that is currently being discussed in the Chamber progresses through your Lordships’ House. On a change to make bank cards eligible voter ID, let me be clear that there are no plans for that to happen in Northern Ireland, given the wider context; the noble Lord will know that context well, and the Committee will be aware of the specific challenges that we have faced in Northern Ireland. There has been a requirement to show photographic ID in Northern Ireland since 2003; this is not the same as the requirement in England. The voter ID system in Northern Ireland is well established, and the Electoral Commission agrees that it is well understood and trusted. I want briefly to touch on some other issues before I come on to the really easy question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Caine. On the cost of where we are, many Members of your Lordships’ House have, I think, stood for election. It is very easy to underestimate printing costs, especially if you use a trade union printer—as you should—in order to ensure that there are appropriate terms and conditions and that payments are paid to the people actually doing the printing. That has to be reflected in the cost of what we are doing. Noble Lords raised videos on social media and the demands that are on all of us. Some of these things are mitigating election campaigns, especially for those who are standing not as independents. However, inflationary costs need to be considered. The noble Lord, Lord Dodds, rightly raised how much these costs have gone up and the cost increases that we are allowing. These allowances have not been uprated since 2005. Although this is a significant one-off hitch, we need to keep this under review. However, it is important to get the figures done now.