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House of Lords Official Report Vol. 752 Tuesday No. 110 4 February 2014 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Introduction: The Lord Bishop of Peterborough.............................................................................85 Questions Electoral Registration: National Voter Registration Day .............................................................85 Georgia: Islamophobia .....................................................................................................................88 West Lothian Question ....................................................................................................................90 Police: Private Prosecutions .............................................................................................................92 Road Safety (Financial Penalty Deposit) (Appropriate Amount) (Amendment) Order 2014 Commons (Town and Village Greens) (Trigger and Terminating Events) Order 2014 Motions to Approve ..........................................................................................................................94 India: 1984 Operation in Sri Harmandir Sahib Statement ...........................................................................................................................................94 Water Bill Committee (1st Day) .....................................................................................................................106 Standards in Public Life Question for Short Debate.............................................................................................................164 Water Bill Committee (1st Day) (Continued) ...............................................................................................179 Grand Committee Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (Commencement No. 4 and Consequential Provision) Order 2013 Motion to Consider ..................................................................................................................GC 41 Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 Motion to Consider ..................................................................................................................GC 46 Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 Motion to Consider ..................................................................................................................GC 46 Legislative Reform (Overseas Registration of Births and Deaths) Order 2014 Motion to Consider ..................................................................................................................GC 47 Localism Act 2011 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2014 Motion to Consider ..................................................................................................................GC 50 Child Support Fees Regulations 2014 Motion to Consider ..................................................................................................................GC 54 Child Support (Ending Liability in Existing Cases and Transition to New Calculation Rules) Regulations 2014 Motion to Consider ..................................................................................................................GC 71 Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Green Deal) (Amendment) Order 2014 Motion to Consider ..................................................................................................................GC 72 Written Statements........................................................................................................................WS 19 Written Answers.............................................................................................................................WA 23 £4·00 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. The bound volumes also will be sent to those Peers who similarly notify their wish to receive them. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201314/ldhansrd/index/140204.html PRICES AND SUBSCRIPTION RATES DAILY PARTS Single copies: Commons, £5; Lords £4 Annual subscriptions: Commons, £865; Lords £600 LORDS VOLUME INDEX obtainable on standing order only. Details available on request. BOUND VOLUMES OF DEBATES are issued periodically during the session. Single copies: Commons, £105; Lords, £60 (£100 for a two-volume edition). Standing orders will be accepted. THE INDEX to each Bound Volume of House of Commons Debates is published separately at £9·00 and can be supplied to standing order. All prices are inclusive of postage. The first time a Member speaks to a new piece of parliamentary business, the following abbreviations are used to show their party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative Con Ind Conservative Independent DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Lab Labour Lab Ind Labour Independent LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2014, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 85 Introduction[4 FEBRUARY 2014] National Voter Registration Day 86 governmental initiative. We are all aware, as we move House of Lords towards individual elector registration and deal with the problems of underregistration, particularly among Tuesday, 4 February 2014. young people, that the Government cannot do it all on their own and do not have all the answers, so we 2.30 pm enormously welcome the engagement of as many voluntary groups of this sort as possible. Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Wakefield. Lord Wills (Lab): My Lords, the Minister will be Introduction: The Lord Bishop of aware of the success of the schools programme in Northern Ireland in increasing the numbers of young Peterborough people who are registered to vote. Will the Government consider introducing that programme more widely? 2.37 pm Donald Spargo, Lord Bishop of Peterborough, was Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, the noble Lord introduced and took the oath, supported by the Bishop will be aware that Bite the Ballot has developed a of Wakefield and the Bishop of Birmingham, and signed schools programme, Rock Enrol!, which is now also an undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct. on the gov.uk website. We are encouraging schools to play that with 16 and 17 year-olds. We are also encouraging schools to continue the citizenship education programme; Electoral Registration: National Voter there will be a new element of that for the national Registration Day curriculum this September. We are all conscious that Question PSHE has never been quite as good as we all wanted it to be. However, it is there and we very much hope that schools will be taking this further. 2.41 pm Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno Lord Elton (Con): My Lords, the Minister has just announced that there will be a substantial grant for To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps this purpose through the Government of Scotland. they are taking to support National Voter Registration How will he ensure that it is expended in a politically Day on Wednesday 5 February, which seeks to neutral way? encourage new, especially young, people to register to vote. Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Lords, once you support other bodies you can never be entirely sure Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD): My Lords, the that they will do exactly what it was that you wanted. Government are committed to doing all they can to There are five organisations for which the Government maximise registration, including among young people. have today announced funding. In addition to those The innovation project, which the Cabinet Office two which I have mentioned the Hansard Society, in announced today that it will support, reinforces the partnership with Homeless Link, Gingerbread, which aim of National Voter Registration Day. For example, works with young people, single parents and social the funding awarded to the Scottish Youth Parliament housing tenants, and Mencap, which works with people will help it to develop peer education training and with learning disabilities, have also received grants. outreach programmes to increase democratic engagement and registering to vote. The Government also fund The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, the Church UK Youth, which will help to develop online tools for of England is involved in the education of more than 1 engaging young people in the democratic process, million young people and we want to play our part in including registering to vote. supporting this. Will Her Majesty’s Government talk with the department to see if, in future, they will write Lord Roberts of Llandudno (LD): I thank the Minister
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