Electoral Registration Data Schemes Order 2012

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Excerpts

Monday 25th June 2012 Grand Committee

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark]

My Lords, I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak in this Grand Committee debate on the Electoral Registration Data Schemes Order 2012. I say at the outset that I agree with the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Rennard.

I advise the Committee that I am a member of the Electoral Commission, which commented on this order earlier this year and which will evaluate the pilot schemes when they come to an end. I hope that the Government are in listening mode today. It is fair to say that they did not listen very much last time, which is part of the reason why we are back here today with a second set of orders. The last set of pilots was unclear. The pilots did not have a common methodological framework, which made it difficult to evaluate their effectiveness as a data-matching tool to prove complete accuracy of the register.

As has been said, the Government decided to speed up the IER process. Let us be clear, IER is already on the statute book. It was brought in by the previous Labour Government. The Minister needs to provide the Committee with proper assurances that everything is being done to make the register more accurate and complete. These powers will assist the process and action can be taken following the process. My concern is that these proposals may well improve the accuracy of the register but that completeness will suffer, with the register being less complete. As has been said, accuracy and completeness are different things.

I ask the noble Lord to clarify a few things in his reply. Can he explain the methodology behind the pilots? Will they test the processes that will be made available to local authorities if they are rolled out nationally? Can the Minister comment on the management of the pilots, as well as on the staff and budget provisions? What are the proposals for communication between the pilots, data holders and the Cabinet Office? Perhaps I may also ask him to comment on how he sees the data-matching process being used to confirm the identity of existing electors and how he sees the confirmation process working.

I would not say that the Government have wrapped themselves in much credit on these matters so far. These are serious issues and I hope that the noble Lord will give a commitment to write to me in detail on the points I have raised today. I do not want to have to raise them again when the order reaches the Floor of the House, but I give him notice that I will do so if necessary. With that caveat, I look forward to his response.

[Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing the order. I guess that if I have one word of advice for him, it is, “Listen to the last two speakers”. I know that my noble friend Lord Kennedy was an agent and could get votes where no others were found. Sadly, to our detriment, the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, also had a great ability for doing that—something for which I have never quite forgiven him. However, both noble Lords have a lot of wisdom and experience behind them in these matters.

We welcome this second set of pilots. Their aim is to ensure both the accuracy and, we hope, the completeness of the register, as both the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, and my noble friend Lord Kennedy have said. I think that we all rather bemoan low turnouts in elections, but of course the true level of participation would be lower if we took into account the votes of those who would be eligible to vote if only we could catch them all. Clearly the Government have a responsibility to act to ensure that we find and register all those for whom our predecessors, particularly of my gender, fought so hard for the right to vote. Just a few days ago, we heard of the great yearning of the people of Burma for the right to vote, and that puts an onus on all of us to make sure that those who have won that right have the ability to cast their vote and to do so easily.

The order is part of the process of checking on the proposed way of building up individually compiled electoral lists so that everyone, with the minimum of difficulty, is able to cast a vote, and we welcome that. I do not have 20 questions for the Minister but I am afraid that I do have a dozen.

First, and most importantly, is the fact that we will not have the evaluation of these pilots until after the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill becomes law. Therefore, what happens if the pilots demonstrate real concerns over the process used, such that we doubt whether the 2015 register will really be complete and accurate? What happens if they suggest that there are still adjustments to be made so that, although the system could eventually work, it will not be robust in time for that election or indeed for the boundary review that comes just after it, to which the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, referred?

Secondly, the evaluation will be held by both the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office, but what if their assessments vary? What discussion will take place in this House or the other place before individual registration continues, regardless of the outcome of the pilots?

Thirdly, there is still scope for additional pilots, but who would authorise them and would they be done in time?

Fourthly, what if the pilots were to indicate that extra resources were needed, either in particular localities or among particular age or other groups, to increase completeness? Will the Government respond to such an indicated need or will the pilots simply demonstrate the problem but not lead to solutions?

Fifthly, is the Minister satisfied that the spread of authorities is sufficiently varied to produce robust findings? The one that pulled out would obviously have had many students in its area, so some assurance about the student population in the others would be useful. Are there any provisions for any sort of understudy in case one of the remaining 14 was to pull out?

Sixthly, when this was debated in the other place, the question of a register for a Scottish referendum was raised—needless to say, by a Scottish Member of Parliament. Being equally parochial, on Friday I had been planning to ask the Minister whether the new register would be available in time for a referendum on the reform of the Lords, especially one on the electoral system to be used in selecting the new senators, given that the Government gave us a referendum on the election system for the House of Commons. However, having heard over the weekend that there is, I gather, going to be no referendum, either on the electoral system or on this major, significant constitutional change, I have a more minor question to ask instead. Will the Members of your Lordships’ House be able to vote for the elected one-third of the House in May 2015 and, if so, will we be caught by the data-matching pilots?

Civil Service Reform

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Excerpts

Tuesday 19th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town]

My Lords, first, I thank the Minister for repeating the Statement and therefore giving us the opportunity to comment on it. The Civil Service is key to the provision of public services. Thus, whether we are ensuring the country’s security, educating its children, raising taxes, paying benefits or safeguarding the vulnerable, plans for how to achieve high-quality services and their delivery rely enormously on the staff who create and deliver these. The structures, recruitment, training and management of this cadre of staff are a vital part of our delivery of services to the citizenry. The more effective we are in developing and implementing polices, the more we can achieve in improving the lives of all. That means getting value for money out of every pound spent, whether it is on staff, IT or delivery services. That is important because it leaves more for the end user. The more effective the civil servant, the more resources are released to reach that end user of whatever initiative we have in mind.

For that reason, we welcome the Statement, much of which we should be able to endorse, particularly the aim of focusing on outcomes rather than process, a less hierarchical structure, a pacier—I like that word—regime, speeding up decisions, empowering those working at more junior levels and an emphasis on managing change. All these, and other parts, are to be welcomed, but perhaps the Minister will answer just a few questions on the Statement.

First, while welcoming taking advice from a wider section of stakeholders, experts and academics than there may be in Whitehall, how does that sit alongside the Conservatives’ endless attacks on our similar use of consultants when we were the Government and used them for exactly this purpose? Secondly, does the Minister accept that amending policy as it is implemented—learning from mistakes, in the wise words of Sir Terry Leahy in today’s Guardian—is also vital to any project? That is much harder if there is any split between the external blue-sky thinking and the implementation process. We can see that with the introduction of universal credit where there is a horde of little devils who dwell in the detail. We see it in the Dilnot commission where its hard policy thinking now needs robust resource and policy advice to combine ideas with practical politics. We will look carefully at the suggestion of piloting policy development outside Whitehall.

Thirdly, given that the public service is about delivery—whether collecting taxes, paying out pensions, running courts, staffing our national borders or overseeing financial services or the Insolvency Service—does the Minister acknowledge that this often means sufficient staffing, whether at Heathrow or GCHQ? Will he reassure the House that the cut in numbers will not leave empty seats just where they are most needed?

Fourthly, will the Minister outline the discussions he has held with stakeholders, trade unions and others on these proposals? Is it to be a top-down initiative or a genuine collaborative effort to improve the quality and value for money that we get from this public resource? We know that morale is low, with 30% of the top echelons having left. Will these plans promote or reduce the staff’s confidence in their own profession and, in the words of the Statement, make the service “more satisfying to work for”?

Fifthly, are there proposals within this to ensure a more diverse Civil Service, particularly in extending well beyond Oxbridge and the south-east, and increasing gender and ethnic diversity? Sixthly, while applauding the proposals for training and developing “leadership talent”, this costs money, especially as the Government have closed the National School of Government. Will the Minister tell us what budget has been set aside for this implementation and what impact assessment has been made of the proposals? Seventhly, what will success look like with these reforms? How will the Minister measure whether the plans achieve their ends?

Finally, public servants serve us all. Sometimes they can do that best when they say, “No, Minister”. Will the Minister assure us that nothing in these proposals will undermine the ability of senior civil servants—say, fear of dismissal or loss of income—to advise a Minister that a brilliant-sounding scheme might be hare-brained? The impartiality of our Civil Service will be in jeopardy if the people at the top of our policy advice and implementation profession only say, “Yes, Minister”.

We look forward to examining the detail of these proposals. Where the Government get it right in the need to modernise and improve our Civil Service, we will stand by with our advice and support. We look forward to further discussions on this.

Public Services (Social Value) Bill

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Excerpts

Friday 27th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town]

My Lords, first, I join the noble Lord, Lord Newby, in congratulating Chris White on having brought this Bill forward. He and I are fellow trustees of the Webb Memorial Trust; I have a feeling that Beatrice Webb would approve of this measure. I should also declare my interest as a trustee of a number of other charities, including one that deals with people with drug and alcohol misuse, which may well be able to take advantage of this Bill should it become an Act. It is not in that capacity that I speak but I most warmly welcome the Bill, as I believe it provides a fantastic opportunity to reform public sector procurement. In doing so, it will give thousands of social enterprises, voluntary organisations and charities the chance to provide services in their own communities. In the last year, the public sector must have spent tens of billions of pounds procuring services at a local and national level. This Bill will open up these contracts to voluntary organisations and charities at a time when, given the present economic situation, many are struggling—despite the great value that they offer to society.

I have a great belief that at all times, but particularly in today's economic environment, public money should always be used in the most effective way possible. Very often, the most effective way also helps to support the voluntary sector because of what it can bring to the table. Social enterprise, motivated by commitment but run on sound commercial lines, is an invaluable asset, but often such bodies face unfair competition. We therefore need to level the playing field to ensure that it is not just those large corporations that can bid for and win contracts, sometimes simply by spending the most on the commissioning process. Rather, we need to focus, as has already been mentioned, on quality of service delivery in output and effectiveness, in local or sectoral engagement, in expertise, in voluntary, user or consumer input, and in accountability. By including more social enterprises, voluntary organisations and charities in public sector provision, we can see quality improved and, in the longer term as well as in the short term, costs reduced.

This Bill makes really quite a simple change, but one that could be profound. Under it, the concept of value for money will not be diminished but will be widened to include social value. That means that instead of just considering who is providing the services and how cheaply they claim to do it—often, it is not quite as cheap as they claim—public bodies would also look at the additional benefits that would be derived if the service was provided by more innovative organisations. There are, as we have heard from the noble Lord, Lord Newby, examples across the country, including in our own area of Camden, where local authorities have adopted social value-led approaches in commissioning and with great success.

This Bill seeks to ensure that such benefits are spread across the country and that all organisations have to engage in similar smarter commissioning processes. It also stipulates that public bodies need to consider consultation when looking at implementing social value in their commissioning process. This is central, as social value will mean different things in different communities and in the different types of services that are being provided. I hope that the Bill will be passed, and if it is I hope that public bodies will consider particularly this clause about consultation and act in the spirit of openness that is at the heart of the Bill.

The Bill also allows local authorities to consider the whole locality when considering social value. This should allow the social impact of voluntary organisations and social enterprises to be appropriately assessed, so that their good work across and within our communities can be considered when public bodies are looking to increase social value. This could also have a positive impact on local job creation. In many parts of the country, the public sector remains a considerable source of employment. By ensuring that local employment opportunities are considered as part of social value in the commissioning process, the Bill could help to ensure that we can get as much out of the public’s money as possible. It is for this reason that the Bill has attracted tremendous cross-party support, as well as from numerous national organisations, as the noble Lord, Lord Newby, has mentioned.

Time, however, is critical as we rapidly—I think it is rapidly—approach the end of this parliamentary Session. We need to move quickly if this invaluable Bill is not be lost. If it was to be lost, that would significantly dampen morale in the voluntary and third sectors, which are going through tough times at the moment. The aim of the Bill, as summarised by the noble Lord, Lord Newby, in moving this Second Reading is to require public authorities to consider how a service that is being procured,

“might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being”,

of an area. This is an objective that we must all share. I therefore hope that your Lordships’ House will act in the spirit of consensus and ensure that this Bill receives a swift passage.