Present: Rt Hon Michael J Martin MP, Speaker, in the chair; Robin Corbett MP, Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee; Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department; Rt Hon Hilary Armstrong MP, Minister for Local Government; Rt Hon A. J. Beith MP; Mrs Angela Browning MP; Rt Hon Barry Jones MP; Peter Viggers MP. (Apologies received from: Humfrey Malins MP.)

1  Working methods: it was agreed that:

(a)  the quorum of the Committee would be three;

(b)  if the Speaker was absent, Mr Beith would take the chair;

(c)  the Committee would meet on dates set by the Speaker;

(d)  the Committee should hold a meeting immediately before any future national referendum campaign;

(e)  the Committee would meet in private; and

(f)  the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission would be invited to attend meetings of the Committee.

2  Arrangements for answering parliamentary questions: it was agreed that Mr Beith would answer parliamentary questions on behalf of the Committee. If questions were asked about the work of the Electoral Commission, it would be left to Mr Beith's discretion whether to provide a substantive answer or refer a question to the Chairman of the Commission for answer by letter. In the latter case, the letter would be placed in the Library. A place in the rota for oral questions would be sought after Easter. It was noted that the Home Affairs Committee might chose to take oral evidence in public once a year from the Electoral Commission and that the local government aspects of the Commission's responsibilities fell within the remit of the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee.

3  Appointment of the Accounting Officer for the Electoral Commission: it was agreed to appoint Roger Creedon, Chief Executive, as Accounting Officer. The National Audit Office would be responsible for auditing the accounts.

[At this point, Sam Younger, Chairman, and Roger Creedon, Chief Executive, Electoral Commission, were invited to join the meeting]

4  Electoral Commission's five year plan 2001-02 to 2005-06 : the Committee considered the five year plan. The Chairman of the Commission (Mr Younger) said the five year plan was a "work in progress" which would be updated for the Committee in July. The Commission's first priority was to set up its regulatory procedures which would come into effect on 16 February. This involved tight timescales and a degree of unpredictability. Electoral best practice and voter participation were issues the Commission planned to move onto later. Much had already been achieved, with 107 parties registered already. The website would be operational from Friday 16 February on www.electoralcommission.gov.uk. Close consultation with stakeholders and interested parties was important and had been good so far.

In discussion, the following points were made:

a.   it was possible that the Commission would have to seek a Supplementary Estimate if a national referendum was held in the 2001-02 financial year. The additional administrative costs of a referendum were difficult to quantify, but the Commission should ensure that its own costs were included in the financial provision made in any legislation providing for a national referendum.

b.  the merger with the Local Government Commission for England (LGCE) might involve unforeseen costs. The Electoral Commission was working closely with the Local Government Commission for England to plan co-location of offices by as early as I July prior to merger. While the Commission's best estimate was that this would involve £615,000 for rent and £450,000 for fitting out, the Department for Environment and the Regions did not expect the income to the Electoral Commission from the LGCE to exceed £500,000.

c.  the Commission had been able to recruit good staff in the key areas of electoral policy, regulatory controls and press & publicity, but the field of candidates had not been strong and the salaries agreed had been higher than expected.

d.  under the Local Government Act 2000, the Commission would be expected (from October 2000) to comment on regulations made by the DETR on the conduct of forthcoming local referenda about elected mayors. The legislation governing them would have to be kept under review.

e.  voter education and participation was very important to the Commissioners, though inevitably their attention was currently focussed on the regulatory aspects of their role. Measures to target specific groups with lower voter participation such as young people or ethnic minorities might prove politically controversial and the Committee would want to be informed in advance of such action.

f.  a scheme for the policy development fund would be worked up in May with the aim of enabling the Home Secretary to put the necessary orders to the House in July. This scheme would include the audit arrangements. The recent experience of granting start-up costs to the parties was helpful and the opposition parties would be consulted at every stage.

The Committee approved the Commission's provisional five year plan.

5  Estimate for 2001-02: the Committee considered the Estimate and agreed that the Speaker should present it to the House.

6  Vote on Account 2001-02: the Committee considered the Vote on Account and agreed that the Speaker should present the Vote on Account to the House.