Maximising Voter Registration

Friday 9th January 2015 Written Statements

[The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg)]

I am pleased to announce that the Government are making available up to £9.8 million pounds this year to support the costs of activities aimed at increasing the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register. This funding will help build on the work delivered through the £4.2 million maximising registration funding which the Government made available in 2013/14.

The Government have modernised the system of electoral registration to make it fit for the 21st century. Individual electoral registration was introduced on 10 June in England and Wales and 19 September in Scotland. Almost nine in 10 existing electors in Great Britain were automatically transferred to the new electoral registers under IER without needing to take any action. Another key feature of the transition has been the introduction of on-line registration which makes registering to vote more convenient and accessible than ever before. Registering on-line takes as little as three minutes and can be done on a smartphone or tablet. It is proving to be a success. Over 4 million people have submitted applications to register to vote since the launch of IER with the majority of these made on-line. The on-line service has consistently achieved a high user satisfaction rate of over 90%.

While the Government welcome this progress, there is more to do. We are determined to ensure everyone in the country is signed up to the electoral register and has their chance to vote. Alongside the transition to IER, it is therefore essential that further steps be taken to ensure everyone who is eligible is on the register. This further funding will help meet this aim.

The funding will be allocated at both a national and local level. At a local level, every electoral registration officer (ERO) in Great Britain will receive a share of £6.8 million with allocations based on levels of under registration. Activity delivered by EROs as a result could include further letters to households—to help identify those who have moved home and invite those that need to register to do so—and more door-to-door canvassing, targeted either at under-registered groups such as students, or specific wards where registration rates are lower. Up to £2.5 million funding will be available to fund wider activity, including working with national organisations. This funding will support activity to encourage specific under registered groups such as students, overseas electors and armed service personnel to register to vote. Finally, up to £500,000 will be used to support efforts to boost confidence in the integrity of the electoral process in areas where a number of allegations of impropriety have been made in the past.

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