Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the policy paper Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern & secure elections published on 17 July, whether they will put equal weight on the accuracy as well as the completeness of the electoral register as they develop their policy proposals.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Electoral registers are the foundation of our democratic processes, showing who is eligible to vote in which elections. The Government is committed to improving electoral registration. We are exploring a wide range of approaches to enable improvements in both completeness and accuracy of electoral registers, including making greater use of public sector data and digital services. Any changes will be based on robust evidence and user research.
The statutory responsibility for maintaining the completeness and accuracy of their local electoral registers lies with Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and the Government supports EROs in this.
Asked by: Lord Harper (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to paragraph 15 of the policy paper "Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern & secure elections", published on 17 July, why it has been decided that (1) the data for children aged between 16–18 will be available on the open register, and (2) children aged between 16–18 will be included in the requirements for house-to-house visits as part of the annual canvass by electoral registration officers; and what safeguarding issues were considered in that decision making process.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As outlined in the recently published ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’, the Government recognises the importance of taking a particularly careful approach to the handling of data of under 18s who are on the electoral register and our plans reflect this. We are working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office to ensure appropriate safeguards are put in place to protect young peoples’ data. We will ensure UK GDPR conditions are complied with, including a Data Protection Impact Assessment and providing a policy document setting out compliance and retention policies and we will ensure that any privacy notices are suitable for this age group.
We will also remove the presumption that citizens will be added to the open register unless they opt out. Citizens will need to opt in if they wish to appear on the open register. In line with guidance from Information Commissioner’s Office, we consider that an opt in arrangement is a more effective form of consent than the existing opt out process. This will mean those aged between 16 and 17, alongside those aged 18 and over, will be able to make an informed decision and their data will only appear on the open register if they actively decide that they want to allow it.
This government is committed to ensuring that everyone who is entitled to register to vote is able to. The primary purposes of the annual canvass are to ensure our electoral registers are kept up to date and to ensure those entitled to register are identified and invited to do so. 16- and 17-year-olds are already canvassed in the same way as other electors due to their inclusion on the electoral register as attainers. In extending the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds, it is vital they are given the same opportunities to be accurately registered as any other elector.
Our approach balances the need for adequate safeguards within our electoral system, without disadvantaging young voters from being able to participate in it. This mirrors the approaches taken in Scotland and Wales, where the right to vote has already been extended to those aged 16 and 17.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent a two-tier market for shared ownership properties, where new properties have a peppercorn ground rent, lower rent increases, longer leases and protection from repair costs for 10 years unlike legacy shared ownership properties.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The changes described have been implemented through successive amendments to the shared ownership model lease. Once a lease agreement is entered into, its rights and obligations become legally binding. It is not, therefore, possible to apply policy changes to legacy shared owners without contravening legal agreements between individual shared owners and their social landlords.
Legacy shared owners will, however, benefit from the Government’s wider leasehold and commonhold reforms. Measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, once commenced, will grant shared owners the right to a statutory lease extension of 990 years.
The Government continues to give close consideration to ways to improve the experience of all shared owners, including those existing owners who were not captured by changes to the model lease.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Deputy Prime Minister will undertake Ministerial meetings in her Ministerial offices in (1) Marsham Street, and (2) 70 Whitehall, during periods of industrial action by staff or contractors in those respective office locations.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
It is a matter of public record that the Deputy Prime Minister is a proud trade unionist.
The details of ministerial routines are not shared for security reasons.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for using the Social and Affordable Homes Programme budget to fund buybacks of unmortgageable flats from shared owners and convert those flats to social rent or other affordable rent.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Social housing providers currently have the option to repurchase homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues. They can use Recycled Capital Grant Funding or alternative resources to do so. This is not an automatic entitlement for shared owners and is available at providers’ discretion. Providers will have their own policies setting out when this option is available, including any relevant eligibility criteria, and they are expected to publish all relevant policies on their websites in a clear and accessible format.
To deliver the scale of housing the country needs, we have confirmed a new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme to kickstart social and affordable housebuilding at scale across the country. We will publish a full prospectus for the new programme in autumn 2025.
Jul. 31 2025
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