Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Grahame Morris and Chris Skidmore

Wednesday 22nd November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

6. What steps the Government are taking to ensure the accessibility of voter registration.

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Chris Skidmore)]

The Government are currently considering the 256 responses to our call for evidence on the accessibility of voter registration and voting. I will soon lay draft legislation to improve the accessibility of the anonymous registration scheme for survivors of domestic violence, and I recently implemented the findings of an accessibility review on the “Register to vote” website.

[Chris Skidmore]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising the report by Mencap, which has been working closely with the Cabinet Office and is a member of the “accessibility to elections” working group. I do not disagree with the premise of her question: we need to do more, in the 21st century, to make sure that our elections are accessible for everyone and that we remove barriers for those who are disabled. I am absolutely committed to doing that. It is right that we now consider all the responses and we will publish our report later next year.

[Grahame Morris]

Millions of people are missing from the electoral registers, but there are high levels of support for reforming our electoral registration system—in particular, for automatic voter registration when a person receives their national insurance number. When will the Government implement the necessary reforms to ensure that our democracy works for the many, not just the few?