Elections: Proof of Identity

(asked on 12th June 2018) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department conducted it's own equality impact assessment of voter ID pilots separate to those conducted by the local authorities participating in the pilot schemes prior to the delivery of those schemes in May 2018.


Answered by
Chloe Smith Portrait
Chloe Smith
This question was answered on 18th June 2018

Voter ID is an important step to ensuring the public can have greater confidence in our democratic system.

We remain committed to ensuring that inclusivity and equality is integral to everything we do

and that whatever we do has the rights of electors and the fairness, equality and inclusivity of our electoral system at its centre.

Local authorities best understand the needs of their electors. Each local authority was required to consider the impact on voters with protected characteristics. Each local authority completed an equality impact assessment, which was subject to expert and detailed scrutiny from the Cabinet Office, the Electoral Commission and the Association of Electoral Administrators. The authorities built on their expertise and local knowledge and engaged with local groups to take into account the needs of all of their respective electorates.

The Government places great importance on promoting equality and diversity and will continue to develop the inclusivity in democratic processes which is so important, while underpinning confidence in our democratic processes and the security and resilience of the electoral system.

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