Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to section 9 of his Department's policy statement, Proposals for reform of the annual canvass, published on 5 October 2018, what steps the Government plans to take to increase registration in the number of attainers; and if the Government will reinstate a separate section for 16 to 17 years olds in the Household Enquiry Form.

The Government is committed to building a democracy that works for everyone. Throughout 2018 we have taken steps to promote democratic engagement amongst young people in particular, including attainers. By making use of the Suffrage Fund, we have delivered three specific projects. These are the Democracy Ambassadors Scheme to recruit and train youth democracy ambassadors, the development and publication of a toolkit for parliamentarians to engage young people and a new secondary schools resource (www.suffrageresources.org.uk).

Our Register to Vote website is widely used by young people: over 7.3 million online applications have been submitted by 16-24 year olds since 2014.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has responsibility for designing registration forms, which are subject to the approval of the Minister for the Cabinet Office following consultation with the Scottish Ministers in respect of forms for use in Scotland and the Welsh Ministers in respect of forms for use in Wales.

We are working closely with the Electoral Commission on the implementation of canvass reform. Canvass reform will lead to new requirements for canvass forms. We understand the EC intends to undertake user testing on the new forms, with a view to making sure the forms are as clear as possible for the citizen.