Question

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, on how many occasions Electoral Registration Officers did not meet the Electoral Commission performance standards; how many directions were issued by the Commission in response to such occasions; and on how many such directions Ministers have acted.

The number of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) who did not meet one or more of the Commission’s performance standards in each year since their introduction in 2008 is as follows:

In 2013 the Commission introduced a new performance standards framework for EROs to support them in preparing for and delivering the transition to Individual Electoral Registration. In March 2014 we reported that no EROs failed to meet the first of these standards.

More detailed information on the performance of EROs in each year is available on the Commission’s website.

The Commission has not to date made any recommendations to the Secretary of State to issue a direction to individual EROs.

Where an ERO does not carry out their duties in full, the Commission’s priority is to take action to ensure that the ERO makes improvements to their performance in the discharge of their functions. In doing this, the Commission considers the full range of available options, taking into account the facts in each particular case. This could include making a recommendation to the Secretary of State to issue a direction to the ERO to require them to make improvements.