Question

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what research, actions and advice the Electoral Commission undertook to ensure that (a) students and (b) people living in Houses of Multiple Occupation and other mobile groups did not fall off the electoral register in the run up to Individual Electoral Registration; and what assessment the Commission has made of the success of such actions.

The Electoral Commission provides comprehensive guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to support them in maintaining accurate and complete electoral registers. The guidance specifically addresses how EROs can target students and identify residents living in houses of multiple occupation.

The Commission also provides a range of public engagement resources and templates that can be adapted locally, some of which have been designed to help EROs target specific groups such as students.

The Commission’s has published an analysis of the December registers in England and Wales, which can be found at: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/182375/Analysis-of-the-December-2014-electoral-registers-in-England-and-Wales.pdf. This analysis illustrates the challenges of registering students at their term-time address, and the report sets out what action has already been undertaken and what more will continue to be done to target students.

In light of the analysis of the December registers, the Commission has added an additional strand of activity to its public awareness plans make clear to students that they need to register at their term-time address if they wish to vote in their university constituency.

The Commission has also been working with the NUS, the Association of Colleges, Universities UK and other bodies to promote voter registration with students and to encourage registration drives on university and college campuses.

To supplement the work being carried out locally by EROs to work with houses in multiple occupation, the Commission has developed partnerships with a number of housing groups and associations to use their communication channels to promote voter registration.

The Commission will continue to monitor progress with the transition to individual electoral registration and will report in June 2015 on the state of the registers used at the May polls.