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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost of supporting electoral registration by (a) local authorities and (b) other groups was in each of the last 10 years.

John Penrose

Since financial year 2012/13 the Cabinet Office has provided funding to local authorities and civil society organisations to support the implementation and delivery of Individual Electoral Registration. Prior to financial year 2010/11 electoral registration policy was under the remit of the Ministry of Justice. The Cabinet Office does not hold any relevant financial data prior to 2010.

Local Authorities are under a statutory obligation to provide Electoral Registration Officers with funding and resources to support electoral registration more generally. Local Authorities are funded from a block grant that is allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The table below notes the funding provided by the Cabinet Office to local authorities and other groups and organisations in Great Britain. This includes core funding to support local authorites in the transition to IER, and the upgrade of hardware, such as printers, to support the new A3 registration forms .The figures also include funding that was allocated to local authorities and other groups to support efforts to increase levels of registration between financial years 2010/11 and 2015/16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the Government intends to encourage electoral registration officers to prepare and execute strategies to maximise the proportion of (a) 16 and 17 year olds, (b) FE and HE students and (c) people aged 25 years and under registering to vote.

John Penrose

Electoral Registration Officers have a statutory duty to maintain the completeness and accuracy of their registers and are held accountable for meeting performance standards by the Electoral Commission. This includes implementing public engagement strategies to target under registered groups which includes young people. The Government has made available a range of free online learning resources on voter registration. These have been promoted to EROs using channels such as newsletters and Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) meetings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to encourage the combination of electoral registration of 16 and 17 year olds with related (a) programmes of study and (b) extra-curricular activities in all English educational establishments.

John Penrose

The Government helps promote democratic participation in schools through the Citizenship curriculum. This part of the national curriculum is statutory at Key Stage 3 & 4 and helps to prepare pupils to play a full and active part in society. Pupils learn about democracy, government and how laws are made and upheld. The Government has also developed a number of learning resources, including Rock Enrol! This includes activities that discuss the importance of democratic engagement and can be used with young people in formal and informal educational environments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations he has (a) received and (b) made on the introduction or piloting of a system of automatic electoral registration.

John Penrose

I have considered a range of proposals from local authorities and civil society organisations that could change how registration is currently delivered. The Government is committed to further modernising and improving electoral registration, building on the successful transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER). We are keen to explore further possibilities in this area but are concerned there may be tension between some forms of automatic registration and the principles underpinning IER, namely individual responsibility and ownership over registering to vote.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding was (a) allocated and (b) spent by his Department’s Democratic Engagement Team in each of the last six years; and what assessment has been made of the efficiency and effectiveness of that team.

John Penrose

The Democratic Engagement Team, which was created in 2013, has enabled a number of civil society organisations to make an important contribution during the transition to Individual Electoral Registration. Overall, this support has contributed to over 15 million applications to register to vote since June 2014. An overview of the maximising registration funding by year can be found below:

2012/2013 – £56,545

2013/2014 – £4.2m

2014/2015 – £9.8m

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to introduce or pilot a system of automatic electoral registration.

John Penrose

I have considered a range of proposals from local authorities and civil society organisations that could change how registration is currently delivered. The Government is committed to further modernising and improving electoral registration, building on the successful transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER).

We are keen to explore further possibilities in this area but are concerned there may be tension between some forms of automatic registration and the principles underpinning IER, namely individual responsibility and ownership over registering to vote.