Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to work with organisations such as Bite the Ballot to increase voter registration ahead of the deadline on 20 April.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Saltaire - Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to maximising electoral registration, investing £14 million across financial years 2013/14 and 2014/15 to support the costs of activities at a local and national level to maximise the number of people on the register.
Nearly £11 million of this funding has been shared across every Electoral Registration Officer in Great Britain to support the costs of activities aimed at increasing the completeness and accuracy of the register.
Up to £2.5 million is being used to fund wider activity, including working with national organisations to encourage groups who are not as well represented on the electoral register in general, such as young people including students and overseas voters. Up to £500,000 will also go towards efforts to boost confidence in the elections process.