Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the franchise for local elections in England and Northern Ireland in line with the voter eligibility criteria in Wales and Scotland.

The Government’s position on the franchise remains unchanged. The Government was elected on a manifesto promising to “maintain the voting age at 18 – the age at which one gains full citizenship rights”. 18 has been the well-established age of majority for, for example, jury service, purchasing alcohol, getting married without parental permission, serving in front-line military roles, standing for election as an MP or councillor, and so on.

The purpose of the electoral register is to enable those who are eligible to vote to register and ensure that only people who are eligible to vote are permitted to do so. Data on those who are not eligible to vote in UK elections is not held centrally.