Electoral Register: Young People

(asked on 24th June 2014) - View Source

Question

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the Answer of 30 April 2014, Official Report, column 711W, on electoral register, if the Electoral Commission will make it its policy to collect data on the number and percentage of attainers registered to vote.


Answered by
Gary Streeter Portrait
Gary Streeter
This question was answered on 1st July 2014

The Electoral Commission informs me that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) collect the number of attainers on the registers published following each annual canvass.

The ONS also publishes population estimates by single year of age which make it possible to calculate rough percentages of attainers registered. However, these proportions are approximations as the number for attainers on the register is likely to include some duplicate entries and the population estimates will include people who are ineligible to register to vote.

The Electoral Commission has access to this data and therefore informs me that it currently has no plans to collect information itself on the number and percentage of attainers registered to vote each year. The Commission does, however, periodically produce research on the completeness and accuracy of electoral registers, which includes information on attainers. The next of these reports is expected to be published in July.

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