Question

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment his Department has made of the trends in the number of unregistered voters between 2010 and 2014; and what targets his Department has to ensure that (a) completeness does not deteriorate and (b) completeness is improved over the next five years.

The Electoral Commission’s study on the completeness and accuracy of the electoral registers, published in July 2014, shows that levels of electoral registration have stabilised since 2011. The report can be found here:

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/169889/Completeness-and-accuracy-of-the-2014-electoral-registers-in-Great-Britain.pdf

The Government is committed to taking steps to ensure that completeness of the electoral register is as high as possible, including the introduction of on-line registration and investing £4.2m to support the costs of activities aimed at increasing voter registration.