Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for failing to register on the electoral register; and what the average level was of the fine imposed; in each of the last five years.

The Ministry of Justice holds data on the number of people prosecuted and fined for failing to provide required information to an electoral registration officer, which can be seen in the table below:

Figures on criminal prosecutions are not available beyond 2014 because a change in legislation saw failing to register on the electoral register become a civil (rather than criminal) matter.

For years following 2013, failing to register on the electoral register was dealt with as a standard fine, where local councils can send letters requesting the fine rather than beginning a civil case. Only if the offender refuses to pay, and the council believes it is worth pursuing, would the case be sent to county court and recorded as a ‘specified money claim’. However, centrally held information does not separately identify ‘failing to register on the electoral register’.