Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of introducing online voter registration in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.
The current estimate of the costs to extend digital registration to Northern Ireland is approximately £250,000. These are one-off costs and will not occur annually.
The option of digital registration will be made available in addition to the existing paper registration system.
A section 75 screening has been carried out in relation to the provisions contained within the draft Representation of the People (Electronic Communications and Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2016. The screening found no adverse impact on equality of opportunity or good relations for those within the section 75 groups.