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348324

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2015
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people registered to vote or attempted to register to vote online after 20 April 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
	tabling member printed	Justin Madders
	uin	993
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2015 answer text <p>Since 20 April 2015 over 250,000 people have applied to register to vote online at gov.uk/register-to-vote</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Information about the number of people who have applied to register to vote is available at <a href="http://www.gov.uk/performance/register-to-vote" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/performance/register-to-vote</a></p> answering member constituency Weston-super-Mare answering member printed John Penrose question first answered 09/06/2015 15:28:53 answering member 1584 label Biography information for John Penrose
	tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

606665

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2016
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 15 June (HL Deb col 1218), what progress they have made in assessing the benefits of an online registration checking tool.
	tabling member printed	Lord Rennard
	uin	HL2496
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2016 answer text <p>The Government recognises that finding a way to reduce the number of duplicate applications to register to vote would be beneficial for both citizens and electoral administrators. An online registration checking tool is one of many potential solutions.</p><p>We are currently in the discovery phase of investigating the issue of duplicate applications and are scoping a number of options. Whether or not an online registration checking tool is the most viable solution will only become clear after this work has been completed.</p> answering member printed Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen question first answered 26/10/2016 14:17:29 answering member 4330 label Biography information for Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
	tabling member	2484 label Biography information for Lord Rennard

622482

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2016
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen on 26 October (HL2496) concerning progress in assessing the benefits of an online registration checking tool, what assessment they have made of (1) the extent to which an online registration checking tool could increase electoral registration levels by enabling people to check whether or not they are already registered before attempting to register online, and (2) the amount of time election administration staff would spend checking for duplicate registrations; and how they intend to take into consideration the relative importance of each of those benefits when assessing options.
	tabling member printed	Lord Rennard
	uin	HL2803
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p>As stated in my previous answer to HL 2496, the Government is currently conducting a “discovery phase” in relation to understanding the issue of duplicate applications. It is right that we will need to meet the needs both of citizens and administrators when considering the right way forward. In discussions with administrators and others to date, it has become clear there are wide-ranging views on whether citizens would use a look-up tool in practice. There are also wide-ranging views on the kind of intervention that would most benefit administrators. That is why our evidence-gathering phase is so important. This discovery phase is also important for us to understand the practical considerations of the different possible solutions.</p> answering member printed Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen question first answered 08/11/2016 16:33:10 answering member 4330 label Biography information for Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen
	tabling member	2484 label Biography information for Lord Rennard

686936

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2017
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions the Government has had with electoral management system suppliers to assess the viability of an online registration checking tool; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	63662
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2017 answer text <p>Introducing an online registration checking tool is one of many options to be considered to address the issue of duplicate applications which, the Government recognises, is causing concern among the electoral community. We are committed to tackling the issue and have started a process to examine the scale of the problem so we can identify all the options open to us. This process includes working with the electoral management system suppliers to identify if any improvements can be made to the system functionality.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 20/02/2017 10:44:15 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

732645

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2017
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will introduce a process to enable people to check their electoral registration status online.
	tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
	tabling member printed	Martyn Day
	uin	1170
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2017 answer text <p>At present, citizens can contact their local Electoral Registration Officer to determine whether they are on the register. The Government recognises that duplicate applications pose an administrative challenge. For this reason, we are currently gathering information about the scale of the challenge and working with administrators to understand the impact it has on their work. In the light of the evidence gained we will then consider the best way forward.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 03/07/2017 14:03:24 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

780375

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2017
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of setting up an online service for voters to check whether they are already registered to vote for the purposes of reducing the number of duplicate applications.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham North
	tabling member printed	Alex Norris
	uin	110232
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2017 answer text <p>I refer you to my answer to the member for Lancaster and Fleetwood. Determining an individual’s registration status is the responsibility of Electoral Registration Officers and only EROs hold up-to-date information allowing a citizen to check if they are registered. This means that citizens can contact their local electoral administration office to make enquiries about registration status.</p><p>Making information about registration status available on-line on a national basis would be a significant undertaking and we have no current plans to introduce such a system. It may be more appropriate for EROs to work with their software suppliers to make registers available for checking on-line.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 28/11/2017 16:37:06 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
	tabling member	4641 label Biography information for Alex Norris

816800

	registered interest
	date	05/01/2018
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the increase in level of capacity of the Register to Vote website was between June 2016 and the end of December 2017.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	121227
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2018 answer text <p>Enhancements to the Register to Vote digital service were completed in December 2016, taking full account of the independent lessons learned review from the website outage that occurred in June 2016. The changes included a significant increase in user capacity. Specific user capacity figures cannot be shared for security reasons.</p><p>Over 2.9 million applications were submitted between 18 April and 22 May 2017, including a record number of 622,000 applications on the deadline date.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 16/01/2018 14:39:21 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

856333

	registered interest
	date	06/03/2018
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of allowing online electoral registration using a recognised Government identification such as a passport or driving licence instead of a national insurance number, in line with arrangements for registration by post.
	tabling member printed	Lord Rennard
	uin	HL6121
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2018 answer text <p>While it is possible to register to vote without a National Insurance number, the IER Digital Service uses National Insurance numbers provided by electoral registration applicants to establish identity quickly and easily (applications are processed overnight). This in turn allows Electoral Registration Officers to complete the processing of applications as efficiently as possible. This is especially important in the run up to electoral events.</p><p>The operation of the Digital Service shows that making use of National Insurance numbers in this way is effective. Of the 31,407,478 total applications received between 9 June 2014 and 19 February 2018 (the latest period for which we hold data), only 446,277 or 1.4 per cent were unverifiable. Unverifiable applications are those where an applicant has not provided all of the information necessary to verify their identity. This category therefore includes all those applications received without a National Insurance number. This means that at least 98.5 per cent of those people making an application through the Digital Service have been able to provide a National Insurance number.</p><p>The small number of applicants who cannot provide a National Insurance number are still able to apply to register to vote. Applications without a National Insurance number are processed by the Digital Service and then passed to the local electoral administration team. The team will contact the applicant to provide proof of identity, such as a passport or driving licence. There is also an attestation process for people who cannot provide such alternative forms of ID.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 20/03/2018 17:58:36 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	2484 label Biography information for Lord Rennard

914957

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2018
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people with no (a) fixed and (b) permanent address will be able to register to vote using the online registration service.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	148891
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2018 answer text <p>People with no fixed or permanent address can register to vote at an address or place where they spend a large part of their time. The Government has worked, and will continue in the future to work, with homeless charities to make sure that the paperwork required to register without a fixed address can be readily accessed. Citizens can access the paper application to register to vote if they don’t have a fixed abode at the following url; <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-to-vote-if-you-havent-got-a-fixed-or-permanent-address" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-to-vote-if-you-havent-got-a-fixed-or-permanent-address</a>.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 18/06/2018 14:46:35 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

914958

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2018
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electoral Register: Internet
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of people who registered to vote by means of the online registration service did so without providing a national insurance number in (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016, (d) 2017 and (e) 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	148892
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2018 answer text <p>The online registration service is very popular and enjoys consistently high user satisfaction. The overwhelming majority of people successfully use the service and are able to provide a National Insurance number when doing so. The figures are as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><br> <strong>Online registration applications that did not include a National Insurance number (percentage)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014 (from launch)</p></td><td><p>2.21%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>2.19%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>1.57%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1.69%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018 (to date)</p></td><td><p>1.56%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>As can be seen, over time the number of applications without a National Insurance number has been falling from already very low levels. This suggests that communications activity making it clear that having a National Insurance number to hand makes online applications easier has had an effect.</p><p> </p><p>These figures also clearly justify the use of National Insurance numbers as the primary means of verifying the identity of applications received through the online system.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 07/06/2018 11:19:01 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith