Overview

This bill aims to improve voter registration in the UK by enabling data sharing between government bodies and registration officers, and by mandating active steps to register underrepresented groups. It simplifies the registration process and increases efforts to ensure everyone eligible is registered.

Description

The bill empowers the Secretary of State to create regulations requiring specified government bodies (e.g., DVLA, DWP, HM Passport Office, NHS) to share relevant voter registration information with registration officers. This information will be used to automatically register eligible individuals or initiate further inquiries if complete data isn't available. Importantly, no data will be shared without a person's consent.

Key Changes to Registration Officer Duties:

Registration officers will now have a duty to proactively increase voter registration amongst specific groups (16-24 year olds, disabled people, and underrepresented ethnic groups) and conduct at least one voter engagement session per year in each school and further education college within their area.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't specify direct government spending figures. However, costs could arise from implementing the new data-sharing system and the increased activity by registration officers. Potential savings might result from a more efficient registration process.

Groups Affected

• Government Bodies: Increased administrative burden to share data.
• Registration Officers: Increased workload due to proactive registration efforts.
• Underrepresented Groups (16-24 year olds, disabled people, underrepresented ethnic groups): Should see increased access to voter registration.
• General Public: Potentially more streamlined voter registration process.

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