Overview

This bill proposes automatically registering 16-year-old school students to vote, provided their parents consent. The process would involve schools providing relevant information to electoral registration officers.

Description

This bill amends the Representation of the People Act 1983. It lowers the voting age for parliamentary and local government elections from 18 to 16 for school students. However, this automatic registration is conditional upon parental consent. The Secretary of State will create regulations requiring schools to provide necessary student information to registration officers, including parental consent details. The bill specifies that this automatic registration does not override existing individual registration processes. The bill comes into effect one year after it is passed and applies to the whole of the UK.

Government Spending

The bill does not specify any direct government spending figures. The costs will likely involve the development and implementation of new regulations and systems for data sharing between schools and electoral registration offices.

Groups Affected

• 16-year-old school students: They will be automatically registered to vote if their parents consent.
• Parents of 16-year-old school students: They will have to provide consent for their children's automatic registration.
• Schools: They will have a new duty to collect and provide student information to electoral registration officers.
• Electoral registration officers: They will receive additional information to process automatic registrations.

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