§ Mr. Greg KnightTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will allow persons who(a) have a reasonable fear of domestic or other violence or (b) are deemed a security risk to be removed from the published version of the Electoral Register without losing their right to vote. [80785]
§ Yvette CooperI understand that the question of "anonymous registration" is being considered by the Electoral Commission in its current review of registration issues, and a consultation document is in preparation. The Government will consider any recommendations the Electoral Commission makes very carefully. Under regulations made in July electors can ask for their names to be removed from the edited version of the register that is for sale, but an Electoral Registration Officer currently has no discretion to omit the names of those who are entitled to be registered from the full version. While the Government are concerned to 207W ensure that vulnerable people are not put at risk, the electoral register is a public document and anonymous registration may make it difficult for members of the public and political parties to check whether eligible names have been included and ineligible names have not.