§ Mark TamiTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment has been made of participation rates in general elections in(a) the United Kingdom and (b) other EU countries in the last five years. [156446]
§ Mr. LeslieWhile the Government are aware of participation rates in general elections in the UK and other EU countries, they have not conducted any specific research. The independent Electoral Commission reported on the outcome of the 2001 general election and has conducted research on voting intentions for the European parliamentary and Londons Mayoral and Assembly elections in June 2004.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what research his Department has conducted on the implications of the introduction of compulsory participation in United Kingdom elections. [156447]
§ Mr. LeslieNone. However, the Government are aware that the independent Electoral Commission has indicated that it intends to conduct future research on the international use of compulsory voting.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what research his Department has conducted on the use of(a) legal and (b) fixed penalties to encourage higher levels of voter registration. [156448]
§ Mr. LeslieNone. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), appointed for the purpose by local authorities, are responsible for compiling the electoral register. It is already an offence punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding £1,000 for a person to fail to comply with876W a request for information from, or to provide false information to, an ERO who is seeking to carry out his duty to prepare an electoral register.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what research his Department has carried out to ascertain why individuals do not register to vote. [156540]
§ Mr. LeslieResearch on why individuals fail to register to vote has not been carried out by this Department. However, the Government are aware that the independent Electoral Commission has published several research reports on voter engagement that have included coverage of levels of registration.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps he is taking to encourage people to complete electoral registration forms. [156541]
§ Mr. LeslieThe Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 introduced in February 2001 a number of changes to voter registration procedures aimed both at making it easier for persons to register to vote, and at achieving more accurate and up to date electoral registers. These changes included the introduction of 'rolling registration' and enabling persons without a conventional address to register to vote. The Government ran major public information campaigns at that time to publicise these changes.
The independent Electoral Commission is now responsible for raising public awareness of registration issues.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of people who failed to register to vote in the UK in each of the last five years. [156542]
§ Mr. LeslieThe information requested has not been collected by the Government.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many registered postal voters there were in each constituency in the UK at the 2001 general election. [156548]
§ Mr. LeslieThe independent Electoral Commission published in January 2002 'Postal votes, proxy votes and spoilt ballot papers at the 2001 general election', which provides this information. I understand that the Commission placed copies of that document in the Library of the House at the time of publication.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of a rolling register on levels of voter registration in the UK. [156537]
§ Mr. LeslieThe Government consider that 'rolling registration' has resulted in more accurate and up to date electoral registers. I understand that the independent Electoral Commission has commenced further research to assess the operation and impact of rolling registration on levels of voter registration. The Government will consider carefully any findings made by the Electoral Commission on this issue.