To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on its plans to trial Automatic Voter Registration.

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he last made an assessment of the potential merits of Automatic Voter Registration as a means of improving the accuracy of the electoral register.

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential role of Automatic Voter Registration in registering UK citizens abroad.

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had discussions with the (a) Electoral Commission and (b) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the potential merits of an information campaign targeted at UK citizens living overseas to encourage them to register to vote.

In 2014, the then Coalition introduced Individual Electoral Registration. The Government has no plans to reassess its policy with regard to automatic voter registration for resident UK citizens or for registering UK citizens living abroad. The electoral system in the United Kingdom is trust based and voting is not mandatory. The Government opposes automatic voter registration because such a system would risk increasing errors and inaccuracies in the registers.

The Government understands that the Welsh Government is planning to trial automatic registration for devolved elections and will be paying close attention to any unintended or negative effects on registration for reserved elections.

The UK Government is working with the Electoral Commission to amplify its messaging to increase awareness of the forthcoming removal of the 15-year limit on British citizens’ living abroad and their eligibility to register and vote in UK Parliamentary elections.