Recommendation 21

HM Government Acknowledged

The Government takes its Public Sector Equality Duty seriously. We have given due regard to it throughout the planning for implementation to date and we have always been clear that we will continue to do so. An Equality Impact Assessment was carried out for this Bill and was published in July 2021.4 Under our proposals for introducing voter identification, everyone who is eligible to vote will continue to have the opportunity to do so. As our policy statement makes clear, the list of accepted identification has been drawn up with accessibility specifically in mind, as well as security. Eligible voters who nonetheless do not have one of the wide range of acceptable forms of photographic identification will be able to apply for a free Voter Card from their local authority. They will be able to do so at the same time as when they register to vote, so applying for Voter Cards will be easy and accessible to all voters who may need one. The Cabinet Office has carried out substantial research into the levels of the electorate’s ownership of photographic identification. A nationally representative survey, conducted in 2021, found that the vast majority - 98% - held a form of photographic identification that will be accepted under the new voter identification rules. This is the case across age groups, with the survey showing that 98% of older people (aged 70+) and 99% of younger people (aged 18–29) had appropriate identification, and within ethnic minority respondents, of whom 99% held an accepted form of photographic identification. We recognise the slightly lower rate of identification ownership amongst people with disabilities (97% of those with a somewhat limiting disability, and 95% of those with a severely limiting disability) and further work is being done with these groups to ensure that appropriate support is provided. One key example of this is the Government’s expert Accessibility of Elections Working Group, which ensures close working between the Government, the electoral sector and leading disability charities. A significant amount of engagement with charities and civil society organisations across the UK has also taken place to ensure the measures in the Bill work for all voters, and all groups are aware of the new requirements. Engagement to date has included official and Ministerial roundtables and focus groups with a wide range of groups, including organisations representing individuals and communities with protected characteristics - age, disability, gender reassignment, race, and religion or belief - as well as organisations representing other groups, such as the homeless and survivors of domestic abuse. This engagement continues, with further engagement with civil society organisations planned to add to the evidence base on ownership and accessibility of photographic identification by groups with protected characteristics. This will support implementation planning and inform the awareness-raising strategy, ensuring that stakeholders are informed in detail about the new requirements, the Voter Card application process, and the practicalities of showing identification in the polling station. Additionally, the Electoral Commission will provide a comprehensive, targeted communications campaign and guidance, raising awareness throughout the electorate of the new voter identification requirements. Finally, it should be noted that photographic identification to vote has been required to vote in Northern Ireland since 2003, operating with ease. Electoral Commission opinion research on the 2019 general election also reported that 83 per cent of voters in Northern Ireland found it ‘very easy to participate in the elections’ as opposed to 78 per cent in Great Britain elections. And, in their 2021 Public Opinion tracker, the Electoral Commission did not record a single Northern Ireland respondent reporting: ‘I don’t have any identification / I would not be able to vote’.