R11-21

The Government believes that informing the public on the mechanics of the electoral system, including the registration process, is key to maintaining a strong democracy and we agree that the Electoral Commission should continue to fulfil this role.
Although there are non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as the Hansard Society, which provide educational information about the democratic process, the Electoral Commission has increasingly developed a reputation as the recognised national source of definitive information about how to register and vote in elections. It is also important that there remains a statutory provider of such information, in case for financial or other reasons voluntary NGOs are unable to do so at any time.
The Government agrees this recommendation as there is now general consensus, including from the Commission itself, that the Commission should withdraw from a wider role of encouraging democratic engagement. Given this agreement we do not feel that legislative change to Section 13 of PPERA (which sets out the Commission's duties in this area) is necessary as this section can be interpreted more narrowly to reflect the restricted remit of the Commission (it was previously interpreted more broadly).
Whilst accepting the Commission's withdrawal in the area of democratic engagement to focus specifically on registration and voting, we recognise that the wider democratic engagement debate is still very important. Some feel the task of encouraging greater engagement in democracy is the job of political parties, while others view the democratic engagement portfolio as being wider than just party politics. The Government will continue to play a part both in enabling and encouraging citizens’ engagement in democracy and in providing a wide range of engagement opportunities outside of elections which allow citizens' voices to be listened to and fully considered.