Memorandum by the British Youth Council
(BYC) (VOT 40)
INTRODUCTION TO
THE BRITISH
YOUTH COUNCIL
1. The British Youth Council (BYC) is the
national youth council in the UK and is an umbrella body for youth
organisations. Its membership ranges from local youth councils
to large youth organisations such as the Scouts, the National
Union of Students and youth wings of trade unions.
2. BYC seeks to promote the active citizenship
of young people, helping them to develop the skills and abilities
to participate fully within decision-making organisations, the
communities in which they live and society as a whole.
3. BYC aims to:
4. Provide a voice for young people;
5. Promote equality for young people;
6. Help young people be more involved in
decisions that affect their lives;
7. Advance young people's participation
in society and civic life;
8. BYC is run by young people for young
people. Young people shape our work at all levels through consultations
and involvement in pieces of work. They can also become involved
as members of our board of 11 annually elected trustees or through
our other committees.
BYC'S HISTORY
OF INVOLVEMENT
IN CITIZENSHIP
AND DEMOCRACY
9. BYC has a history of work in the field
of youth citizenship. We played an active role in the Y Vote?/Y
Not initiative and have produced a number of publications in this
area:
— Young People Influencing Decisions:
BYC's Lobbying Guide, 2003;
— Youth Update, Young People and the 2001
Election, 2002;
— Youth Agenda, Involvement in Decision-Making,
1998.
10. We regularly provide oral and written
evidence to parliamentary committees and commissions on young
people's active involvement in the democratic process. Over the
past few years, we have submitted evidence to the following commissions,
consultations and inquiries:
— Electoral Commission's consultation
on the Voting and Candidacy Age, 2004;
— Putman Commission on Parliament in the
Public Eye, 2004;
— Local Government Information Unit (LGIU)
Commission on the Local Government White Paper, 2002.
11. As part of our wider work on democracy,
BYC chairs the Youth Voting Network, which is supported by the
Electoral Commission. We also provide the secretariat, along with
YMCA England and NCVYS (National Council for Voluntary Youth Services)
to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Youth Affairs.
In 2002, the APPG produced Making Parliament Real for Young People,
a guide for MPs on how to organise successful tours of Parliament
for young people.
JOINT INQUIRY—ISSUES
OF INTEREST
TO BYC
12. BYC welcomes this joint inquiry and
the opportunity to respond. BYC believes that young people, as
empowered citizens, can make an enormous contribution to our society.
A key tenet to young people's empowerment is their ability to
participate in the political process by casting their vote, which
requires young people to place themselves on the electoral register.
13. BYC's submission is focussed on a number
of the areas stated in the request for written evidence. As the
national youth council for young people under 25 in the UK, our
submission is concerned with young people's ability to join the
electoral register and the accompanying issues.
14. BYC believes that young people have
not yet taken their rightful place in the political sphere. By
this it is meant that young people do not presently play the role
that they should in government, political debate, and other decision-making,
either at local, national, or international levels. BYC believes
that by ensuring that the process of electoral registration is
transparent, accessible and plainly explained to young people,
that they will be empowered to register and express their say
in who they want to represent them within the UK's political system,
ie voting in elections.
15. This submission will therefore focus
on:
— Advantages of individual registration
compared with the existing system of household registration;
— Strategies for encouraging, in particular
among young voters, and tackling resistance to registration; and
examination of the advantages and disadvantages of compulsory
registration;
— Advantages or disadvantages of electronic
rather than paper-based registration systems;
— Availability and confidentiality of the
register; and
— Basis for individual registration eg
address-based or on personal criteria such as NI number or birth
date.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
16. BYC believes that the existing system
of electoral registration dismisses citizens as individuals, but
treats them as a homogenous group. Rather than a system based
on residence, BYC believe that a person-centred system, that is
flexible and meets the individual needs of citizens represents
the creation of a responsive system.
17. Young people, especially, currently
feel alienated from most aspects of the political process; this
includes registration as well as voting. We need a sea change
in emphasis, by moving towards a system that entices all citizens,
not just young people, through a variety of methods, to engage
in the process.
18. A move towards a person-centred system
will require a re-evaluation of the way citizens are able to access
information and services that inform and educate them about the
registration process. To achieve best results and reach as many
citizens as possible, in methods appropriate to each citizen,
the state has to enter into sustained, effective partnerships
with the voluntary and private sectors. Voluntary youth organisations,
such as BYC, have a pivotal role to play in advising and influencing
the creation of accessible methods for young people to be informed
about the process. A key tenet of this accessibility is the need
for a secure system, as that will increase people's confidence
in this new approach.
19. All systems need a cornerstone that
lays the foundations. The use of a universal product, provided
by the state, is the only degree of compulsory that BYC believe
should be part of the system. The use of the NI number is the
only universal product provided by the state to all citizens of
voting age. This makes it our preferred cornerstone to a person-centred
system, and would reignite the debate around votes at 16, which
BYC support, as that is the age that citizens receive their NI
number.
20. Choice not enforcement is paramount
to this system. Only through the creation of a system that recognises
citizens' individuality and their diverse needs, will increase
numbers of citizens, who are empowered and enticed, place themselves
on the electoral register.
MOVING TOWARDS
A PERSON-CENTRED
SYSTEM
21. Young people are citizens and as such
deserve the right to be able to influence decisions that affect
and concern them. Within our democratic process, the most powerful
method is by voting in elections, for which citizens need to be
on the electoral register.
22. Many decisions for young people, including
those of voting age, are made for them rather than by them, the
mechanisms employed by the state to ensure all its citizens of
voting age are on the electoral register should enable personal,
individual choice. This is the fundamental premise of voting,
hence the process for being on the register to enable you to vote,
must also be a personal choice.
23. The existing system of household registration
discriminates young people and their ability to register, as well
as sending another message from society that they are not equal
and are less worthy than adults. Something, which BYC believes
is wrong and unjustified.
24. Household registration is an extreme
barrier to those in society who do not have a permanent residence
or regularly move from one part of the country, at some times,
especially in the case of children and teenagers, without their
consultation due to their parent or guardian's work or their family
being gypsies/travellers.
25. BYC supports the move away from a collective,
household registration system towards a system that is based on
and recognises each citizen as an individual. Our democratic process,
and the need to subscribe to participate, should not be defined
by where you live; yet our current system is based on such a premise.
We see this as a move towards the creation of a person-centred
(individual) system, one that does not discriminate against citizens
on the basis of the lack of permanent residence, but enshrines
and celebrates every citizen's democratic right to be placed on
the electoral register.
26. The creation of a person-centred system
would help re-engage, what has become a disengaged and disillusioned
generation, ie young people, with the formal democratic process.
It will serve as a way to educate and inform citizens, regardless
of their age, residence or any other factor, about our democratic
process and the vital importance of their participation. We cannot
seek to create stronger communities, if the systems that facilitate
the selection of leaders to implement such changes deny or deter
many from participating.
27. A person-centred, individual, registration
system must be flexible and robust, to cope with the changing
circumstances that every citizen, of voting age, encounters during
their life. Such a system will end the uncertainty that many citizens,
especially first-time voters, ie young people, feel about electoral
registration, as the basis for registration will be closely tied
to other measures that the state employs to record its citizens'
movements (see The cornerstone to a new approach).
ENTICING AND
ENGAGING YOUNG
PEOPLE
28. Any strategies used to encourage citizens
to join the electoral register must not just ensure that more
citizens are able to vote but that they do vote. Such strategies
must entice and engage with citizens, rather than alienate or
confuse them.
29. Work must be done that reaches out to
citizens, meeting them at their point of need whether that be
educating them about the system and explaining the process, or
informing them of the deadline for registering to ensure that
they are able to vote at the next election.
30. Strategies must not be static and staid,
but responsive to citizens needs. This is both on the basis of
treating each citizen as an individual, as well as recognising
that certain sections of society have similar concerns that need
addressing. Whether that is language, for those whose first language
is not English, or misconceptions about ancillary uses of the
electoral register, or their unfamiliarity with the registration
process.
31. Whilst BYC acknowledges the state's
role in the process, we know through our history of working with
young people, that young people are sceptical and at times untrustworthy
of the government.
32. It is not just young people who are
sceptical of the state. By creating and sustaining partnerships
between the state, voluntary and private sector, this scepticism
can be overcome. The partnership, due to the breadth and diversity
of organisations involved, can effectively deploy a range of appropriate
and targeted methods to encourage citizens to place themselves
on the register.
33. Work around young people's involvement
in the democratic process achieves its best results, when it is
done in partnership with voluntary youth organisations and the
state. The state can provide baseline support and a general framework
(see The cornerstone to a new approach), with voluntary and private
organisations providing the dynamism. This dynamism is translated
to activities on the ground that young people themselves lead,
resulting in their peers engaging in the process.
34. Under this approach, the voluntary and
private sectors can devise appropriate messages, activities and
resources that entice those within the sector to engage in the
process of electoral registration.
35. In relation to engaging young people,
BYC would urge against the sole use of youth work. Youth work
has its many benefits, especially in reaching out to marginalised
young people, its main aim as defined in Section 3 of the Youth
Work Act 2001 is
36. "A planned programme of education
designed for the purpose of aiding and enhancing the personal
and social development of young persons through their voluntary
participation."
37. Youth work's is not young people's civic
development and engagement. This is the focus of many voluntary
youth organisations, especially young people-led organisations
such as the British Youth Council who exist to provide a voice
for young people to assist their greater involvement in civic
life.
38. BYC believes that youth work can play
a pivotal role in educating young people about the electoral process,
especially those young people who are socially excluded. Equally
the state can use compulsory education as another tenet of educating
young people about the process.
39. In addition to schools, further and
higher education institutions also have a role to play in providing
information about the process and how young people can participate
(see An accessible and secure register).
40. Voluntary youth organisations, such
as BYC, can use their vast and diverse networks of young people
and youth organisations to organise various activities such as
workshops, peer consultation, exploit information technology communication,
or the youth sector media, and are best placed to effectively
engage young people with a person-centred system.
41. The private sector, in partnership with
the state, can utilise mainstream media to promote the electoral
register. It is also well placed to entice the endorsement of
well-known individuals by different sections of society, as way
to engage citizens' participation.
42. Whilst BYC is committed to working with
others to increase young people's participation in the process,
and allay any misconceptions they may have, we believe that the
overriding premise for young people's involvement, as previously
stated, should be on personal choice.
43. It is this focus of choice, which underpins
BYC's opposition to a compulsory registration process. Whilst
advocating the use of a citizen's NI number, we believe that it
is a citizens' right to choose whether they wish to be on the
electoral register, and if they choose to be it is also their
choice to vote. Compulsory registration would be a precursor to
compulsory voting.
44. State enforcement is not the way to
attract and engage citizens to participate. Most citizens hate
being told what to do, but are more receptive to suggestive prompts
rather than dictates.
AN ACCESSIBLE,
SECURE REGISTER
45. BYC believe that regardless of whether
the system is paper-based or electronic, it should be accessible
and secure, to ensure confidence in the system and that their
details will not be easily accessed by third parties.
46. Issues of accessibility do not just
relate to security, but also the means by which citizens are able
to obtain information about the electoral register and registration
process. Citizens' portals, both physical and electronic, should
be available in various locations to enable citizens to readily
access such information. This resonates with our belief that the
process should meet citizens individuals needs, and be flexible
whilst robust.
47. BYC has already mentioned the need for
partnership working between the state, private and voluntary sectors.
Institutions within each sector should be outlets of information
about the process, thus ensuring that whilst standard, uniform
information is provided, each partner is able to utilise their
expertise to appropriately tailor the information to the needs
of different sections of society.
48. Our belief of choice also influences
the need for the registration system to be available in numerous
formats. It is not a case or either a paper-based or electronic
system but the use of both systems. A person-centred system is
one based on choice of the means by which a citizen is able to
place him or herself on the register.
THE CORNERSTONE
TO A
NEW APPROACH
49. The foundation or cornerstone to this
new approach—a person-centred (individual) system, is the
mechanism(s) used by the state to record its citizens' movements.
In Moving towards a person-centred system, we have already stated
our opposition to a household system and believe that an address-based
system works on the same premise and thus carries the same disadvantages
and barriers to citizen's ability to be placed on the electoral
register.
50. BYC has already argued for a flexible
registration system, it thereby follows that the cornerstone to
this new approach should also be flexible. In light of this, we
favour the use of the National Insurance (NI) number as the foundation
to a person-centred system.
51. This adequately reflects our stated
desire of the system to be based on the individual, reflect their
changing circumstances through life, as well as possessing real
currency to citizens.
52. Using the NI number would reignite the
debate around the voting age, something that BYC would welcome
as we are committed to campaigning for the lowering to voting
age to 16, the age at which citizens receive their NI number.
53. BYC favours the use of the NI number
as every citizen aged 16 and over, is provided with one. A citizens'
date of birth, as suggested as one possible basis in the joint
inquiry's terms of reference, is not unique as many citizens not
only share the same birthday but birth date, whilst every citizen
has their own, individual NI number.
54. BYC would not wish to see the use of
identity or entitlement cards as the cornerstone to a new registration
system. As an organisation, we are opposed to the introduction
of such a card. This opposition is matched by the majority of
young people who responded to our submission to the Home Office's
consultation on Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud.
55. Other state issued documents such as
passports and driving licences are inadequate cornerstones, are
not universal amongst citizens of voting age. Whilst BYC has previously
stated our opposition to enforcement (Enticing and engaging young
people), we believe that encouragement and education rather than
enforcement should be employed to attract citizens to register.
56. The state's key role in laying the cornerstone
is the provision of a universal product to all citizens of voting
age. The use of the NI number, as the cornerstone to this new
approach, fulfils that criterion.
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