Written questions

Voting Rights: Young People

2026-06-30 · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · HL1548 · Official question

Lord Jackson of Peterborough

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their plans to lower the voting age to 16, whether they have plans to amend the definition of a child to those under the age of 16 in the (1) Children and Families Act 2014, (2) Children Act 1989, and (c) Childr

Answer

None of the measures in the Representation of the People Bill which extend the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds will change the definition of a child in those three acts.There is no single definition of the age at which someone becomes an ‘adult’ in ...