The Electoral Registration (Disclosure of Electoral Registers) (Amendment) Regulations 2014

Statutory Instruments

2014 No. 450

Representation Of The People

The Electoral Registration (Disclosure of Electoral Registers) (Amendment) Regulations 2014

Made

27th February 2014

Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1

The Lord President of the Council makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 53(1) and (3) of and paragraph 1A of Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 1983(1).

In accordance with section 201(2) of that Act(2) a draft of these Regulations has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

The Lord President of the Council has consulted the Electoral Commission, the Information Commissioner and such other persons as he considered appropriate in accordance with section 53(5) of the Representation of the People Act 1983(3) and section 7(1) and (2)(e) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000(4).

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Electoral Registration (Disclosure of Electoral Registers) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 and come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

2.  In regulation 2 of the Electoral Registration (Disclosure of Electoral Registers) Regulations 2013(5), for paragraph (2) substitute—

“(2) Each registration officer must disclose the information in paragraph (1) on the date or dates notified to the registration officer in writing by the Lord President, which shall be within the period starting with the day on which the Electoral Registration (Disclosure of Electoral Registers) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 come into force and ending with 9th June 2014 in relation to England and Wales and with 18th September 2014 in relation to Scotland.”

Signed by the authority of the Lord President of the Council

Greg Clark

Minister of State

Cabinet Office

27th February 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Electoral Registration (Disclosure of Electoral Registers) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/760). The 2013 Regulations require registration officers in Great Britain to disclose the electoral registers maintained by them, and any related information, to the Lord President of the Council and authorise the comparison of that information with data held by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in order to assist registration officers to carry out the purposes set out in paragraph 1A of Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 1983. Those purposes are—

to verify information relating to a person who is registered in a register maintained by the officer,

to ascertain the names and addresses of people who are not registered but who are entitled to be registered, or

to identify those people who are registered but who are not entitled to be registered.

Under the 2013 Regulations disclosures must take place by 17th February 2014 in England and by 10th March 2014 in Scotland and Wales. They are now to be made by 9th June 2014 in England and Wales and 18th September 2014 in Scotland.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.

(1)

1983 c. 2. The power to make regulations under section 53 and Schedule 2 was conferred on the Secretary of State by section 201(1). Article 3 of the Lord President of the Council Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/1837) provides that the Secretary of State’s functions under the 1983 Act (with exceptions which are not relevant here) are exercisable concurrently by the Secretary of State and the Lord President of the Council. Section 53(1) has been amended by paragraph 13 of Schedule 1, and by Part 1 of Schedule 7, to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (c.2). Section 53(3) has been amended by section 24 of and paragraph 13 of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 1985 (c. 50). Paragraph 1A was inserted by paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c. 6).

(2)

Section 201(2) was substituted by paragraph 69 of Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 1985 and amended by paragraph 6 of Schedule 21 to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c.41) and article 5(b) of S.I. 1991/1728.

(3)

Section 53(5) was inserted by paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 to the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013.

(4)

2000 c. 41.

(5)

S.I. 2013/760.