The Electoral Registration Pilot Scheme (England and Wales) Order 2017

Statutory Instruments

2017 No. 610

Representation Of The People, England And Wales

The Electoral Registration Pilot Scheme (England and Wales) Order 2017

Made

26th April 2017

Coming into force

30th June 2017

The Minister for the Cabinet Office makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 7(1) and (2)(a), 9(1) and (7)(b), and 11(5)(a) of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013(1) (“the Act”).

In accordance with section 9(3) of the Act, the registration officer for each area to which this Order relates proposed the making of a pilot scheme in relation to that area and has agreed to the modifications made by the Minister to the proposal.

In accordance with section 11(2) of the Act, a draft of this Order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

Citation, commencement, duration and extent

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Electoral Registration Pilot Scheme (England and Wales) Order 2017 and comes into force on 30th June 2017.

(2) This Order ceases to have effect on 6th July 2018.

(3) This Order extends to England and Wales.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order—

“2001 Regulations” means the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001(2);

“annual canvass” means the annual canvass required by section 9D(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 Act(3);

“specified area” means—

(a)

in relation to England, the area of a district or London borough specified in Part 1 of the Schedule; and

(b)

in relation to Wales, the area of a county borough specified in Part 2 of the Schedule.

Period of pilot scheme

3.  Articles 4 to 6 have effect in relation to a specified area for the period beginning with 1st July 2017 and ending with 29th June 2018.

Modification of the Representation of the People Act 1983 Act and the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001

4.  Section 9D(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 and regulations 32ZA and 32ZB of the 2001 Regulations do not apply in relation to the annual canvass.

Annual canvass

5.—(1) The registration officer must conduct the annual canvass in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) The registration officer must attempt to make contact with a person at each residential address in the specified area at least once during the period beginning with 1st July 2017 and ending with 2nd February 2018.

(3) The registration officer may comply with the requirement in paragraph (2) by any means the registration officer thinks appropriate, including—

(a) by sending a canvass form, which may be the form designed by the Electoral Commission under regulation 32ZA(2) of the 2001 Regulations;

(b) by visiting the address;

(c) by telephone;

(d) by electronic means.

Specified date for the Electoral Commission to report on the pilot scheme

6.  The date specified for the purposes of section 9(7)(b) of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (date by which the Electoral Commission must give copy of their report) is 29th June 2018.

Chris Skidmore

Minister for the Constitution

Cabinet Office

26th April 2017

Article 2

SCHEDULE Specified Areas

PART 1

• Barrow-in-Furness

• Bath & North East Somerset

• Camden

• Coventry

• Derbyshire Dales

• East Devon

• Hounslow

• Luton

• Newcastle Upon Tyne

• Salford

• South Holland

• South Norfolk

• South Oxfordshire

• Sunderland

• Vale of White Horse

• Wakefield

• Woking

PART 2

• Blaenau Gwent

• Torfaen

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

Following the introduction of individual electoral registration under changes made by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c. 6), this Order establishes a pilot scheme giving electoral registration officers in specified areas in England and Wales wider discretion over the manner in which they conduct the annual canvass under section 9D of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2).

Article 4 of this Order modifies the existing requirements in relation to the canvass in the areas in the Schedule. Article 5 requires electoral registration officers in those areas to canvass each residential address in the area for which they act at least once but the manner in which they do so and whether they take further steps where no information is received in respect of a particular address will be at the electoral registration officer’s discretion.

Article 6 specifies the date by which the Electoral Commission is required to give a copy of their report on the pilot scheme under section 9(7)(b) of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 to the Minister and the electoral registration officers. The Order ceases to have effect on 6th July 2018.

An impact assessment has been prepared and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the Order on legislation.gov.uk or from the Modern Registration Division, Constitution Group, Cabinet Office, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.

(1)

2013 c. 6. Powers under section 7 and 9 of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 are vested in “the Minister”, which is defined in section 25 of that Act. By virtue of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/1376), article 3 and Schedule 1, paragraph (q) and the Transfer of Functions (Elections, Referendums, Third Sector and Information) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/997) article 3 and Schedule 1, paragraph (s), powers under that Act exercisable by the Secretary of State concurrently with the Lord President of the Council are instead exercisable concurrently with the Minister for the Cabinet Office. A consequential amendment to section 25(1) was accordingly made by article 13 of, and paragraph 26 of Schedule 2 to, the Transfer of Functions (Elections, Referendums, Third Sector and Information) Order 2016.

(2)

S.I 2001/341, amended by S.I. 2013/3198, 2015/1376, 2015/1971, 2016/694 and 2016/997; there are other amendments which are not relevant to this Order.

(3)

1983 c. 2. Section 9D was inserted into the Representation of the People Act 1983 by section 4 of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013.