EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Representation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/497). Regulations 3 and 4 provide that the declaration made by a Crown servant or British Council employee working abroad, when that person applies to be registered in an electoral register, no longer has to be sent via their employer. However, there is to be an additional requirement to include their staff number in the declaration. A declaration may now be made on-line.
Regulation 5 requires electoral registration officers, where necessary, to send a second reminder to people, such as overseas electors, who are registered by virtue of a declaration, that their declaration is about to expire.
Regulation 6 updates statutory references in the regulation about registration appeals.
Regulation 7 authorises the council which appointed a registration officer to disclose information to that officer for certain registration purposes.
An overall impact assessment in relation to the individual electoral registration scheme is available on the Cabinet Office website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/individual-electoral-registration-impact-assessment.