Research Briefing
23 January 2023
By Neil Johnston

Supply and sale of the electoral
register

Summary
1 Electoral registration
2 What are the full and open registers?
3 Who has access to the full register?
4 Who has access to the open register?
5 Use of old registers
6 Marked registers
7 Background to the introduction of the open register
8 Reviewing access to the open registercommonslibrary.parliament.uk

Number 01020

Supply and sale of the electoral register

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

Contents
Summary

4

1

Electoral registration

7

1.1

Do I have to register?

8

2What are the full and open registers?

13

2.1

The full register

13

2.2

The open register143

Who has access to the full register?

16

3.1

Free copies

16

3.2

Sale of copies

20

4

Who has access to the open register?

22

5

Use of old registers

23

6

Marked registers

25

7

Background to the introduction of the open register

27

7.1

Howarth Report

27

7.2

The Robertson judgment

29

7.3

Regulations introducing the open register

29

8

Reviewing access to the open register

32

8.1

The report of the Data Sharing Review

32

8.2

Consultation on the abolition of the edited register

33

8.3

Early Day Motion calling for retention of the edited register

35

8.4

Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee

35

8.5

The UK Government’s decision to retain the edited register37

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

Summary
The electoral register is a list of everyone who is registered to vote. This
briefing paper sets out the rules on access to the electoral register, including
the marked registers. It also sets out the background to the introduction of
the open register.
There are two versions of the electoral register:•

the full register; and•the open register, also known as the edited register.

Electoral registers are maintained locally by electoral registration officers(EROs) in your local authority. Voting is voluntary but you must respond torequests for information from an ERO. You cannot object to the use of yourname or home address for the purpose of maintaining the electoral register.

The full register
The full register contains the names and addresses of everyone who isregistered to vote.
Any member of the public may inspect the full register under supervision.
They cannot make any copies or use the information for marketing, but they
may make handwritten notes.
There are strict rules on who has access to the full register and on what use
can be made of the data contained within it. These are set out in legislation
and a breach of the rules is an offence.
Some organisations are entitled to a free copy of the full register on
publication. These include:•

the Office of National Statistics and National Records of Scotland;•

the British Library and national libraries in Scotland and Wales;•

the Electoral Commission and boundary commissions;•

Returning Officers running an election;

The full register is also used for summoning juries.
Certain individuals and organisations are entitled to free copies of the fullregister (or part of it) on request. These include:

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Supply and sale of the electoral register•

registered political parties - for electoral purposes and for checking
donations;•elected representatives and candidates standing in elections areentitled to the full register for the area they represent or are contesting- for electoral purposes and checking donations;•referendum campaigners registered with the Electoral Commission;•

local public libraries and local authority archive services; and•the police and security services.

Government departments may buy a full copy for vetting and crime
prevention and detection purposes.
Credit reference agencies are entitled to buy a full copy of the register if they
fulfil certain criteria. Credit refence agencies use the full register so that
lenders can check the names and addresses of people applying for credit andcarry out identity checks to help stop money laundering.
Full copies available for inspection or for supply will not include anonymous
registration entries. These are exempt and only the ERO and elections staff
will have access to data of those registered anonymously. The data of thoseunder 16 who have registered in advance of reaching voting age (where thevoting age is 16), is also protected and is only disclosed in very limited
circumstances.
The full list of who can receive or buy copies of the electoral register are set
out by the Electoral Commission document, The electoral register.

The open register
The open register contains the names and addresses of everyone who hasregistered to vote but who has not opted out of the open register. The open
register is available for sale. Any individual or organisation may buy the open
register from an ERO, for any use, on payment of the appropriate fee.
When registering to vote or responding to the annual canvass sent out by
the ERO at your local authority, you will be given the option to opt out of theopen register.
Currently in Great Britain about 60% of registered electors are opted out of
the open register.
Section 7 gives the background to the introduction of the open register.

The marked register
The marked register, which is the register marked off in polling stations toshow who has voted, is open for public inspection after an election. Requests

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Supply and sale of the electoral registermust be in writing and state the purpose of the request. Inspection must be
done under supervision only handwritten notes are allowed. Candidates atelections and political parties may also request copies of the marked registerfor electoral purposes, which may be supplied on payment of a fee.

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

1

Electoral registration

The electoral register contains the name and address of each eligible
registered individual. There is no single national electoral register. Electoral
registers are compiled by local electoral registration officers. There is a single
online portal for registration, Register to vote, but data is then transmitted
to local registration officers.
Technically there are separate franchises, the UK Parliamentary franchise
and the local government franchise.1 However, electoral registers aremaintained as far as possible as one register. When someone registers tovote, the information provided will determine which elections they are
eligible to vote in and this will be recorded accordingly. 2
In England there is an Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for each local
authority responsible for electoral registration. This is the lower tier district
or borough council in two-tier areas (where the county council is the uppertier), or in single tier area the local unitary authority, metropolitan boroughor London borough. From 1 April 2023 the numbers are:
•
•
•
•
•

164 district and borough councils (lower tier councils in areas with a
two-tier local council structure where county councils are the uppertier);
32 London boroughs;
The City of London;
36 Metropolitan borough councils;
63 unitary authorities. 3

In the 32 unitary councils in Scotland, the registration officer is the local
Assessor (except for the City of Dundee and Fife). Assessors in Scotland arealso responsible for the valuation of properties for council tax and nondomestic rates. 4
In Wales, each of the 22 unitary councils has an electoral registration officer.

1
2

3

4

7

In Wales, the franchise for Senedd elections is technically separate
The Library briefing, Who can vote in UK elections?, has more information on the different
franchises
ONS Open Geography portal. Note that local government reorganisation may alter this number.
From 1 April 2023 two-tier local government will abolish 17 districts and upper tier councils in
Cumbria, North Yorkshire, and Somerset, and replace them with four unitary authorities
See the Scottish Assessors Association website

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

The electoral registration officer for Northern Ireland, where there is a single
central register, is the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland. 5
There are two versions of the electoral register maintained by electoral
registration officers:•

the full register and•the open register (also known as the edited register).

Access to the full register is restricted by law. The open register is available
for sale for any reason. You have the right to opt out of the open register.
For the background to the creation of two versions see Section 7.
EROs have a statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral registerand to “take all steps that are necessary” to improve the coverage andaccuracy of the full register under the Representation of the People Act 1983
as amended.
Although electoral registration is now continuous, a new full version of theelectoral register is usually published at the beginning or December eachyear. The December 2020 register has been delayed until February 2021
because of the coronavirus pandemic. This follows the annual canvass ofelectors, where EROs will contact local electors during the summer to checkthat details are still correct. In Northern Ireland a canvass is now normallyheld every ten years.
Additions and deletions to the register during the rest of the year will takeeffect at the beginning of the following month.

1.1

Do I have to register?
Electoral registration is effectively compulsory. It is not an offence to fail toregister to vote, but it is a criminal offence to fail to comply with a request
for information from an ERO as part of the annual canvass.
The decision whether to vote remains voluntary and when registering you
have the choice to opt out of the open register.
A request for information will usually be in the form of an annual canvass
letter/form sent by your council to check whether the electoral register
details for your address are still correct. If the details are correct, you will notneed to do anything. If, however, any information is wrong or there issomeone eligible to register and their details are not included, you must
respond to the annual canvass form.

5

8

See the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland website

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

You could face fine up to £1,000 for failing to provide the information
required to the ERO. Information on the number of people fined is not held
centrally. 6
Providing false information is an offence and the penalty is up to 51 weeks
imprisonment or an unlimited fine in England and Wales. In Scotland andNorthern Ireland, the fine is up to £5,000 or six months in prison.7
If an ERO becomes aware of a potential elector at an address and not on theregister, usually by information provided during the annual canvass, theymust send that person an invitation to apply for registration. Failure to
respond to the invitation to register is a civil offence and the ERO may
impose a civil fine, a fixed penalty notice of £80.8 Figures on the number ofpenalties issued is not held centrally. 9
The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill, which passed it final stages
in the Senedd on 18 November 2020, contains provisions on registering local
government electors in Wales. When brought into force they will allow EROs
in Wales to register people without the person having to apply. If an ERO is
satisfied that a person not on the register of local government electors isentitled to be registered, they can register them but must first write to them.
This notice will inform the person of their right to opt out of the open
register, and the right to register anonymously. 10 It will also inform themwhich elections they will be registered for. The ERO cannot register them for
the UK Parliamentary franchise. Someone’s name will only be added to theregister after a 28-day period has elapsed from the sending of the notice.
The Welsh Government consulted on taking forward these powers forwardfrom October 2022 to January 2023 and is considering the responses.11

Introduction of the fixed penalty notice
Civil penalties for failing to respond to an invitation to register (ITR) wereintroduced in the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 by the
Coalition Government. The 2013 Act sped up the implementation of the new
system of individual electoral registration (IER). IER had been introduced by
the previous Labour Government Political Parties and Elections Act 2009
with phased implementation.
The Coalition Government had originally considered allowing people to opt
out of electoral registration and making it a matter for the individual
whether or not to reply to an invitation to register. It would maintain the

6
7
8
9
10

11

9

WPQ 116269, 6 December 2017
Section 13D of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as amended
Section 9E of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as amended
WPQ 286651, 9 September 2019
The Library briefing, Anonymous electoral registration, has more information on the criteria foranonymous registration
Welsh Government, Electoral administration and reform White Paper, 11 October 2022

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

criminal offence of failure to respond to attempts by electoral registration
officers to discover who in a household is eligible to vote stating:
The situation is different for a household canvass. If one member of thehousehold does not reply it has the potential to disenfranchise others in thehousehold who may be eligible to register to vote and for this reason we
intend that the current offence…will apply to the household canvass only,
thus allowing those who fail to respond to an enquiry to be prosecuted, but
not to those who choose not to return an individual application form. 12

There were concerns expressed that making it optional to be on the registerwould have an impact on registration rates. In evidence to the Political andConstitutional Reform Committee inquiry on the draft proposals, theElectoral Commission stated that:
The register performs an important civic function, beyond enabling us to vote,and those functions are also important in a democracy. It ensures the public
are counted for purposes of representation and drawing boundaries. It
ensures that political parties and candidates can contact electors and try andpersuade them to vote, and of course it is the register from which potential
jurors are drawn. It is also used in law for the purpose of credit reference
agency checks and for detecting fraud. 13

The Electoral Commission were concerned that registration levels could fall
to match turnout, in other words from around 90% to less than 70%. 14 The
Committee heard from others that the threat of fines for failure to completea registration form had significantly improved electoral registration rates. In
the Government’s response to the consultation and the Committee’s report,
it acknowledged the concerns. It had heard from the Society of Local
Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers, SOLACE, “althoughsanctions are rarely used, we believe that the threat of sanction is a strong
motivator which persuades many people to return their annual canvass
form.”The Government heard from several respondents that an alternative
approach, the use of a civil penalty for failing to respond to an invitation toregister, may be preferable. The Government responded by saying:
Our position remains that we do not intend to criminalise individuals for not
registering to vote; however we recognise that there is a debate to be had
about the merits of the proposal that we introduce a civil penalty for not
returning an IER form 15

The Government introduced the civil sanction for failure to respond to an
invitation to register in Section 5 of the 2013 Act. This amended the
12
13

14
15

10

HM Government, Individual Electoral Registration, Cm 8108, June 2011, para 65
Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Individual Electoral Registration and Electoral
Administration - Volume I PDF version 10th Report, November 2011, HC1463 2010-12, p9
Ibid.
HM Government, Government Response to pre-legislative scrutiny and public consultation on
Individual Electoral Registration and amendments to Electoral Administration law , Cm 8245,
February 2012,p14

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

Representation of the People Act 1983 by inserting new section 9E in the1983 Act.
Commenting on the proposals during the Commons Committee stage debate
on the provision, Mark Harper, for the Coalition Government said:
Several hon. Members have touched on the public policy reasons justifying apenalty. Some aspects of registration affect other people. First, the register
provides the source of jurors, and it is important to have balanced juries
made up of a proper cross-section of adult electors. Secondly, electoral
registers can affect boundary changes—not just parliamentary boundarychanges, but local ones as well, as highlighted by several hon. Members. That
is why we decided it made sense to have a civil penalty, which was also in
response to the Select Committee’s report and some of the evidence that was
taken. 16

During the House of Lords stages, Lord Wallace of Saltaire spoke for the
Coalition Government, saying:
The purpose of the civil penalty is to encourage citizens to fulfil what we all
regard as their civic duty and to make it clear that there are consequences forthem failing to do so. It is not intended that it should be imposed on every
single person who for whatever reason fails to go through to the complete
process. Indeed, the evidence is that prominent inclusion on the registration
form of the words, “This is your civic duty. You are subject to a fine if you do
not fill in the form”, significantly increases the number of people who fill inthat form. That is particularly valuable. But to move on from there to pursuing
everyone who fails to fill in the form accurately, or who refuses point blankafter many attempts to fill in the form, takes us a little further down the roadfrom voluntary to compulsory voting than many of us wish to go. 17

In July 2020, the House of Lords Committee’s post-legislative scrutiny reporton the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 heard evidence
that few EROs use the sanction and where it was used practice varied.
Witnesses told the Committee the £80 fine was not a sufficient deterrent
and cost more to administer than was collected. It also heard that voterswere confused about the difference between the annual canvass forms andan invitation to register, with some potential new voters responding toannual canvass forms but then ignoring the subsequent ITR, thinking they
had already registered. The Committee recommended that the Government
reconsider the fines regime and the registration system but, in themeantime, should provide greater guidance. 18
The Government responded by saying it believed that local EROs “know theirareas best and should have the tools they need to fulfil their statutory
duties, but also the discretion to use these tools as they consider best.” It

16
17
18

11

HC Deb 25 June 2012, c85-118.
HL Deb 29 October 2012, c408-45
Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 Committee, An electoral system fit for today?
More to be done, HL Paper 83 2019-21, paragraphs 188-97

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

also noted it was the Electoral Commission’s role to issue guidance and not
the Government. 19

Data protection
Electoral Registration Officers are data controllers under the requirements ofdata protection law and GDPR, and data must be processed lawfully, fairly
and in a transparent manner. They must also ensure that the data they holdis processed securely.
Under data protection law someone can object to the processing of theirpersonal data, but this cannot be applied to information where thecollection of or the nature of the processing is specified in electoral law. For
example, in relation to electoral registration, someone can object to theprocessing of their email or telephone contact details but not to the use of
their name or home address for the purpose of maintaining the electoral
register.20

19

20

12

Government response to report: An electoral system fit for today? More to be done, 7 October
2020, p7
Electoral Commission, EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act
2018

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Supply and sale of the electoral register2

What are the full and open registers?

2.1

The full register
The full register contains the names and addresses of everyone who isregistered to vote in public elections in the area that the registration officer
is responsible for.
There are strict rules about who has access to the full register (see Section 3)
but it is also a public document and can be inspected by any member of the
public who wishes to consult it, subject to rules on inspection.
The register for inspection may be made available in electronic or paper
format. However, there are strict restrictions in place to prevent thoseinspecting the register from making copies.
Inspection must be done under supervision. This will usually be at the local
council offices but may also be in a library if suitable monitoring is in place.
Handwritten notes may be made by those inspecting the full register. Anyother copying or recording is prohibited and is a criminal offence. This
includes downloading, photocopying or photographing portions of theregister. If a register is made available in electronic format it is specificallyprohibited to search by name.
Anyone inspecting the register must not use any details for direct marketing.
Anonymous registration is available for people whose safety would be at risk
if their name or address were listed on the electoral register. Those who
qualify for anonymous registration will not have personal details shown on
the full register. For anonymous entries only the elector number and theletter ‘N’ are shown at the end of the relevant part of the electoral register.
Only the ERO and elections staff have access to data of those registeredanonymously. 21
The full register also contains information on ‘attainers’. These are young
people who will attain voting age in the lifetime of the register. In Scotland
and Wales, where the voting age for some elections has been reduced to 16,
the full register will contain attainers aged 15 and, in some instances, 14
years of age. Legislation protects the data on the full register for those below
the age of 16 and it can only be disclosed in limited circumstances. Except in

21

13

For more information on anonymous registration, see Library briefing, Anonymous electoral
registration

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

those limited circumstances, no information on those aged under 16 must be
included on any version of the register published or made available.
The circumstances where information those under the age of 16 can bedisclosed is to the person themselves, if required for an investigation into
registration or election offences, or in connection with elections orregistration to returning and registration officers. In elections where a 15year-old on the register will be 16 by polling day, their information can also
be disclosed to candidates and parties in line with lawful access to the fullregister for candidates (see Section 3.1).

2.2

The open register
The open register contains the names and address of those who haveregistered to vote but who have not opted out of the open register. Whenthe open register was first created it was more commonly referred to as theedited register.
Access to the open register is not restricted. It is available for sale to anyone
and the data in it may be used for any purpose (see Section 4).
When registering to vote or renewing a registration during the annual
canvass of registered voters, you are made aware of the option to opt out of
the open register. Registered electors may change their preference at any
time. The online registration service provides more information on the
webpage, The electoral register and the 'open register'.
Anonymous registrations are not included in the edited register and allanonymous electors are automatically opted out of the open register.
According to data from the Office of National Statistics, in December 201927.4 million voters were opted out of the open register in England andWales. This was 63% of the 43.7 million electors registered to vote in local
elections. 22 A similar proportion of voters in Scotland in December 2019 are
opted out of the open register: 58%. 23
The number of voters opted out of the open register has grown steadily inrecent years. In England and Wales, the figure was around a third in 2013and has grown each year since. In Scotland the proportion was stable ataround a quarter prior to 2015.
The Welsh Government is considering removing the open register for
devolved elections in Wales. Its 2022-23 consultation on electoral

22

23

14

ONS, Home People, population and community Elections Electoral registration Electoral
statistics, UK Electoral statistics, UK: 2019
National Records of Scotland, Electoral Statistics for Scotland, December 2019

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

administration has asked to what extent people agree or disagree with suchan approach. 24
The Welsh Government does not have the power to abolish the open
register for UK Parliament elections, as matters relating to UK Parliamentelections are reserved to Westminster. It means British, qualifying
Commonwealth and Irish citizens resident and registered in Wales to vote in
UK Parliament elections, and who have not opted out of the open register,
will still have their details listed on the open register in use for UK Parliamentelections.

24

15

Welsh Government, Electoral administration and reform White Paper, 11 October 2022

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Supply and sale of the electoral register3

Who has access to the full register?

Strict rules apply to who can have access to the full register. These are set
out in legislation.25 As noted in Section 2.1, any member of the public may
inspect the full register, subject to the restrictions on copying.
Other organisations and individuals have the right to a free copy of the fullelectoral register, subject to restrictions on how the data are used.
Government departments and credit reference agencies may buy copies ofthe full register.
There are general restrictions placed on those who receive a copy of the fullregister, either for free or on payment of a fee.
Recipients cannot supply a copy of the full register to others not authorised
to have access. Nor can they disclose any details from the full register unlessthe details are also on the open register.
Unauthorised disclosure or use of information on the full register (that is noton the open register) is an offence. The register can only be used for the
purpose stated in the regulations by these organisations.
The penalty for an offence relating to sale and supply of the full register is anunlimited fine in England and Wales, or a fine of up to £5,000 in Scotland andNorthern Ireland.

3.1

Free copies
Right to be supplied
The following organisations and individuals are entitled to a free copy of thefull register and must be supplied with a copy on publication. This usually
includes monthly updates, lists of absent voters (those registered for proxyor postal votes) and the overseas voter list (where appropriate):•

Returning Officers running an election;•

The British Library and the national libraries of Scotland and Wales;

25

Principally the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001, theRepresentation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001, and Representation of the People(Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008, as amended

16

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Supply and sale of the electoral register•

UK Statistics Authority;•

National Records of Scotland;•

The Electoral Commission;•

Boundary Commissions – both Parliamentary and local government
boundary commissions;•

National Park authorities in Scotland;•

Jury Central Summoning Bureau - under the provisions of the Juries Act
1974 copies of the full register must also be supplied to the courts forthe purposes of summoning jurors.

The copies of registers held by the national libraries may be inspected, but
those inspecting the registers are under the same restrictions as thoseinspecting a local copy at their council: only handwritten notes may be
made, and any other copying or recording is prohibited and is a criminal
offence. Libraries and councils making registers available for inspection mustalso make sure that the register cannot be searched by name.
Copies more than 10 years old held by national libraries are not subject tothe same restrictions and may be supplied for historical or statisticalresearch. However, whoever is supplied with such copies must not supply,use or disclose information other than for the research unless information
contained in it that is available in the open register.

Right to request
Other organisations and individuals have the right to a free copy of the fullregister (or parts of it) on request, subject to restrictions on the use of theinformation. They may also request monthly updates, the list of absent
voters, and overseas voter list where appropriate. An ERO must comply witha request.
Those who have a right to the full register (or part of it) on request are:•

Elected representatives;•

Candidates standing in elections;•Registered political parties;•

Local constituency parties;•

Election agents for political parties submitting a list of candidates forelections using a list (for example regional candidates at Scottish andWelsh Parliamentary elections);

17

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Supply and sale of the electoral register•

Registered third party campaigners or registered referendum
campaigners (known as permitted participants);•

Councils, including parish councils;•

Returning officers for National Park Authority elections in Scotland;•

Public library or local authority archive services;•

National Crime Agency and police forces;•

The security and intelligence services, including GCHQ

In Northern Ireland, a registered medical practitioner may also request a
copy of the full register for ‘medical purposes’ in case of an emergency.
“Medical purposes” means the provision of medical care or treatment forthe person or a dependent of that person.

Elected representatives
Elected representatives, including MPs, MSPs, MSs, MLAs, police and crimecommissioners, elected mayors, members of the GLA, and councillors must
be provided, on request, with a copy of the full register for use for ‘electoral
purposes’.
Each representative may only request the full register and overseas voter list
for the area they represent. For regional members of the Scottish and Welsh
Parliaments and GLA list members in London this can be the whole region.
“Electoral purposes” is not defined in the legislation. When the legislation
allowing for the open register to be compiled (see Section 7) was discussed
in 2002, the then Minister, Yvette Cooper, was questioned about themeaning of ‘electoral purposes’. In summing up she said it should have a‘liberal interpretation’:Fundamental questions were asked about the nature of ''electoral purposes''.
It is a broad concept and it is right to adopt a liberal interpretation of what itmeans. It should be defined as anything to do with the process of
campaigning and getting elected. Fundraising for the purposes of winningelections is part of ''electoral purposes'' and the regulations cover thecircumstances when political parties seek to raise funds.
…
It is right not to pin down ''electoral purposes'' too narrowly. We do not wantto omit anything that counts as an important part of what political parties andthose seeking to represent the people in a democracy should be able to do tocommunicate with voters. Voters themselves should have their human right18

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Supply and sale of the electoral registerto participate in free and fair elections recognised. In a democracy, it is crucial
to sustain those principles. 26

Regulated donees
Most elected representatives are also ‘regulated donees’ under theprovisions of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
(PPERA).
Elected representatives must report donations and loans above a certain
value to the Electoral Commission and must ensure all donations over acertain level are from a permissible source. The main exception is parish orcommunity councillors, who are not subject to PPERA regulation on
donations and loans.
One permissible source is an individual registered on a UK electoral register(including the overseas voters list). Regulated donees can use their copy ofthe electoral registers to check the permissibility of donors.

Candidates
Someone becomes a candidate on being formally nominated during theelection period. This is in the first few days of the election timetable. Most
election timetables are 25 working days from the notice of election to pollingday.
On formally being nominated, candidates are entitled to a free copy of thefull electoral registers and the absent voter lists for the electoral area thatthey are contesting. Registration officers must, by law, provide the details on
the full register to candidates on request.
Candidates may only use the information for electoral purposes and forchecking donations and loans received for their election campaign.
In most major elections, candidates are entitled to send one free election
communication. This can either be an unaddressed communication to asingle address, or an addressed communication to each elector at anaddress. Candidates must cover the printing costs of the communication, but
it must be delivered free of charge by the Post Office.
This is why potential voters sometimes receive election leaflets from parties
and candidates that they do not support. This is not a breach of dataprotection rules. Candidates have a lawful right to the full register for thearea they are contesting to campaign to potential voters.

26

19Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation, Draft Representation of the People (Scotland)(Amendment) Regulations and Draft Representation of the People (England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2002, 22 July 2002, c 21

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

Political parties
Registered political parties are entitled to a full copy of the electoral
registers. They can use them for electoral purposes and for checking thepermissibility of donations and loans from registered electors.
Local constituency parties are also entitled to the full register for theconstituency for electoral purposes.

Other recipientsThird party and referendum campaigners that are registered with theElectoral Commission are also entitled to the full registers. These can beused for election or referendum campaigning and for verifying donations andloans are from permissible individuals.
Parish/Community councils can use a copy of the full register for their area
to verify whether someone is entitled to attend and participate in a meetingof the parish, parish council meeting or parish polls.
Police forces may use the full registers for prevention and detection of crime
and the enforcement of the criminal law.

3.2

Sale of copies
A copy of the full register can only be sold to those organisations listed in theregulations. These organisations are:•Government departments (including the Environment Agency, theFinancial Services Authority, the Scottish Government and any bodywhich carries out the vetting of any person for the purpose ofsafeguarding national security); and•Credit reference agencies.

The standard prohibitions apply. They must not use the register other thanfor the purposes set out in the regulations nor can they supply a copy ordisclose information contained in it (that is not contained in the edited
register). 27

Credit Reference Agencies
Credit reference agencies can, by law, purchase the electoral registers,
including overseas voters lists. They provide proof to lenders that applicants

27

20

Regulation 112, Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001

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Supply and sale of the electoral registerfor credit do in fact live at the address given and that they are notattempting to obtain credit fraudulently using a false name and address.
On request and on payment of the correct fee an ERO must sell the fullregister to a credit reference agency. The agency must have permission
under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to act as a credit agency
and must be “carrying on the business of providing credit reference services”
as defined in the regulations. An ERO has the right to require evidence thatthe agency meets the definition.
There are currently three main credit reference agencies operating in the
United Kingdom; Experian Ltd, Equifax plc, and TransUnion. As electoral
registers are compiled locally, the credit reference agencies therefore haveto purchase the registers for each area separately and they do this in
December each year shortly after the publication of the register following
the autumn canvass; they also purchase the monthly updates to the register.

Fees
The current fees for sale of the full register and monthly updates are as
follows:•

in data format:£20 plus £1.50 for each 1,000 entries (or remaining part of 1,000
entries)•in printed format:£10 plus £5 for each 1,000 entries (or remaining part of 1,000 entries).

The fees for the overseas voters lists are:•in data format:£20 plus £1.50 for each 100 entries (or remaining part of 100 entries)•

in printed format:£10 plus £5 for each 100 entries (or remaining part of 100 entries). 28

28

21

Regulation 111(2) Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001

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Supply and sale of the electoral register4

Who has access to the open register?

There are no restrictions on the sale of the edited version of the register oron the uses that can be made of it.
The Electoral Registration Officer must supply a copy of it to any person on
payment of a fee.
The current fees are as follows:•in electronic data format:£20 plus£1.50 for each 1,000 entries (or remaining part of 1,000 entries)•

in printed format:£10 plus£5 for each 1,000 entries (or remaining part of 1,000 entries). 29

29

22

Regulation 110(2) Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001

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Supply and sale of the electoral register5

Use of old registers

Before the open register was introduced in 2002, old copies of the fullregister could be sold to anyone prepared to pay a fee. Some of theinformation in the old registers compiled before 2002 will still be current, forexample people who have not moved home for many years.
In the period after the introduction of the open register, some companies
made use of the data from full registers purchased pre-2002 to maintaintheir databases. Because these registers were compiled before the law waschanged, the companies were not acting illegally by using this information.
They were using information provided by the electors before it was possible
to ‘opt out’ of the open register.
A PQ in April 2006 asked whether companies using the information provided
before electors were able to ‘opt out’ could be prevented from doing so. The
then Minister, Bridget Prentice, responded:
Bridget Prentice: The Representation of the People Regulations 2002 providethat electors may opt out of the edited version of the register of electors ifthey do not want their details to be sold to anyone for any purpose.… Any
attempt to use legislation to impose a retrospective ban on the use of
information derived from pre-2002 electoral registers, though, is likely to be
impracticable and unenforceable since this may be provided by commercialorganisations based outside of the UK against whom the sanctions of UK law
cannot be applied. Electors who do not want their details to be used bycommercial organisations may wish to approach the mailing or telephone
preference services requesting deletion from company records or publicly
available websites or otherwise make a request directly to an individualorganisation. If an organisation fails to comply with such a request an elector
may pursue the issue with the Information Commissioner's Office. 30

In 2006, the B4Usearch website, which offered free searches from the pre2002 electoral registers, was issued an enforcement notice by the
Information Commissioners Office (ICO). After receiving almost 1,600
complaints the ICO found that – because of the way that the pre-2002
register had been used – the website did not comply with the first principleof the Data Protection Act. 31
The ICO website now advises the following:
It has come to our attention that some organisations which legitimatelybought a copy of the register before the change in the law might still be using
people’s details contained in it. It is also possible that if an individual didn’t
30
31

23

HC Deb 18 April 2006 c42W
The Data Sharing Review, by Mark Walport and Richard Thomas. Ministry of Justice, July 2008, p72

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

opt out in each year since 2002, some organisations might also have theirdetails in a version of the open register.
Depending on the circumstances, the use by an organisation of an older
version of the register may raise issues in relation to the processing of
personal data, giving rise to a risk of a breach of the provisions of the Data
Protection Act 1998. Such processing might be unfair and might not accord
with the expectations of individuals.
If you have concerns about an instance where an organisation is using yourdetails from an older version of the register, please tell us about it.

24

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

6

Marked registers

Following elections certain election documents are open for public
inspection. This includes the electoral registers used in polling stations andabsent voter lists. This does not apply to ballot papers and the corresponding
number lists for ballot papers, to protect the secrecy of how people voted.
These are held securely and can only be inspected by order of a court if
electoral fraud is suspected.
The registers available for inspection are called the ‘marked registers’. Theseare electoral registers from polling stations that show who has turned out tovote. It also includes lists of absent voters, which show who has been issued
with a ballot paper, who has returned their postal ballot paper, and who has
had a proxy vote cast on their behalf.
These documents are destroyed 12 months after an election unless a court
orders otherwise.
In England and Wales, EROs administer access to marked copies of theelectoral register and absent voting lists. In Scotland, the process isadministered by the relevant Returning Officer.
Marked registers can be inspected anyone in person free of charge.
Inspection is under supervision and only handwritten notes may be made.
Any other copying or recording is not permitted and is a criminal offence.
The rules governing inspection and access to copies of the marked registers
for UK Parliamentary elections are principally contained in schedule 1 of theRepresentation of the People Act 1983, as amended. Similar rules for otherelections appear in other enactments. 32
Applications for inspection must be in writing and must state:•

which register or document the applicant wants to inspect;•

whether they wish to inspect a printed or data copy (whereappropriate);•

the purposes for which any information will be used;32

For example, in Scotland the provisions for local elections come from the Local Electoral
Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Representation of the People(Post-Local Government Elections Supply and Inspection of Documents) (Scotland) Regulations
2007

25

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Supply and sale of the electoral register•

where the request concerns the marked register or lists, why inspectionof the full register or unmarked lists would not be sufficient to achieve
the purpose;•

who will be inspecting the documents, and•the date on which they wish to make the inspection.

Candidates, registered parties and police forces who have access to the fullregister under the rules mentioned in Section 3 may also request a copy ofmarked registers to be supplied, on payment of the correct fee. The data
may be used for electoral purposes.
The current statutory charges for a copy of the whole or any part of themarked register or lists are:•£10 admin. plus £1 per thousand entries (or part) for a data copy;•£10 admin. plus £2 per thousand entries (or part) for a paper copy.

The recipient of the data must securely destroy it once the purpose forwhich it has been supplied has finished. Unauthorised disclosure or supply ofthe marked lists is an offence.

26

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

7

Background to the introduction of theopen register

Copies of the electoral register have been made available for sale in one
form or another since at least 1832. Electoral law made provision both forthe sale of the register and set the fees charged for providing copies.
Until the secret ballot was introduced by the Ballot Act 1872, poll books,
which listed eligible voters and who they voted for, were also public
documents.

7.1

Howarth Report
After the 1997 General Election, the Home Office set up a working party onelectoral administration under George Howarth, then minister at the Home
Office with responsibility for elections. The full report of the working party
was published in October 1999. 33
Membership of the working group was drawn from the three major politicalparties represented in the House of Commons at the time, in addition torepresentatives of the local authority associations, central government
departments, returning officers and electoral administrators.
At that time, EROs/returning officers were statutorily required to provide
copies of the full register free of charge to those who required it for electoral
purposes. They also had to provide any surplus copies on payment of a fee toany other person who requested it. There was no open or edited register.
The Howarth working party examined the sale of the electoral register,noting that:
Supply of the register for commercial use is, and has for some time been, amajor source of complaint to Government and to registration officers. 34

The working party heard anecdotal evidence that the sale of the register forcommercial purposes might be acting to discourage individuals fromregistering, although the limited research available at the time suggested it“may not be significant”.

33

34

27

Final Report of the Working Party on Electoral Procedures [Howarth Report], Home Office, October
1999
As above, para 2.4.3

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

It also heard from the then Data Protection Registrar that commercial
exploitation of the personal information held on the registers was out ofstep with data protection law and practice at the time:
The way in which individuals have to supply their names, addresses and, insome cases, dates of birth, once a year, on penalty of a criminal conviction,
for whatever purpose someone might choose to purchase them for, is out ofstep with current Data Protection practice and law. The partial protection that
individuals gained from the geographical distribution of the register, its lengthand format has been eroded by developments in technology. 35

The working party heard from the business sector that although the register
was one of a series of data resources used to deliver services, the register
was a key source because it provided access to national database and that
limiting access to the full electoral register would adversely affect businesses
and employment. 36 The working party also noted that very few businesses
purchase the register direct and that “most non-electoral uses are sourced
from copies of the register provided by the two main consumer credit
reference agencies, Experian and Equifax”.37
The working party examined data protection implications of the existing
position, and the possible effect on the level of electoral registration,weighing them against its usefulness for law enforcement, including
measures to prevent money laundering, and the concerns of the companies
which use the electoral register, particularly in relation to credit, andcharities that would find it harder to focus fund-raising and membership
campaigns. It recommended that:•

Electors should be allowed to decide whether their personal details
should be included in the register made commercially available(Recommendation 12)•

The full register should continue to be available to electoral users, but alicensing arrangement should be agreed to ensure that its use isrestricted to electoral purposes only (Recommendation 13).

The recommendations followed considerable debate in the working party,
which concluded that ‘in the wider economic interest of the United Kingdom,
it would be wrong wholly to withdraw electoral registration data from use
commercially.’ 38 The Working Party added that ‘the requirements of natural
justice require that we should go further and allow the extension of
consumer choice to the question of what registration information is sold oncommercially.’ 39

35
36
37
38
39

28

As above, para 2.4.6
As above, para 2.4.16-17
As above, para 2.4.21
As above
As above, para 2.4.23

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

The Howarth working party’s recommendations on the sale of the electoral
register required primary legislation. Section 9 of the Representation of thePeople Act 2000 subsequently amended Schedule 2 to the Representation of
the People Act 1983 to require EROs to compile an edited version of theregister which omitted the names of all those electors who had asked fortheir details not to be included in the version of the register that could besold to commercial organisations.

7.2

The Robertson judgment
While the Government was consulting over the draft regulations to
implement the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 2000, an
elector in Pontefract, Brian Robertson, requested that his name and addresson the electoral register should not be supplied to commercial organisations
on privacy grounds. When this was refused, he applied to the High Court forjudicial review of the local Electoral Registration Officer’s decision. Judgment
was given on 16 November 2001 and applied to the law as it stood before
the introduction of the open/edited register provisions in 2002.40
The judgment held that the refusal of the ERO to accept this request wascontrary to the Data Protection Directive and to Article 8 and Article 3 toProtocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Mr Justice Maurice
Kay ruled that Mr Robertson was entitled by section 11(1) of the Data
Protection Act 1998 to require the ERO to stop disclosing information about
him on the electoral register to commercial concerns which intended toprocess this for direct marketing purposes.
The judge also found that the sale of copies of the register with information
about Mr Robertson to commercial concerns, without giving him theopportunity to object, would be incompatible with the Convention and the
Human Rights Act 1998. The judge found that without the right of objection,
the claimant had established” “an unjustified, disproportionate restriction on
the right to vote”.41

7.3

Regulations introducing the open register
Regulations to implement Section 9 of the Representation of the People Act
2000 were brought forward in 2002. An initial consultation was undertakenby the Government in 2001, but in response to a parliamentary question, the

40

41

29

R (on the application of Robertson) v City Of Wakefield Metropolitan Council [2001] EWHC Admin
915
As above, para 42

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

Government indicated that concerns about the proposals meant it would
delay the introduction until after the 2001 annual canvas. 42
In May 2002, the Government published a policy paper on the sale of theregister, and new detailed draft regulations for England and Wales theprovision of both a full and an edited version of the electoral register to becompiled.43 The consultation document described the broad principles
behind the regulations as follows:•

The extent of access to, and supply and sale of, electoral registers must
be that which is appropriate having regard to the nature of the datacontained in the registers, including in particular that it is personal data
compulsorily obtained for the specific purpose of enabling qualifying
electors to vote;•

The regulatory framework must be consistent with the requirements ofthe European Data Protection Directive and the Data Protection Act
1998; and•That framework must be compliant with the European Convention on
Human Rights and thus the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998. 44

The new registration forms to be used for the annual canvass andthroughout the year for rolling registration would include an “opt out” box
to allow electors to say if they wanted their details left out of the edited
version of the register.
The edited, or open, version would therefore omit the names of thosepeople who had indicated that they wished their names to be excluded fromit and would be available for sale without restriction.
In its response to the consultation document, the Electoral Commission
stated its opposition to the principle that the register should be available forsale for commercial purposes:
1. …. The view of the Commission is that electoral registers should becompiled exclusively for electoral and other limited statutory purposes andthat they should not be made available for sale for commercial purposes. The
Commission calls on the Government to reconsider the issue of principle andto restrict the use of the electoral register to electoral purposes alone,
together with certain limited statutory purposes.
2. The Commission recognises that the Government puts the sale of electoral
registers in its historical context, in that copies of the register have been
available for sale in one form or other since the 19th century. However, many
circumstances have changed over the years and particularly pertinent are therelatively recent introduction of data protection principles into European law,

PQ 4024, HC Deb 12 July 2001, c 637W
Dep 02/1007, Policy paper on electoral registers - access, supply and sale: the Government's
intentions for regulations under section 9 of the Representation of the People Act 2000, 13 May2002.
44 Ibid424330

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

including in the UK, and the incorporation of the European Convention on
Human Rights into UK law. The expansion of mass communications and dataprocessing has meant that the electoral register has been put to uses neverpreviously envisaged. Its sale for direct marketing purposes has led to anindividual elector resorting to litigation to protect his data protection andhuman rights.
3. The personal data contained in the electoral register is obtained
compulsorily to enable the register to be compiled. The Commission isconcerned about the balance between the rights of individual electors who
provided information on this basis and the wider use of the data proposed in
the draft Regulations. 45

The Government subsequently pressed ahead with the open register andintroduced the draft regulations. They were approved by both Houses ofParliament before being implemented in 2002. Similar regulations for
Scotland and Northern Ireland were also approved. 46
The regulations for England, Wales and Scotland have since been amended,principally in 2006. This was to add the security services, the national
libraries in Scotland and Wales and national park authorities in Scotland (forthe use of national park elections), to the organisations entitled to full copiesof the register. These additions were made after consultation 47
The regulations for Northern Ireland were consolidated in new regulations in2008 and have been amended since. The provisions in Northern Ireland foraccess for registered medical professionals in a medical emergency, wereadded in 2010.48 This followed a consultation, which received general
support.49 The Electoral Commission noted it supported the change:
Our long-held policy position is that the electoral register should be used only
for electoral purposes. However given the unique structure of electoraladministration in Northern Ireland, where there is a single CEO and one
centrally held electoral register, the case for amending the legislation to allow
the CEO alone to provide up to date information in the event of a medical
emergency is in the interests of voters generally. Therefore, we would be
supportive of this change in the context of Northern Ireland. 50

45

46

47

48

49

50

31

Electoral Commission, Electoral Registers – Access, Supply and Sale. Response of the Electoral
Commission [Emphasis in original]
The regulations for England and Wales, and Scotland were approved - HC Deb 15 July 2002 and HL
Deb 16 July 2002, c1175-86. The Northern Ireland regulations were approved – HC Deb c537, 18
July 2002 and HL Deb 22 July 2002, c126-32
Department for Constitutional Affairs, Electoral Registers: Proposed changes to the Representationof the People Regulations, Response to Consultation CP(R) 21/05, August 2006
The Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 amended the2008 principal regulations
Northern Ireland Office, Government response to consultation: Improving Electoral Registration
Procedures in Northern Ireland, November 2009
Electoral Commission, The Electoral Commission’s response to the Northern Ireland Officeconsultation paper – Improving Electoral Registration Procedures in Northern Ireland, October
2009

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

8

Reviewing access to the open register

8.1

The report of the Data Sharing Review
On 11 July 2008, the Ministry of Justice published the report of the Data
Sharing Review. The Review had been set up by the Government in
December 2007 to examine the operation of the Data Protection Act 1998.
The report recommended measures to increase public trust and confidence
in the handling and processing of personal data by both the public andprivate sectors.51 The authors of the review commented that they had…focused primarily on the issues surrounding the sharing of personal
information that have given rise to recent problems and anxieties: how is data
shared? by whom? with what authority? for what purposes? with what
protections and safeguards? 52

The report noted, at the time, around 40% of registered voters opted out of
the open register but criticised the language used on registration forms,
saying it could be confusing “and many people do not realise it is the edited
register that is on public sale”. The report went on to say that selling theregister was an unsatisfactory way to treat personal information.
It sends a particularly poor message to the public that personal
information collected for something as vital as participation in the
democratic process can be sold to ‘anyone for any purpose’. And
there is a belief that the sale of the electoral register deters somepeople from registering at all. We are sympathetic to the strong
arguments made by the Association of Electoral Administrators andthe Electoral Commission that the primary purpose of the electoral register

is for electoral purposes. 53

Recommendation 19 of the Review recommended that the Government
should abolish the edited/open register and remove the provisions allowing
the sale of the edited electoral register. It noted this would not affect thesale of the full register to political parties or to credit reference agencies.54

51
52
53
54

32

The Data Sharing Review, by Mark Walport and Richard Thomas. Ministry of Justice, July 2008
Ibid, p1
Ibid, p 73
Ibid, Recommendation 19

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

8.2

Consultation on the abolition of the edited
register
In November 2009 the Labour Government announced a consultation on theimpact of accepting Recommendation 19 of the Data Sharing Review, inparticular the impact the abolition of the edited register would have on
businesses, charities and the privacy of individuals. 55
The consultation presented a range of options for abolition or retention withmodification to the existing regime. The Government did express a view on apreferred option. The consultation also set out the arguments for andagainst an open/edited register. The key arguments for abolishing the open
register were summarised as:•

The public should be aware of how and where their data is being used.
Concerns raised by the Data Sharing Review, were that the public were
not sufficiently informed that data on the edited/open register could besold and that they had a choice about opting out;•

The existence of the edited/open register may be deterring people fromregistering to vote. There was no detailed research available todetermine whether this was occurring but a survey of local authorities
in August 2008 showed that 88% of the Electoral Registration Officers
who responded that having two registers with one of them available forsale, deterred people from registering to vote; and•The privacy concerns and the risk of deterring individuals fromregistering to vote would undermine the legitimacy of the democratic
process.

The Electoral Commission supported the abolition of the edited registersaying that “electoral registers should be used for purposes exclusively
related to elections and referendums”. 56 Their response included thefollowing further points:

55

56

33

•

The abolition of the edited register may provide reassurance for electors
at a time when they will – as part of the transition to individual electoral
registration - be asked to supply additional personal information whenregistering to vote.

•

If the edited register were to be maintained then as an absolute
minimum the Commission believes that the current “opt out” provision

Ministry of Justice, Electoral registers: proposed changes to the edited register, consultation paper[CP 46/09], 24 November 2009
Electoral Commission response to the consultation paper Electoral registers: proposed changes tothe edited register, February 2010

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Supply and sale of the electoral registershould be replaced with one which allows electors to “opt in”, backed up
with improved guidance for the public about the edited register. 57

Organisations in favour of retaining the open register told the Government
had that it was a valuable and “that its abolition would have a significant
impact on them”. The national coverage and annual update of registers
mean that business using the open/edited register described it as “a costeffective and relatively inexpensive data source”.
In the Impact Assessment that accompanied the consultation gave moredetail of some of the benefits of access to the edited registers. Debt
collection agencies are a major user of the edited registers and in 2008 theCredit Services Association estimated some 15 million traces were
undertaken to track down people who owed money. The Impact Assessment
also noted that local businesses tend to buy the edited register locally andabolition could increase their costs by finding alternative sources. A similar
situation could apply for some local charities. Credit agencies and financial
institutions use the edited registers for post-credit applications that do not
fall under the ‘permitted uses’ of the full register. 58
Organisations in favour of keeping the edited register noted that alternatives
may be found but perhaps at a significantly greater cost.
The credit reference agency Experian argued for the retention of the edited
register in its response to the consultation paper. 59 Experian disagreed withthe suggestion that the edited register discouraged people from registering
to vote and gave details of a survey it had carried out about this issue:
Critically the survey of over 28,000 people resulted in 4,600 responses andshows that of those people that do not register, any commercial use of theirdata is most definitely not the issue. Voter disinterest and apathy accounted
for nearly a third of the total with a significant number believing themselves
not entitled to register or not registering because they were registeredelsewhere or in transit. Voter disinterest was particularly the case for younger
people. 60

A cross-industry group, which had been formed to consider the credit
industry’s response to the consultation paper, also opposed the abolition of
the edited register.61

57
58

59

60
61

34

Ibid
Ministry of Justice, Impact Assessment of proposals to change the electoral registers, 24
November 2009, pp11-12
Experian’s response to the consultation paper Electoral registers: proposed changes to the edited
register, February 2010
Ibid, p23
Credit industry’s response to the consultation paper Electoral registers: proposed changes to theedited register, February 2010

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

The consultation ended on 23 February 2010. The Labour Government were
not returned after the 2010 general election and so did not have time topublish a response to this consultation.

8.3

Early Day Motion calling for retention of theedited register
Early Day Motion 215 tabled on 14 June 2010 called for the retention of theedited register on the following grounds:
That this House believes that the edited electoral register provides verysignificant social and economic benefits for the UK as a whole; notes that theedited electoral resister does this by helping charities to fundraise, helping
reunite lost friends and family (including the 3,000 people found by theSalvation Army), locating and connecting organ and bone marrow donors,
enabling adoption organisations to find biological parents of adoptive
children, and assisting businesses provide age verification, to reduce credit
card fraud, minimise identity theft, pursue bad debts, repatriate dormant
financial assets to their rightful owners, and support probate; and opposes all
steps which might further significantly restrict access to or abolish the edited
electoral register. 62

The motion had cross-party support with 49 signatories.

8.4

Political and Constitutional Reform SelectCommittee
The Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee examined theGovernment’s proposals for individual electoral registration (IER) andassociated electoral administration matters in 2011. It recommended thatthe edited register should be abolished in a report published in November
2011 63
The Committee considered evidence about the different ways ofencouraging people to register to vote and noted that electoraladministrators believed the sale of the edited register discouraged people
from registering to vote.64 The Electoral Commission and the Association ofElectoral Administrators both reiterated in their written evidence to theCommittee their support for the abolition of the edited register.

62
63

64

35

EDM 215 of 2010-12 (Public value of the edited electoral register)
Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Individual Electoral Registration and electoraladministration, HC 1463, 2010-12
Ibid., para 42

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Supply and sale of the electoral register

The Committee received written evidence in support of retaining the edited
register. 192.com, a commercial online directory of personal and businessdetails, argued that:…the Edited Register has significant social and economic benefits. Businesses
rely on it to verify potential suppliers and customers, tackle credit card fraud,
meet obligations where supplying age-restricted goods or when tracing
debtors. For charities, it helps reunite lost friends and families (including
3,000 found annually by the Salvation Army), underpins locating andconnecting organ donors, locating natural parents of adoptees and supports
fundraising. Local government relies on it for purposes not permitted with theFull Register such as debt recovery. Individuals rely on it for finding lost family
members and for building trust in strangers that they are about to transact
with.
6. The introduction of IER offers an important opportunity to enhance thecollection and administration of voter registration and, concomitantly,
improve the Edited Register by ensuring citizens are given an annual choiceon whether to opt-out and improving consent through standardisedguidance. 65

192.com also cited research which it had commissioned from Europe
Economics which found that there would be "very considerable adverse
economic effects together with social impact" if the Edited Register wereabolished. 66
However, Committee recommended that the edited register should be
abolished:
Whatever benefit it might bring, we cannot justify the sale to commercialorganisations of personal details gathered by the Government for electoral
purposes. The Electoral Commission has suggested that if Government
decides to keep the edited register that it should be changed to an opt insystem, instead of opt out. We suspect that this option might well make theedited register too incomplete to be of much use. We recommend that theedited register should be abolished. 67

The Government published its response to the Committee’s report on 9
February 2012. 68
There was no announcement of a decision about the sale of the register and
the Government stated that the matter was still under consideration:
The Government takes the handling of personal information seriously and iscommitted to working to maximise registration rates. This needs to bebalanced against the potential economic impact of abolishing the edited
register. The Government’s approach to this issue is currently under

65
66
67

68

36

Written evidence submitted to the PCR Committee by 192.com
Ibid
Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, Individual Electoral Registration and electoraladministration, HC 1463, 2010-12
Government response to pre-legislative scrutiny and public consultation on Individual Electoral
Registration and amendments to Electoral Administration law, Cm 8245, February 2012

Commons Library Research Briefing, 23 January 2023

Supply and sale of the electoral registerconsideration in the context of the wider access regime for the electoral
registers. 69

8.5

The UK Government’s decision to retain theedited register
The current electoral registration system, individual electoral registration,
was introduced by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013.
The legislation made no change the arrangements for the sale of theelectoral register nor did it make any provisions for the abolition of theedited register.70
The Chairman of the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee,
Graham Allen MP, pressed the Government for further information on its
position on the edited register during the second day of the committee stageof the Bill:
When my Committee conducted its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill, it
recommended the abolition of the edited electoral register. We did not feelthat it was appropriate for personal details gathered by the Government forelectoral purposes to be sold to commercial organisations. Sadly, on thisoccasion the Government did not accept our recommendation, and that is
why I am pressing the Minister tonight. I want to understand this thinking andto establish whether he wishes to think about the issue further, either now orat a later stage. The Government did, however, say in their response that they
were“aware of and considering the finely balanced arguments on the future of theedited electoral register.”My Committee feels that while the edited version of the register continues, it
is important for people who are being invited to register to realise that it may
be sold—I am sure that many do not know that—and that it could be used forcommercial purposes. It is also important for them to know exactly how they
can opt out of the edited register.
I hope that the Minister will take the opportunity to respond to the points
that I have made, and to tell us whether he has had any further thoughts ofthe sort that he outlined in his initial response to my Committee. 71

The Minister, Mark Harper, confirmed in the debate that the Government
had decided that the edited version of the register should be retained:

69
70

71

37

Ibid, para 173
For more details about individual electoral registration under the Act, see: House of Commons
Library Standard Note 6764, Individual Electoral Registration
HC Deb 25 June 2012 c93

Commons Library Research Briefing, 23 January 2023

Supply and sale of the electoral register

We have discussed whether it should be abolished with interested parties onboth sides of the debate and received numerous representations. The
previous Government consulted, but did not have the opportunity to take adecision before leaving office. There are those, particularly in the electoral
community, including the Electoral Commission, who argue that having anedited register acts as a disincentive to people registering, but we have seen
no convincing evidence of that. On the other side of the argument, someargue that it provides significant wider social and economic benefits, and in
the previous Government’s consultation, 7,447 of about 7,600 responses
favoured the edited register’s retention for those reasons. On balance—it is afinely balanced decision—the Government believe that keeping the edited
register from which voters can choose to opt out is the right decision. 72

The Government’s commitment to retain the open register was reiterated inanswer to a Parliamentary Question in 2018:
The Government considered the future of the edited (or open) register in2013 and concluded that it should be retained. The Government concluded
that there are wide societal and economic benefits to the edited register.
These include allowing businesses to check the identity and address details of
people who wish to purchase their goods or services. The Government saw noconvincing evidence that the sale of the edited register - from which anyone
can quickly and easily opt out - has a negative impact on registration rates. 73

The Government recently restated its view that it had seen no convincing
evidence acts as a disincentive to register to vote in November 2020. 74 It was
responding to a House of Lords Committee’s post-legislative scrutiny reporton the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013. The Committee
had recommended that the open register should be abolished saying:…its compilation serves no public good, it presents a privacy risk and theproceeds from its sale yield an insignificant amount of money for Local
Authorities. 75

72
73
74

75

38

Ibid, c101
WPQ 124835 [Electoral Register], 31 January 2018
Government response to report: An electoral system fit for today? More to be done, 7 October
2020, p6
Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 Committee, An electoral system fit for today?
More to be done, HL Paper 83 2019-21, paragraph 134

Commons Library Research Briefing, 23 January 2023

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