Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon)
(The hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission:) The Electoral Commission has today published a report containing an analysis of electoral registration data relating to the 2013 annual canvass—the last household registration canvass in Great Britain. The report also includes an update of its final assessment of the performance of Electoral Registration Officers’ (EROs) performance in 2013.
The Commission reports that overall, the canvass was well run, and the key outcomes from the canvass were similar to those in previous years. The overall level of response to the canvass was 94%, although the absolute number of entries on the registers has declined slightly from December 2012 (the parliamentary register declined by 0.5%, the local government register declined by 0.1%).
The decline in numbers on the registers can be largely attributed to the lower level of electors carried forward by EROs. The Commission reports that EROs have a power, not a duty, to carry electors forward in circumstances where they do not have confirmation that they still live at their previously-registered address. It is for each individual ERO to decide whether to exercise that power at the end of the annual canvass. EROs should make their decision based on their individual, local knowledge, and they should consider the balance between the risk of retaining electors who may no longer be eligible, and the risk of removing electors who are in fact still eligible, meaning they are potentially disenfranchised.
The Commission reports that the decline in the use of carry forward on conclusion of the 2013 canvass can be explained by a decision by some EROs not to exercise their power to carry forward entries in advance of the transition to individual electoral registration (IER), when electors who are currently on the register but have been carried forward will need to go through a separate process in order to remain registered and cannot be automatically transferred to the new IER register following confirmation.
The decisions taken by EROs at the end of the 2013 canvass will change the nature but not the scale of the challenge facing them in the transition to IER. In each case, while the administration process will vary, they will still need to carry out work to target all individuals in their area who are not registered individually, and these individuals will all need to take some action in order to be included on the revised register published on the conclusion of the 2014 canvass.
On 31 March, the Commission published a report on readiness for the transition to IER, which included an assessment of ERO performance in 2013. The Commission noted in that previous report that as the canvass was completed only very shortly before its publication, detailed analysis of the electoral registration data, which informs the Commission’s assessment of ERO performance, was still under way. It also explained the Commission’s expectation that, as was the case in 2011 and 2012, this continuing analysis might identify some further EROs whose canvass activity did not, in practice, meet the standard.
The Commission’s detailed analysis of the registration data has identified that in addition to the five EROs (for Mid Devon, Taunton Deane, Torridge, West Devon and West Somerset) who reported that they did not meet performance standard 3—the house-to-house enquiry standard—in 2013, there are a further 17 EROs who did not ensure that during 2013 all non-responding properties were canvassed in person.
These are the EROs for: Broxbourne Borough council; Castle Point Borough council; Ceredigion County council; Durham County council; East Devon District council; Gwynedd County council; Kingston-upon-Hull City council; Maldon District council; Mid Sussex District council; Northumberland County council; North Devon District council; North Dorset District council; North East Lincolnshire council; North Warwickshire Borough council; Scarborough Borough council; Sedgemoor District council and South Staffordshire council.
This means that the Commission’s final assessment is that 22 EROs (6%) did not meet the standard in 2013. (In 2012, 30 EROs did not meet the standard).
The reasons given by each ERO for not carrying out house-to-house enquiries with all non-responding households are provided within the Commission’s report. The Commission has written specifically to those hon. Members whose ERO(s) have failed to meet the standard and it will soon write to all hon. Members to update them regarding the progress of the transition to IER. This update will include suggested questions which hon. Members may wish to put to their local EROs regarding what practices they follow, and propose to follow in future, in order to keep their electoral registers as complete and accurate as possible.
Although IER will present different challenges from the household registration system—particularly in the unique circumstances of the 2014 write-out and canvass period—house-to-house enquiries will remain a key area of ERO performance which will continue to be of significant importance in ensuring registers are as accurate and complete as possible. The Commission report that they will continue to work with those EROs who did not meet performance standard 3 in 2013 to ensure they have arrangements in place to carry out house-to-house enquiries as required under IER, and will continue to monitor their progress to ensure that they deliver this in practice.
In the event that an ERO does not carry out these enquiries, the Commission will consider all available options to ensure that EROs are carrying out their duties in full. This could include making a recommendation to the Secretary of State to issue a direction to the ERO to require them to make improvements to their performance in the discharge of their functions. Discussions are already under way between Commission and Cabinet Office officials to confirm the process to be followed in any such situations, ensuring that action can be taken quickly in the event of any issues emerging.
Copies of the Commission’s report have been placed in the library and it is also available on the Commission’s website: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/.