Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013

2 Applications for registration and verification of entitlement etc

(1) Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 1983 (provisions which may be contained in regulations as to registration etc) is amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph 1, after sub-paragraph (2) insert—

“(2A) Provision made under sub-paragraph (2) authorising or requiring a registration officer in Great Britain to—

(a) require a person who has made an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD to provide evidence that he or she is the person named in the application, or

(b) require a person who has made an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD, or any person who has an entry in a register, to provide evidence for the purpose of enabling the officer to determine whether a person is entitled to be registered in a register maintained by the officer,

must specify the kind of evidence that a person may be required to provide (for examples, see paragraph 3ZA(5)).

(2B) Provision of the kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (2A) may authorise or require the registration officer to require a person to provide the evidence to a registration officer or to some other prescribed person (or person of a prescribed description).”

(3) After paragraph 3 insert—

“3ZA(1) Provision about applications under section 10ZC or 10ZD, including in particular provision about—

(a) the form and contents of applications and of any declarations to be made in connection with them;

(b) the manner in which applications are to be made.

(2) Provision made under sub-paragraph (1) may include provision—

(a) conferring functions on registration officers, or local or public authorities, to enable applications to be made in a particular manner;

(b) conferring other functions on registration officers;

(c) conferring functions on the Electoral Commission.

(3) Provision requiring a person making an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD—

(a) to provide evidence that he or she is the person named in the application;

(b) to provide evidence of entitlement to be registered.

(4) Provision made under sub-paragraph (3) must specify the kind of evidence that a person is required to provide.

(5) Examples of the evidence that may be specified include a person’s date of birth or national insurance number.

(6) Provision made under sub-paragraph (3) may require a person to provide the evidence to a registration officer or to some other prescribed person (or person of a prescribed description).”

(4) After paragraph 8A insert—

“8B(1) Provision authorising or requiring a registration officer in determining an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD, in prescribed cases, to treat a prescribed person’s statement of a fact as sufficient evidence of that fact.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1) “prescribed” includes of a prescribed description.”

(5) In section 201 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (regulations), before subsection (3) insert—

“(2C) Regulations made for the purposes only of omitting a particular kind of evidence from the kinds of evidence that a person is or may be required to provide by virtue of regulations under paragraph 1(2A) or 3ZA(3) of Schedule 2 shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament (and subsection (2) does not apply to regulations made for those purposes only).”

(6) Schedule 2 to this Act contains amendments related to this section.