The Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2016

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend certain regulations in the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”) (S.I. 2001/341), making changes to the system of individual electoral registration.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 26, inserting a new provision which requires the Electoral Commission to include on the form of application for registration under section 10ZC or 10ZD of the Representation of the People Act 1983 space for the applicant to provide information as to whether they are the only person aged 16 or over resident at the address in respect of which the application is made. This requirement does not apply to application forms for registration in pursuance of a service declaration, overseas elector’s declaration or declaration of local connection.

Regulation 5 amends the requirements for an attestation in regulation 26B. A person signing an attestation is no longer required to be registered in the same local authority as the applicant but must be registered in a local authority area in England or Wales. A registration officer in England or Wales may require another registration officer in England or Wales to provide information for the purposes of ensuring the requirements in relation to attestations are met.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 32ZA. It removes the requirement on the registration officer to send an annual canvass form where the registration officer has received an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD with information to indicate that the applicant is the only person over 16 resident at the address in respect of which the application has been made. Regulation 7 amends regulation 32ZB, removing the requirement on the registration officer to take the prescribed steps where no information has been received in response to a canvass form in those circumstances.

Regulation 8 amends regulation 32ZC, enabling registration officers to give invitations to apply for registration by electronic means and, where they elect to do so, removing the requirement that the invitation is accompanied by an application form and a pre-addressed reply envelope.

Regulations 9 corrects an error in regulation 60B.

Regulation 10 amends regulation 91 to require a returning officer for an electoral area at a London Assembly election to forward the list of rejected postal voting statements to the registration officers in that electoral area. This is because the registration officers are required to write to electors in their area and tell them that their postal vote was rejected because, for example, the signature on the postal voting statement did not match the signature in the registration officer’s records (see regulation 61C).

Regulation 11 makes amendments to regulation 101. Regulation 11(a) amends regulation 101(1) to rectify the omission of the Local Government Boundary Commission when the provision was updated as a result of the transfer of functions in section 60 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. Regulation 11(b) amends regulation 101(2) as a consequence of the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013.

An overall impact assessment in relation to the individual electoral registration scheme is available on the Cabinet Office website at http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/individual-electoral -registration-impact-assessment.