The Representation of the People (Annual Canvass) (Amendment) Regulations 2019

Data matching confirmation

20.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (7) and (8) each registration officer must disclose to the Minister for the Cabinet Office the matching data in respect of each person aged 16 or over who is registered in a register of parliamentary electors in Great Britain, or a register of local government electors in England, maintained by that registration officer.

(2) The registration officer must disclose the matching data—

(a) within the specified period; and

(b) in such a format, and through such an infrastructure system as the Minister for the Cabinet Office may have notified to the registration officer in writing.

(3) Following receipt of the matching data from the registration officer, the Minister for the Cabinet Office may disclose that data to the Secretary of State.

(4) Where matching data has been disclosed to the Secretary of State under paragraph (3), the Secretary of State may compare it against information appearing in the following types of database kept by the Secretary of State—

(a) databases kept for the purposes of functions relating to social security (including such information kept on behalf of the Department for Communities (Northern Ireland)); and

(b) databases relating to working tax credit, child tax credit and child benefit (being information kept on behalf of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs).

(5) The Secretary of State may disclose the results of the data comparison to the Minister for the Cabinet Office.

(6) On receipt of such results, the Minister for the Cabinet Office may disclose them to the registration officer in whose register the person concerned is registered.

(7) Where—

(a) a registration officer has successfully determined a person’s application under section 10ZC(1) or 10ZD(1) of the 1983 Act at any time during the 90 day period ending with the day before the day on which the registration officer proposes to commence disclosure of matching data in accordance with paragraph (1); and

(b) that person’s entry on the register has been published in a notice of alteration under section 13A(2) of the 1983 Act,

the registration officer may disclose matching data for that person to the Minister for the Cabinet Office but is not required to do so.

(8) Where a person falls within the scope of section 9D(6) of the 1983 Act the registration officer must not disclose that person’s matching data under paragraph (1).

(9) In this regulation—

“infrastructure system” has the same meaning as in Schedule 3A to the Communications Act 2003;

“matching data” means—

(a)

a person’s full name;

(b)

where held by the registration officer, a person’s date of birth;

(c)

the address, including postcode, of the property at which a person is registered;

(d)

where held by the registration officer, the unique property reference number of the property at which a person is registered; and

(e)

any other information held by the registration officer which relates to a person’s entry on the register and which the Minister for the Cabinet Office may have specified in writing.

“specified period” means the day or dates notified in writing to the registration officer by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, such day or dates to be no later than July 2020;

“the Secretary of State” means the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions.