(This note is not part of the Regulations)
As part of the introduction of electoral registration without applications, under the changes made by the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024 (“the 2024 Act”), these Regulations establish a pilot scheme for the purposes of testing, in specified areas and for a specified period, how the changes brought in by Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the 2024 Act (electoral registration without applications) will work in practice.
In accordance with section 72(5) of the 2024 Act, the provisions of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of that Act may not be commenced until pilot provision of a kind described in section 5(4) of that Act have been made in Regulations and a report by the Electoral Commission into the operation of those Regulations has been sent to the Welsh Ministers and laid before Senedd Cymru.
Regulation 2 sets out the areas in relation to which these Regulations apply.
Regulation 4 and paragraph 1 of the Schedule modify the Representation of the People Act 1983 so that it has effect during the specified period (provided for in regulation 4(3)) as if section 3 and subsections (1) to (6) and (8) of section 4 of the 2024 Act were in force.
Regulation 5 specifies the objective of these pilot Regulations as required by section 6(1) of the 2024 Act.
Regulation 6 specifies the date before which the Electoral Commission is required to send a copy of its report on the pilot scheme under sections 6(1)(b) and 17(5)(a) of the 2024 Act to the Welsh Ministers.
The modifications result in there being a new registration duty on electoral registration officers to register eligible local government electors in Wales without the requirement for an application and to take specified steps in relation to this duty, including a requirement to notify in writing persons due to be registered, informing them of the new duty and their options with respect to it.
Persons who receive this notice will have a 60-day notice period during which they may choose to exercise the right to opt out of registration without applications or to consider applying for anonymous registration. If at the end of that period a person has not taken either of these options and remains entitled to be registered then they must be added to the register.
Paragraphs 2 to 5 of the Schedule modify the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001, to prescribe additional steps which electoral registration officers will be required to undertake in connection with the new registration duty. This includes requiring the disclosure of information to decide whether a person is eligible to be included in the register for the purpose of section 9ZA.
The Welsh Ministers have, in the development of this pilot scheme, consulted with such stakeholders as they consider appropriate in accordance with section 6(5) of the 2024 Act, including those they deem to represent vulnerable groups.
Regulatory Impact Assessment
The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ and is published on www.gov.wales.