Commentary on Sections Part 1 Individual Electoral Registration in Great Britain Section 1: Individual registration
15.Subsection (1) inserts a new section into the Representation of the People Act 1983 (“the 1983 Act”) which specifies when a registration officer must enter a person in an electoral register under the new system of individual electoral registration in Great Britain. An application must have been made which meets the prescribed requirements, it must appear to the registration officer that the person is entitled to be registered and that the application is made by that person. It must therefore appear to the registration officer that an applicant is who they claim to be and that such a person exists. Regulations may be made to provide further detail as to the procedure for determining applications.
16.Subsection (2) gives effect to Schedule 1. Schedule 1 contains new sections in the 1983 Act dealing with the new arrangements for amendments to registrations and removals of entries from registers in consequence of the new registration system in Great Britain.
17.Subsection (3) and (4) stipulate that registration officers must have regard to any guidance given by the Minister (the Lord President of the Council or the Secretary of State) about determining applications to register, and that this guidance may cover the process for determining whether the conditions outlined in subsection (1) have been met.
18.Subsection (5) provides that the requirement for registration officers to have regard to guidance about determining applications to register will cease 5 years after coming into force. This provision is included because after five years the new registration system, and the process for determining applications, is likely to have reached a steady state and guidance will no longer be necessary.