Commentary on Sections Part 1 Individual Electoral Registration in Great Britain Section 4: Annual canvass
24.Section 4 inserts a new section 9D into the 1983 Act which restates the requirement for registration officers to carry out an annual canvass in Great Britain, but with some changes from the current requirement.
25.The canvass is to be conducted in a manner set out in regulations, which may confer specific functions on the Electoral Commission (such as designing the canvass form).The canvass no longer has a reference date of 15 October.
26.Subsection (5) of the new section states that, as at present, a registration officer may make use of house to house inquiries to support the annual canvass. This includes obtaining information before sending a canvass form.
27.Subsection (6) of the new section states that, as at present, the canvass requirement does not apply to the registration of people to whom a special registration system applies (including those on remand in prison, patients in mental hospitals, those without a fixed address, service personnel, British citizens resident overseas and those registered anonymously for their safety).