Commentary on Sections Part 4: Electoral Registration Section 29: Use of CORE information
139.This section makes a number of amendments to section 2 of the 2006 Act regarding the use of CORE information. Section 2(2) of the 2006 Act provides that the CORE keeper will be bound by the same regulations governing the supply of and access to electoral registers and other documents that apply to EROs. While the application of these regulations to the CORE keeper does not expand the range of bodies who are entitled to access the material or the purposes for which it may be used, the CORE keeper will be able to supply information on a national scale whereas EROs can do so only in relation to the area for which they are responsible. In light of this, specific arrangements may be required where material is to be supplied by the CORE keeper. Accordingly, subsection (2) of section 29 supplements the Secretary of State’s power in section 2(3) of the 2006 Act to modify the application of the regulations to the CORE keeper so that modifications can provide for the supply of material by a CORE keeper to be subject to conditions or restrictions which do not apply in the case of an ERO or which differ from those that apply in the case of an ERO.
140.Section 3 of the Juries Act 1974 provides that every ERO must, on publication, supply copies of the electoral register to the body responsible for summoning jurors. Subsection (3) of section 29 creates a power for a CORE scheme to amend this section so as to instead require the CORE keeper to supply copies of the electoral register for jury summoning purposes at such times as are specified in the CORE scheme. The amendment also enables the power to require EROs to continue to supply the register for this purpose but only in response to a request from the relevant body.
141.The amendments in subsection (4) of section 29 extend the circumstances of which the CORE keeper is required to inform an ERO in accordance with section 2(5) of the 2006 Act. Their effect is that the CORE keeper must inform an ERO where more than a specified number of postal votes are requested in respect of the same address, and where the same person is appointed as, or votes as, proxy for more than two electors.
142.Subsections (5) and (7) of section 29 extend the order-making powers of the Secretary of State in relation to the establishment of a CORE scheme. Subsection (5) inserts new subsection (6A) into section 2 of the 2006 Act, which provides that where the CORE keeper informs an ERO of the circumstances in section 2(6) of the 2006 Act or of any suspicions that the CORE keeper has concerning the commission of an offence under the 1983 Act, or other impropriety, a CORE scheme may require the ERO to respond by taking such steps, if any, as appear to be appropriate to the ERO. It also provides that a CORE scheme may require an ERO to notify the CORE keeper of the steps taken, or of the reasons for not taking any. The amendments in subsection (7) enable the CORE scheme to authorise an ERO to share information with another ERO when responding to information provided by the CORE keeper.
143.Subsection (6) enables the CORE keeper to provide an ERO with such information as the CORE keeper thinks is relevant about suspicions that the CORE keeper has concerning the commission of an offence under the 1983 Act or other impropriety.
144.Subsection (8) enables a CORE scheme to authorise the CORE keeper to supply information to the Electoral Commission. The intention is to ensure that the CORE keeper can furnish the Electoral Commission with information relevant to the performance of the Commission’s functions. This may include, for example, statistical reports regarding registration patterns or regarding potential anomalies identified in the registers. The power could also be used to enable the CORE keeper to advise the Commission where a particular ERO has not complied with a requirement in a CORE scheme to notify the CORE keeper of the steps taken in response to information received from the CORE keeper about, for example, suspected absent voter fraud or other improprieties.