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2002 No. 1871

REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE

The Representation of the People (England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2002

  Made 18th July 2002 
  Coming into force in accordance with regulation 2

The Secretary of State, having consulted the Electoral Commission in accordance with section 7(1) and (2)(e) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000[1] about these Regulations; in exercise of the powers conferred on him by - 

hereby makes the following Regulations, a draft of which has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament:

Citation, interpretation and extent
     1.  - (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002.

    (2) In these Regulations, "the 2001 Regulations" means the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001[
8].

    (3) These Regulations do not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Commencement
     2.  - (1) Regulation 1, this regulation, regulation 4 (together with the Schedule) and regulations 5(1), (2), and (5), 7, 8 and 12 to 14 shall come into force on the expiry of the period of 14 days beginning with the day on which these Regulations were made.

    (2) Subject to paragraph (3) below, regulations 3, 5(3) and (4), 6, 9 to 11 and 15 shall come into force on 16th October 2002.

    (3) Where, in any registration area, the revised version of the register of electors has not been published under section 13(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983[
9] on or before 16th October 2002, the provisions to which paragraph (2) refers shall not have effect in relation to the register for that area until the day following the day on which the revised version of the register is so published.

Revocations
     3.  - (1) Regulations 46 to 49 of the 2001 Regulations and regulation 4 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2001[10] are hereby revoked.

    (2) The Representation of the People (Form of Canvass) (England and Wales) Regulations 2001[11] are hereby revoked.

Prescribed forms
     4. The form in Part 1 of the Schedule to these Regulations is hereby prescribed for the purposes of section 10(4) of the Representation of the People Act 1983[12] (form of annual canvass).

Amendment of interpretation provisions
     5.  - (1) Regulation 3(1) of the 2001 Regulations (interpretation) is amended as follows.

    (2) For the definition of "candidate" substitute - 

    (3) Before the definition of "European Parliamentary overseas elector" insert - 

    (4) After the definition of "European Parliamentary overseas elector's declaration" insert - 

    (5) After the definition of "register" insert - 

Amendment of provision about copies
     6.  - (1) Regulation 7 of the 2001 Regulations (copies of documents) shall become paragraph (1) of regulation 7.

    (2) After that paragraph insert - 

Amendment of provision about inspection of election returns
     7. In regulation 10 of the 2001 Regulations (return and declaration of election expenses) - 

Amendment of provision about applications
    
8.  - (1) Regulation 26 of the 2001 Regulations (applications for registration) is amended as follows.

    (2) In paragraph (1) for "shall state" substitute "("an application for registration") shall, in addition to the requirements of section 10A(1A) and 13A(2A) of that Act, state".

    (3) For paragraph (1)(g), substitute - 

    (4) In paragraph (2) for the word "application", in the first place where it occurs, substitute "declaration".

    (5) In paragraph (3) for "under this regulation" substitute "for registration".

    (6) After paragraph (5) insert - 

Amendment of provision about notices
    
9. For regulation 36(2)(a) of the 2001 Regulations (issue of notices in connection with registration) substitute - 

Manner of publication of register
    
10. For regulation 43(1) of the 2001 Regulations (publication of register) substitute - 

Manner of publication of list of overseas electors
    
11. In regulation 45(3) of the 2001 Regulations (publication of the list of overseas electors) after "inspection" insert "under supervision".

Procedure on issue of postal ballot papers
    
12. At the end of regulation 72 of the 2001 Regulations (procedure on issue of postal ballot papers) insert - 

Spoilt postal ballot papers
    
13.  - (1) Regulation 77 (spoilt postal ballot papers) of the 2001 Regulations is amended as follows.

    (2) In paragraph (1) for the words from ", the declaration" to the end substitute "and the declaration of identity".

    (3) In paragraph (5) for "the declaration of identity and the ballot paper envelope" substitute "and the declaration of identity".

Declarations of identity
    
14. For paragraphs (5) to (7) of regulation 85 of the 2001 Regulations (procedure in relation to declarations of identity) substitute - 

Supply of register, etc
    
15. After regulation 91 of the 2001 Regulations insert - 





Signed by auhority of the Secretary of State


Nick Raynsford
Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

18th July 2002



SCHEDULE
Regulation 4


FORM OF CANVASS AND FORM OF WORDS ABOUT THE TWO VERSIONS OF THE REGISTER




PART I

Form prescribed for the purposes of section 10(4) of the 1983 Act (as substituted by Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act)



RETURN BY OCCUPIER AS TO RESIDENTS

Your right to vote

You can vote in elections only if your name appears in the register of electors. A new version of the register is published at least once a year following an annual canvass which takes place each autumn.

About this form
The law requires you to give the information requested in this form. So please fill it in, sign it and return it to the electoral registration officer as quickly as possible.

Remember to include the names of all those living in your household who will be eligible to vote - their right to vote is important too.

The form should include all those living in your household on 15th October [insert year]. But you need not wait until then to fill in the form.

If you do not return this form, your name may be left out of the new version of the register, even though it may already be included in the current one.

With this form there are notes about who is eligible to vote and instructions on how to fill it in.

If there is anything you don't understand, or if you would like more information, contact your electoral registration officer at the address - or on the telephone number - shown on the form. He will be pleased to help.

Checking the register
The new register is published on or shortly before 1st December and you can look at a copy of it at your local council offices. If for some reason you have been missed off the register, or your details have changed since 15th October [enter year] (for example, because you have changed your address) you should ask immediately to have your name added to the register or to have the register changed. The electoral registration officer will tell you what you have to do.

Would you prefer to vote by post?
Anyone on the electoral register can vote by post. You can have a postal vote for just one election, for all elections in a set period or for all elections indefinitely. Ask the electoral registration officer for further details.



ANNUAL CANVASS OF ELECTORS [insert relevant year]

You must by law give the information requested in this form.

Be sure to include:

British citizens, citizens of other Commonwealth countries or of the Irish Republic.

Citizens of Member States of the European Union - they will be registered as local government electors only.

Those living in your household who are 16 and 17 years old - they can vote as soon as they are 18. Please give their dates of birth in Part 4.

Those who normally live in your household but are away for the time being - for example on holiday, as students in the United Kingdom, or in hospital (including voluntary patients in psychiatric hospitals).

Anyone who is away working, unless they are away for more than six months.

Any other residents, lodgers or guests (but not short-stay visitors) in your household, whether this is a private address, a hostel or a club.

Don't include:

Foreign nationals - except for citizens of Member States of the European Union.

People under 16.

Anybody who will be leaving your address before 15 October.

Jury Service
Please put a tick in Part 5 for anyone who is eligible to vote and who will be 70 or over on 15th October[insert year]. Please also give the dates of birth of anyone who will reach the age of 70 before 15th October [insert following year].

People aged 70 and over cannot sit on a jury. Those who may not be able to sit on a jury for other reasons will be able to say so if they receive a jury summons.

The two versions of the register
The electoral registration officer makes and keeps two versions of the electoral register - the full register and the edited register.

Please put a tick in Part 6 against anyone who wishes their name and address to be excluded from the edited register; you should ask each of them their preference before completing this form.

The full register
The full register lists everyone who is entitled to vote. You can check it by calling at the council offices or at some local libraries. Only certain people and organisations can have copies of the full register, and they can only use it for specified purposes. These include electoral purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and checking your identity when you have applied for credit. The law says who can have a copy of the full register and what they can use it for. The full list of such persons and purposes is given in the Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002. It is a criminal offence for them to pass it on to anyone else or to use it for any other purpose.

The edited register
The edited register leaves out the names and addresses of people who have asked for them to be excluded from that version of the register. The edited register can be bought by anyone who asks for a copy and they may use if for any purpose.

How to return this form
First, please check that you have read and completed the form. Then return it in the envelope provided or fold the form up as the instructions tell you. Otherwise you can send it or take it to your local Council's electoral services office.





PART II

Form of words about the two versions of the register

The two versions of the register

The electoral registration officer makes and keeps two versions of the electoral register - the full register and the edited register.

Please say in your application if you wish your name and address to be excluded from the edited register.

The full register
The full register lists everyone who is entitled to vote. You can check it by calling at the council offices or at some local libraries. Only certain people and organisations can have copies of the full register, and they can only use it for specified purposes. These include electoral purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and checking your identity when you have applied for credit. The law says who can have a copy of the full register and what they can use it for. The full list of such persons and purposes is given in the Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002. It is a criminal offence for them to pass it on to anyone else or to use it for any other purpose.

The edited register
The edited register leaves out the names and addresses of people who have asked for them to be excluded from that version of the register. The edited register can be bought by anyone who asks for a copy and they may use it for any purpose.



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations amend the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 ("the principal Regulations").

The main changes are those made by the regulations inserted into the principal Regulations by regulation 15 of these Regulations. The inserted regulations make fresh provision in respect of the free supply and the sale of the register of electors. Regulations 46 to 49 of the principal Regulations (which currently provide for such supply and sale) are revoked by regulation 3 of these Regulations.

Regulation 93 of the inserted regulations provides for an edited version of the register of electors. This version does not contain the names of those persons who have requested the exclusion of their names from this version of the register. The request is made either in the form of return of the annual canvass under section 10 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 ("the 1983 Act"), as substituted by Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 ("the 2000 Act"), or in the form of application to be registered. The contents of such applications are prescribed by regulation 26 of the principal Regulations and that regulation is amended by regulation 8 of these Regulations to make provision for that request. The form to be used for the canvass is prescribed by Part I of the Schedule to these Regulations.

Under regulation 110 of the inserted regulations, the edited version of the register is available for sale without restriction and the fees payable are prescribed.

By contrast, the inserted regulations introduce new restrictions not only on the sale of the full version of the register but also on its use consequent on its supply free of charge. Breach of the restrictions is an offence under inserted regulation 115.

A copy of the full version of the register may not be supplied by a registration officer otherwise than in accordance with an enactment (which, by virtue of the definition in inserted regulation 92(2), includes subordinate legislation), including the principal Regulations (regulation 94(3)). No copy may be sold except to the persons and organisations falling within inserted regulations 113 (government departments) and 114 (credit reference agencies). Such sales are subject to the fees and conditions set out in inserted regulations 111 and 112, in particular the restrictions on use contained in inserted regulation 112(4) and (5). The purchasers are restricted to the uses which are authorised by regulations 113 and 114.

Inserted regulation 94 restricts the supply of the full register (or information contained in it) by the registration officer and his staff. References to the register include the notices published under sections 13A(2) and 13B(3) of the 1983 Act (as substituted by Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act) amending it. Inserted regulation 95 places restrictions on the use of the full register which is supplied under section 3(1) of the Juries Act 1974 and regulation 96 places restrictions in respect of supply under other enactments (including subordinate legislation) or use of the register information however obtained.

Inserted regulations 97 to 101 require the registration officer to supply free of charge, on publication, a copy of the full register to the organisations to which those regulations apply. The regulations also place restrictions on the use of the register by those organisations.

Inserted regulations 102 to 109 require the registration officer to supply free of charge and on request copies of the full register to the persons and organisations to which the regulations apply. They also set out restrictions on use by those organisations.

Regulation 4 of these Regulations prescribes the form to be used in order for the registration officer to carry out the annual canvass.

Regulations 6, 9, 10 and 11 of these Regulations amend provisions in the principal Regulations relating to the manner of publication of the register (including notices amending it) and the list of overseas electors and to the taking of copies of such documents to introduce new restrictions. The register (which, by virtue of inserted regulation 93(5), means the full register) is to be available for inspection only under supervision. Only hand-written copies may be taken.

Regulation 12 of these Regulations amends the principal Regulations to include express provision about the addresses to which postal ballot papers are to be sent. Regulations 13 and 14 of these Regulations simplify the procedure in respect of spoilt postal ballot papers and the checks required in respect of the declaration of identity for postal ballot papers, respectively.


Notes:

[1] 2000 c. 41.back

[2] Section 53 was amended by Schedule 4 to the Representation of the People Act 1985 ("the 1985 Act") and Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 ("the 2000 Act").back

[3] Section 201(3) was inserted by Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act.back

[4] Rule 24 was substituted by Schedule 6 to the 2000 Act.back

[5] Paragraphs 10, 10A, 10B and 11 were substituted by section 9 of the 2000 Act; paragraph 11A was inserted by Schedule 4 to the 1985 Act; and paragraph 13(1A) was inserted by section 9 of the 2000 Act.back

[6] 1983 c. 2.back

[7] Sections 10, 10A, 13A and 13B were substituted by Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act.back

[8] S.I. 2001/341; these Regulations have been amended by S.I. 2001/1700.back

[9] 1983 c. 2; section 13 was substituted by Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (c. 2) ("the 2000 Act").back

[10] S.I. 2001/1700.back

[11] S.I. 2001/2720.back

[12] Section 10 was substituted by Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act.back

[13] Section 118A of the Representation of the People Act 1983 was inserted by section 135(2) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41).back

[14] Sections 13A and 13B were substituted by Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (c. 2).back

[15] Sections 13A and 13B were substituted by Schedule 1 to the 2000 Act.back

[16] S.I. 2001/497. The Regulations are amended by the Representation of the People (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2002. (S.I. 2002/1872).back

[17] S.I. 2001/400. The Regulations are amended by the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2002. (S.I. 2002/1873).back

[18] The exercise of the powers in section 52(1) is made subject to section 8(1) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) and section 52(1A), as inserted by Schedule 21 to that Act, is relevant to those powers.back

[19] Sections 10 to 13 were substituted by Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 2000.back

[20] Regulation 26 is amended by regulation 6 of these Regulations.back

[21] 1974 c. 23; section 3(1) was amended by Schedule 8 to the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2) and Schedule 15 to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33).back

[22] Sections 13 to 13B were substituted by Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 2000.back

[23] The British Library is established under the British Library Act 1972 (c. 54).back

[24] Subsections (2B) and (2C) of section 35 were inserted by Schedule 3 to the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29).back

[25] The Office for National Statistics is a government department to which various functions relating to the gathering and publication of statistics were transferred by the Transfer of Functions (Registration and Statistics) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/273).back

[26] The Electoral Commission is established by section 1 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41).back

[27] 2000 c. 41.back

[28] The Boundary Commission for England is established by section 2 of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (c. 56). Its functions will transfer to the Electoral Commission when section 16 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is brought into force.back

[29] The Boundary Commission for Wales is established by section 2 of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986. Its functions will transfer to the Electoral Commission when section 16 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is brought into force.back

[30] The Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales is established by section 53 of the Local Government Act 1972. The National Assembly for Wales may make an order under section 20 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 transferring any relevant function of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales to the Electoral Commission.back

[31] 1999 c. 29.back

[32] 2000 c. 22.back

[33] 2000 c. 41.back

[34] Schedule 2A was inserted by section 130 and Schedule 16 to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.back

[35] 1972 c. 70.back

[36] 1974 c. 39.back

[37] S.I. 1993/1933.back

[38] S.I. 2001/3641.back

[39] 2000 c. 8. Section 46 enables the making of rules by the Financial Services Authority in relation to the prevention and detection of money laundering in connection with the carrying on of regulated activities by authorised persons.back



ISBN 0 11 042533 2


  Prepared 26 July 2002


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