Martin / Tim et al,
I have already received guidance from the OIC on this. Peter Bloomfield, in
reviewing our guidelines relating to disclosure to external bodies, noted the
following:
"...while the Representation of the People Act 2000 has received royal assent,
the regulations providing for the two electoral registers have not yet been
laid and will not be until next year, as the Lord Chancellor's Department is
looking again at who should have access to the main register. Having said this
however, regulation 23 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales)
Regulations 2001 does give an electoral registration officer the power to
require any person to give information required for the purpose of the
electoral registration officer. This means I suggest.....if approached by an
electoral registration officer for information on students an institution
should check with the office why the data is required and under what powers. If
satisfied with this the disclosure can be made, however students should be
informed of the disclosure (either at registration or...at the point of
disclosure)"
There are 3 points of particular interest in the above. Firstly, it seems we
are REQUIRED to disclose in the circumstances that most/all HEIs are facing
right now (i/.e. demands from the local council to provide lists of residents
for electoral roll purposes). Secondly the Lord Chancellor's Office may be
thinking hard about the availability of that favourite snoopers/ private
detectives tool, the public electoral roll - and about time too! Thirdly, that
many people who have a statutory right to data are either deeply secretive or
don't understand their own regulations (I say this because, when I spoke to the
guy at Lancaster Town Hall about their request for roll information this year,
he seemed unable to tell me which part of the RotP Act applied in this case).
Can anybody tell me what regulation 23 says? I've not yet had chance to check
it out...
Andrew Okey
Project Co-ordinator
Lancaster DP Project
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Trent,Tim [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 26 October 2001 13:38
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: electoral roll
>
> This is a situation when I would do two things:
>
> 1) Ask the IC's office for advice
> 2) Hide behind my legal department
>
> It strikes me that we have two potentially conflicting laws here, and I run
> for cover under all such circumstances
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rushall, Martin [SEC] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 26 October 2001 13:23
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: electoral roll
>
>
> Our local council is demanding that we disclose names and addresses of
> students resident in University accommodation for electoral roll purposes,
> and they're using the Representation of the People Act to beat us with.
>
> I am reluctant to cough up this data, partly because liability attaching to
> failure to notify local authorities of information for the electoral roll
> must lie with the individual, and partly because I have serious misgivings
> about rumoured processing of electoral roll data beyond the stated purpose -
> ie apparent disclosure to third parties.
>
> Any views/knowledge/experience which people might like to share in this
> area??
>
> Martin Rushall
> Deputy University Secretary
> Tel (0113) 283-3409
> Fax (0113) 283-3142
> e-mail [log in to unmask]
>
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