Citation, commencement, duration and extent

1.-(1) This Order may be cited as the Electoral Registration Pilot Scheme (England and Wales) Order 2017 and comes into force on 30th June 2017.

(2) This Order ceases to have effect on 6th July 2018.

(3) This Order extends to England and Wales.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order-

"2001 Regulations" means the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001(2);

"annual canvass" means the annual canvass required by section 9D(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 Act(3);

"specified area" means-

Period of pilot scheme

3.  Articles 4 to 6 have effect in relation to a specified area for the period beginning with 1st July 2017 and ending with 29th June 2018.

Modification of the Representation of the People Act 1983 Act and the Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001

4.  Section 9D(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 and regulations 32ZA and 32ZB of the 2001 Regulations do not apply in relation to the annual canvass.

Annual canvass

5.-(1) The registration officer must conduct the annual canvass in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) The registration officer must attempt to make contact with a person at each residential address in the specified area at least once during the period beginning with 1st July 2017 and ending with 2nd February 2018.

(3) The registration officer may comply with the requirement in paragraph (2) by any means the registration officer thinks appropriate, including-

(a)by sending a canvass form, which may be the form designed by the Electoral Commission under regulation 32ZA(2) of the 2001 Regulations;

(b)by visiting the address;

(c)by telephone;

(d)by electronic means.

Specified date for the Electoral Commission to report on the pilot scheme

6.  The date specified for the purposes of section 9(7)(b) of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (date by which the Electoral Commission must give copy of their report) is 29th June 2018.

Article 2

SCHEDULESpecified Areas

PART 1

• Barrow-in-Furness

• Bath & North East Somerset

• Camden

• Coventry

• Derbyshire Dales

• East Devon

• Hounslow

• Luton

• Newcastle Upon Tyne

• Salford

• South Holland

• South Norfolk

• South Oxfordshire

• Sunderland

• Vale of White Horse

• Wakefield

• Woking

PART 2

• Blaenau Gwent

• Torfaen

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

Following the introduction of individual electoral registration under changes made by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c. 6), this Order establishes a pilot scheme giving electoral registration officers in specified areas in England and Wales wider discretion over the manner in which they conduct the annual canvass under section 9D of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2).

Article 4 of this Order modifies the existing requirements in relation to the canvass in the areas in the Schedule. Article 5 requires electoral registration officers in those areas to canvass each residential address in the area for which they act at least once but the manner in which they do so and whether they take further steps where no information is received in respect of a particular address will be at the electoral registration officer's discretion.

Article 6 specifies the date by which the Electoral Commission is required to give a copy of their report on the pilot scheme under section 9(7)(b) of the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 to the Minister and the electoral registration officers. The Order ceases to have effect on 6th July 2018.

An impact assessment has been prepared and is annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the Order on legislation.gov.uk or from the Modern Registration Division, Constitution Group, Cabinet Office, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.