UK: The Electoral Register

The Home Office has announced that the Working Group on Electoral Procedures is to examine the commercial use of the electoral register. According to the Home Office, the sale of electoral data is viewed with suspicion and hostility by members of the public and may be a contributory factor in the disinclination of certain sectors of the population to register. The Data Protection Registrar is known to favour a ban on the sale of the electoral register. The nature and timing of the consultation, which exceeds the original terms of reference of the Working Group, has led to fears that the Government may try to “bounce through” the proposal. A ban on the sale of the electoral register would result in serious commercial disadvantages for the direct marketing industry as well as in the creation of enormous problems for consumers wishing to gain access to credit. It is argued by those seeking to stop use of the register for commercial purposes that this would result in less direct mail. However it is more likely that instead of reducing direct mail, the amount of poorly targeted mail would increase as the most common use of the register is for data verification purposes. The Advertising Association is working closely with its members to put forward a strong case for continuing commercial use of the register.

The Government is also proposing that individuals should be able to register with a centralised scheme to make clear that their data is not to be used for unsolicited direct marketing calls and that companies should have the same right in respect of unsolicited faxes.