Fines for non-registration with the police? Reforms permit enhanced secondary use of electoral rolls. 3


Chris Pounder writes on the HawkTlk blog:

Should you be fined if you failed to register with the local police, the national security agencies, any Government Department or a Credit Reference Agency? Should the national security agencies, for instance, be entitled to create a population register, the core of which could be similar to that of associated with the ill-fated ID Card (much beloved by the previous Government)?

Surprised by these questions? Both these outcomes are possible, courtesy of the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill just published following last week’s Queen’s Speech.

This Bill allows for individual electoral registration; this means that each elector must apply individually to be registered to vote. To ensure that all voters are registered, the Bill permits extensive data matching powers to verify applications, to check existing entries in electoral registers against other sources of data, and to hunt for individuals who do not currently appear on the electoral roll.

Also like registration for an ID Card, there will be a civil penalty for those who fail to make an application when required to do so by an Electoral Registration Officer (“ERO”). This continues the compulsion under the current law which makes it an offence if an individual fails to provide information to an ERO when asked.

The details provided on such registers are usually the voter’s name, address, nationality and age; however the associated Privacy Impact Assessment adds that the register will need to have access to Nationality (plus immigration status where appropriate), NINO and previous and/or alternative address. All these details formed core elements of the ID Card’s database (the National Identity Register or NIR).

Each full register is updated every month and published once a year. Like the ill-fated NIR, the full register can be used for several purposes: there is the obvious electoral purpose, a prevention and detection of crime purpose, a safeguarding national security purpose and a purpose related to checking the identities of individuals who have applied for financial services.


3 thoughts on “Fines for non-registration with the police? Reforms permit enhanced secondary use of electoral rolls.

  • Tom Welsh

    “Like the ill-fated NIR, the full register can be used for several purposes: there is the obvious electoral purpose, a prevention and detection of crime purpose, a safeguarding national security purpose and a purpose related to checking the identities of individuals who have applied for financial services”.

    Not to mention the purpose of raising money by flogging the data to the highest bidder(s). Who – needless to say – will use it for only the most ethical of purposes. (Although if they don’t, the government can hardly be held responsible, now can it?)

  • Yokel

    My guess is that this will go through much as envisaged by Amberhawk, but that the draconian powers will remain unused until most have forgotten about them. Just like the powers under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act, and the Civil Contingencies Act.

    Then, when we have a government that is even less savoury than the present or previous bunches, they will be put into use and stretched even beyond our present fears.

  • Yokel

    My guess is that this will go through much as envisaged by Amberhawk, but that the draconian powers will remain unused until most have forgotten about them. Just like the powers under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act, and the Civil Contingencies Act.

    Then, when we have a government that is even less savoury than the present or previous bunches, they will be put into use and stretched even beyond our present fears.

Comments are closed.