Agenda item

The Committee received a report which provided an update to Members on a number of key work streams being undertaken by the Electoral Services Team in relation to the Register of Electors and Annual Canvass.

The Electoral Services Manager updated the Committee on the latest figures in relation to the responses received from properties in this year’s canvass.  It was noted that as a result of canvass reforms this year, only properties where all the electors could not be matched against national and/or local data were required to respond.  The aim of the canvass reform was to deliver a more efficient system by which Electoral Registration Officers could maintain their electoral registers with no negative effect on citizens, or on the accuracy and completeness of the registers.

It was reported that since the report’s publication, the number of properties outstanding now stood at 14,734 (in relation to un-matched properties that required a response).  It was also reported that the Electoral Services Team had been directly contacting those properties defined as Care Homes and Homes of Multiple Occupancy, due to the high turnaround in these types of properties to establish that everything was as up to date as possible.

In the absence of carrying out household visits due to the Covid-19 restrictions in place in Doncaster at the time, the Electoral Services Team had been collecting information in other ways, including a telephone outbound canvass, contacting electors by email and data matching and data mining against Council records.  The Council’s Communications team was also assisting by sending messages to encourage non-responders to respond.

Discussion followed, during which the officers answered a wide range of questions from Members, including the following:-

• With regard to the various information sources utilised by the team in collecting information for the canvass, the officers gave examples of these, including blue badge information, adult social care, parking services, Council Tax and the Contact Care Centre.

• In reply to a query regarding how Doncaster’s response rate in the canvass compared with the other South Yorkshire authorities, the Electoral Services Manager confirmed that all were generally around the 90% mark, but the authorities were all at different stages in the canvass, so the final figures would be reported to the Committee’s next meeting.

• The Electoral Services Manager explained that the cost savings from the canvass reform measures would be achieved in a number of ways, such as reduced postage costs from not having to chase as many people for responses and a reduced number of properties to visit in the foot canvass.

• With regard to the increase in deaths arising from the current pandemic, the Electoral Services Manager explained that they received weekly death lists so this enabled them to update the Register accordingly.

• In reply to a question regarding those households that did not reply to the canvass, the officers explained that people were not automatically removed from the Register if a response was not received.  A household notification letter was sent out in February each year to those properties from which a response had not been received, in order to pick up any changes in the residency of those households that may have taken place.

• The Electoral Services Manager confirmed that the foot canvass last year had cost in the region of £25,000.  With regard to non-responders, it was noted that there was a power to fine people for not being on the Register, but this would be a time consuming process and any monies received from fines went to the Government, not to the Local Authority.

• The Electoral Services Manager confirmed that landlords were not obliged to provide details of their principal tenants to the local authority.  The onus was on residents to keep the local authority informed of changes, not landlords.  However, the Electoral Services Team did work closely with St Leger Homes of Doncaster in terms of sharing information on its tenants, and the Team also sought assistance from key holders of buildings with multiple occupancy in order to gain access to these properties when conducting the foot canvass.

            RESOLVED to note the contents of the report.