Agenda item

The Electoral Services Manager provided Members with an overview of the key work streams being undertaken by the Electoral Services Team in relation to the Register of Electors and the preparations for the start of the Annual Canvass.

It was reported that each year, the Electoral Registration Officer had a duty to carry out a full annual review of the Electoral Register.  In light of the introduction of the canvass reforms last year, the annual canvass had been changed which allowed the Council to carry out the annual canvass without the need to require a response from every household across the Borough.  It also changed where if electors could be matched to a property using national data and the Council’s data sources, where there was found to be no change and was matched with the Department of Works and Pensions and that the elector still lived at the same address meant a letter was sent to the property asking the resident to confirm whether there was a change to the people residing at the property and to inform the Elections team of any changes.

It was noted that the annual canvass was to take place from July to the 30th November 2021.  The register would be updated on a monthly basis to include additions, changes to and people being removed from the register. Following the conclusion of the annual canvass, a revised version of the electoral register was to be published on 1st December, 2021 and each person would be provided with a new electoral registration number.

Under the reformed canvass, data matching would be used at the outset of the canvass to help identify those properties where the residents were more likely to have changed. The Electoral Services Team had already carried out the data step matching process against the national Government data. The Electoral Services Manager explained the process to be followed which would be one of two routes for each property; Route 1 matched properties that are not required to respond and Route 2 unmatched properties where there has been changes to the property. In addition, local data matching had been carried out with the Council’s Council Tax department and Customer Services, which had resulted in a match of 104,590 properties which was 74.20% and 36, 319 unmatched properties put into Route 2.

It was noted that all electors in Route 1 would be contacted by letter or email to find out whether there are any changes to the property.  Properties in Route 2 that had not been successfully data matched should receive letters next week where the householder would be asked to provide confirmation to the Electoral Services Team in relation to who resides at the properties.  For those people who did not provide a response for Route 2 properties, this would be followed up with telephone canvassing, correspondence, email and foot canvassing. In relation to Route 3 properties, multi-occupancy properties, such as Care Homes would be contacted by telephone and email to ensure that recent and update information on residents was kept up to date.

The Electoral Services Manager drew Members attention to page 9 of the agenda which set out the reformed canvass model for the annual canvass and provided an update on statistical data in relation to matched properties for Doncaster electors as of 9th June, 2021.

It was noted that funding for the annual canvass was provided by central government.  The Council had not yet received or had an indication of the expected amount. Members were informed that this information would be shared with the Committee at its next meeting.

RESOLVED that the report on a number of key work streams being undertaken by the Electoral Services Team in relation to the Register of Electors and the preparations for the start of the Annual Canvass, be noted.