Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Chief Executive.

Scrutiny Committee – Resources considered the report at its meeting on 21 September 2011 and comments will be reported.

(Report circulated)

(Minute 97)

The report of the Chief Executive was submitted, setting out the Government’s consultation proposals on the introduction of individual electoral registration (IER) and the issues they raise.  Scrutiny Committee – Resources considered the report at their meeting of 21 September 2011 and the comments of members were noted.

Councillor Hobden attended the meeting and spoke on this item under Standing Order 44.  She informed members that the Electoral Commission was broadly in favour of IER and that a survey had indicated that only 56% of the population were satisfied with the current electoral registration arrangements. She believed that the current system was antiquated and one of the few systems in existence not based on individual responsibility.   She considered that the practical difficulties identified were surmountable and urged that the Council should more strongly welcome the proposals for Individual Electoral Registration.

The majority of members commented that they were not against the principle of IER but were greatly concerned that the current proposals did not make registration compulsory.  They felt this would lead to a significant diminution in democratic participation and devalued the historical efforts made to secure the right to vote.

They felt that the proposals as they currently stood could lead to the disenfranchisement of large groups of society particularly those who were already disengaged with the democratic process or who might choose not to register for personal reasons. They were also aware that IER had not met with great success in Northern Ireland.

Another member hoped that IER might encourage people to take an interest in the democratic process but acknowledged the danger that they may lose the opportunity to vote if they failed to register.

Councillor Taghdissian attended the meeting and spoke on this item under Standing Order 44.  He felt that the majority of people were capable of deciding whether they wished to vote and the presumption that many people would not do so was unfounded. Another member commented that since penalties for non-registration were rarely or never enforced currently, the removal of the compulsory element to do so was unlikely to have any significant impact.

Executive resolved that the Chief Executive submits a response along the lines suggested in paragraph 3.2 of the report.

The report of the Chief Executive was submitted, setting out the Government’s consultation proposals on the introduction of individual electoral registration (IER) and the issues they raise.  Scrutiny Committee – Resources considered the report at their meeting of 21 September 2011 and the comments of members were noted.

Councillor Hobden attended the meeting and spoke on this item under Standing Order 44.  She informed members that the Electoral Commission was broadly in favour of IER and that a survey had indicated that only 56% of the population were satisfied with the current electoral registration arrangements. She believed that the current system was antiquated and one of the few systems in existence not based on individual responsibility.   She considered that the practical difficulties identified were surmountable and urged that the Council should more strongly welcome the proposals for Individual Electoral Registration.

The majority of members commented that they were not against the principle of IER but were greatly concerned that the current proposals did not make registration compulsory.  They felt this would lead to a significant diminution in democratic participation and devalued the historical efforts made to secure the right to vote.

They felt that the proposals as they currently stood could lead to the disenfranchisement of large groups of society particularly those who were already disengaged with the democratic process or who might choose not to register for personal reasons. They were also aware that IER had not met with great success in Northern Ireland.

Another member hoped that IER might encourage people to take an interest in the democratic process but acknowledged the danger that they may lose the opportunity to vote if they failed to register.

Councillor Taghdissian attended the meeting and spoke on this item under Standing Order 44.  He felt that the majority of people were capable of deciding whether they wished to vote and the presumption that many people would not do so was unfounded. Another member commented that since penalties for non-registration were rarely or never enforced currently, the removal of the compulsory element to do so was unlikely to have any significant impact.

RESOLVED that the Chief Executive submits a response along the lines suggested in paragraph 3.2 of the report.

(Report circulated)

To consider the report of the Chief Executive – report circulated

The Head of Corporate Customer Services presented the report setting out the Government’s consultation proposals on the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration (IER) and the issues it raised.

He updated Members on the proposals and advised that the move to IER was to make electoral registration and access to democracy a personal responsibility. It also aimed, through accompanying systems of data matching, to improve accuracy and completeness and therefore assist to tackle fraud.

The Head of Corporate Customer Services outlined the potential effect that non-compulsory registration could have on the number of registered electors and the consequences that this could have on the selection of juries and the impact on parliamentary constituencies. He advised that the implementation of IER could also have an impact on Council resources.

Councillor Hobden expressed disappointment that the recommendation did not welcome the move to IER and proposed an amendment to the recommendation that the Chief Executive respond to the Government's consultation on IER regarding the issues raised in this report and in particular that: Exeter City Council should welcome the move to IER which would make access to democracy a personal responsibility, and, through the accompanying systems of data matching, would improve accuracy and completeness and tackle fraud; but that the Council was concerned that it would carry with it the administrative consequences of increased late registration and additional costs, which would require adequate funding; and asks that the Council look to the Government to ensure that these additional costs and administrative burden would be adequately provided for. The proposal was seconded by Councillor Mitchell and was put to the vote and lost.

The majority of Members, whilst welcoming IER had concerns regarding the potential effect that non-compulsory registration could have on the numbers on the electoral register, as well as the administration costs associated with this new requirement for which there was no apparent funding beyond that required for its initial implementation.

The Head of Corporate Customer Services advised that following the passing of the Political Parties and Elections Act of 2009, an additional member of staff had joined the Electoral Services office and, whilst some of this additional work may be absorbed through management of staff, there could be some overall increase in costs on such issues as postage and printing.

The Chief Executive advised that the Electoral Commission had raised concerns that if IER was non-compulsory, the electoral register could fall from 90% of residents to between 60% and 65%.

The Scrutiny Committee - Resources supported the report and recommended Executive to approve the submission by the Chief Executive of the comments in paragraph 3.2 of the report with the additional view that all forms of registration for electoral purposes should be compulsory.

(Report circulated)