26.08.14
Ban junk mail companies from accessing electoral roll – LGA
Council leaders are calling on the government to scrap a law which forces local authorities to hand over personal details of voters to junk mail companies.
Under the current system, the names and addresses of up to 28 million people appear on the open version of the electoral register which any business or individual is legally entitled to purchase from councils.
However, the Local Government Association (LGA) believes this practice could be fuelling a junk mail ‘bonanza’ and may be hampering efforts to get people to vote.
Currently, there are two versions of the electoral register produced each year - a full version and an open one. The details of everyone entitled to vote appear on the full register. This version is not for sale to businesses.
But the open register, which can be sold to any person or individual, includes names and addresses of every person who does not tick the ‘opt-out’ box on their voter registration form.
The LGA states that hundreds of requests for information from this register are made to councils every year from organisations, including marketing firms and estate agents. The current fees for purchasing voter details, set by government, are £20 plus £1.50 for each 1,000 entries in data format. And to receive the printed version is £10 plus £5 for each 1,000 entries.
Cllr Peter Fleming, chair of the LGA's Improvement Board, said: “Councils resent having to pass the electoral roll onto direct marketing companies. Junk mailers and cold callers are a pet hate for many of us. It demeans our democracy for voters' details to be sold off as a tool to help direct marketing firms make money.
“Scrapping the open register would spare millions from being bombarded with junk mail and would remove a hurdle which stands in the way of our efforts to sign people up to vote.”
Last year, a study by civil liberties group Big Brother Watch found that 300 councils had sold on information to some 2,700 companies and individuals over the previous five years.
Daniel Nesbitt, research director at Big Brother Watch, said: “The sale of the edited electoral register has to stop and the LGA is absolutely right to say so. Registering to vote should be a basic part of our democratic freedoms, instead the practice of forcing councils to sell our personal details to anyone and everyone has left people confused about who can get hold of their private information.”
The LGA also claims that recent changes to voter registration have led to a fresh wave of confusion with residents incorrectly believing that their details may now be added to the open electoral register even if they have previously opted out. Councils are working to reassure residents that this is not the case and are urging government to tackle the issue by scrapping the open register altogether.
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