Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013

2Applications for registration and verification of entitlement etc

(1)Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 1983 (provisions which may be contained in regulations as to registration etc) is amended as follows.

(2)In paragraph 1, after sub-paragraph (2) insert—

“(2A)Provision made under sub-paragraph (2) authorising or requiring a registration officer in Great Britain to—

(a)require a person who has made an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD to provide evidence that he or she is the person named in the application, or

(b)require a person who has made an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD, or any person who has an entry in a register, to provide evidence for the purpose of enabling the officer to determine whether a person is entitled to be registered in a register maintained by the officer,

must specify the kind of evidence that a person may be required to provide (for examples, see paragraph 3ZA(5)).

(2B)Provision of the kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (2A) may authorise or require the registration officer to require a person to provide the evidence to a registration officer or to some other prescribed person (or person of a prescribed description).”

(3)After paragraph 3 insert—

“3ZA(1)Provision about applications under section 10ZC or 10ZD, including in particular provision about—

(a)the form and contents of applications and of any declarations to be made in connection with them;

(b)the manner in which applications are to be made.

(2)Provision made under sub-paragraph (1) may include provision—

(a)conferring functions on registration officers, or local or public authorities, to enable applications to be made in a particular manner;

(b)conferring other functions on registration officers;

(c)conferring functions on the Electoral Commission.

(3)Provision requiring a person making an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD—

(a)to provide evidence that he or she is the person named in the application;

(b)to provide evidence of entitlement to be registered.

(4)Provision made under sub-paragraph (3) must specify the kind of evidence that a person is required to provide.

(5)Examples of the evidence that may be specified include a person’s date of birth or national insurance number.

(6)Provision made under sub-paragraph (3) may require a person to provide the evidence to a registration officer or to some other prescribed person (or person of a prescribed description).”

(4)After paragraph 8A insert—

“8B(1)Provision authorising or requiring a registration officer in determining an application under section 10ZC or 10ZD, in prescribed cases, to treat a prescribed person’s statement of a fact as sufficient evidence of that fact.

(2)In sub-paragraph (1) “prescribed” includes of a prescribed description.”

(5)In section 201 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (regulations), before subsection (3) insert—

“(2C)Regulations made for the purposes only of omitting a particular kind of evidence from the kinds of evidence that a person is or may be required to provide by virtue of regulations under paragraph 1(2A) or 3ZA(3) of Schedule 2 shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament (and subsection (2) does not apply to regulations made for those purposes only).”

(6)Schedule 2 to this Act contains amendments related to this section.