Request for Data regarding Voter Registrations

The request was refused by Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council.

Dear Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council,

I would like details of Voter Registrations for the Wigan Area since 1 September 2019 to 21 Nov 2019. I would like the information broken down into the following:

a) Total number of new Voter registrations during this time period?
b) Dates of those Registrations?
c) Details of how many of these new registrations have also requested Postal Votes?
d) Ages of those new registered Voters as declared on the Registration forms?

Yours faithfully,

Mr John Cookson

FoI Request, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

Please quote ID FOI 9363 on all correspondence

Dear Mr Cookson,

I am emailing to confirm the receipt of your recent request for information to Wigan Council. This has been logged and will be forwarded to the relevant department for action.

We will respond as soon as possible and in most cases no later than 20 working days after the receipt of your request i.e. 19th December 2019.

If you have any comments or questions in the meantime, please direct them to [Wigan Council request email], or in writing to the address below.

The Council does not charge for most FOI requests, but charges may be made for actual disbursements incurred such as photocopying, printing, postage and packaging, and only if these charges amount to more than £20.00. If a charge is to be made, confirmation of the payment due will be given before the information is provided and payment may be requested prior to the provision of the information.

Your contact is Graham Donelan.

Regards

Information Governance
Wigan Council
Legal Services – Resources Directorate
Town Hall,
Library Street,
Wigan,
WN1 1YN
01942 827639 (internal ext 2639)
[mobile number]
www.wigan.gov.uk
www.twitter.com/wigancouncil
www.facebook.com/WiganCouncilOnline

show quoted sections

FoI Request, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

Dear Mr Cookson,

I apologise for any confusion, but the reference is FOI 9653.

Kind regards

Graham Donelan
Information Governance Officer
Wigan Council
Legal Services – Resources Directorate
Town Hall,
Library Street,
Wigan,
WN1 1YN
01942 827639 (internal ext 2639)
[mobile number]
www.wigan.gov.uk
www.twitter.com/wigancouncil
www.facebook.com/WiganCouncilOnline

show quoted sections

FoI Request, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Cookson,

I am writing to respond to your recent request for information. This request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The response to your request is attached.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of this response, an independent senior officer will review this decision. If you are not satisfied with our response you must put your complaint in writing within 40 working days of receipt of this response giving the reasons for your complaint. You can either email [Wigan Council request email] or write to Freedom of Information at the address below.

You can also complain to the Information Commissioner, who is the regulator for Freedom of Information. Her website is https://ico.org.uk/ and her helpline number is 0303 1231113.
Her staff may ask you to exhaust our internal complaints procedure if you choose to complain to her office now.

Kind regards

Graham Donelan

Information Governance Officer
Wigan Council
Legal Services – Resources Directorate
Town Hall,
Library Street,
Wigan,
WN1 1YN
01942 827639 (internal ext 2639)
[mobile number]
www.wigan.gov.uk
www.twitter.com/wigancouncil
www.facebook.com/WiganCouncilOnline

show quoted sections

George Cant left an annotation ()

This is wrong, they can not refuse this information, appeal it and ask for internal review

Dear Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council's handling of my FOI request 'Request for Data regarding Voter Registrations'.

I believe this request falls under Wigan Council's jurisdiction and also the reply suggests this information cannot be disclosed under Freedom of Information and this needs ratification and clarification.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...

Yours faithfully,

John Cookson

FoI Request, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

Please quote ID FOI 9653 on all correspondence

Dear Mr Cookson,

I am emailing to confirm the receipt of your recent request for an internal review of the response to FOI 9653. This has been logged and will be forwarded to a senior officer.

We will respond as soon as possible and in most cases no later than 20 working days after the receipt of your request for a review i.e. 27th December 2019.

If you have any comments or questions in the meantime, please direct them to [E-bost cais Wigan Council], or in writing to the address below.

Your contact is Graham Donelan.

Regards

Information Governance
Wigan Council
Legal Services – Resources Directorate
Town Hall,
Library Street,
Wigan,
WN1 1YN
01942 827639 (internal ext 2639)
[rhif symudol]
www.wigan.gov.uk
www.twitter.com/wigancouncil
www.facebook.com/WiganCouncilOnline

show quoted sections

Dear FoI Request,
This is the reply from the Electoral Commission on this matter which they state the following :

Freedom of Information
Electoral Registration Officers are not a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, as such, are exempt from the disclosure requirements imposed by it.

𝗛𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮.

An example of non-personal data would be statistical data providing the total number of electors registered in an area.

Electoral fraud
Throughout the year, all police forces across the UK send us data about allegations of electoral fraud that they receive and investigate. Every year we report on the number, type, and outcome of these allegations. You can read more about this on our website here:

https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/w...

Reporting electoral fraud
Electoral fraud happens when someone has deliberately tried to cheat at an election. It could be that someone has:

· pretended to be someone else and used their vote

· made false statements about the personal character of a candidate

· influenced someone to vote against their will

If you believe you have witnesses electoral fraud, or are concerned that it may be taking place, you should report this to Crimestoppers or the police.
Please let me know if you require any further information.
Kind Regards,
Nisia Morris
Public Information Officer

As you can see I believe grounds for this review are founded.

Yours sincerely,
John Cookson

FoI Request, Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Cookson,

Please see attached the outcome of the Senior Officer Review of the response to your request FOI 9653.

Kind regards

Graham Donelan
Information Governance Officer
Wigan Council
Legal Services – Resources Directorate
Town Hall,
Library Street,
Wigan,
WN1 1YN
01942 827639 (internal ext 2639)
[mobile number]
www.wigan.gov.uk
www.twitter.com/wigancouncil
www.facebook.com/WiganCouncilOnline

show quoted sections