The Electoral Registration Officer / Returning Officer does not carry out the duties on behalf of the local authority but in her own personal capacity. A list of public bodies and local authorities that are subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act is available at the following website:

http://www.foi.gov.uk/yourRights/publica...

As you will see, the Freedom of Information Act does not list any person appointed under the Representation of the People Act 1983. It follows that the Electoral Registration Officer, Returning Officer or any other person appointed under the Act are not subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

Notwithstanding that there is no statutory obligation; I am providing the following information:

1. Please disclose your local authority’s target for voter registration that you made of each of the years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Under the previous system of electoral registration with a household canvass, our target was an 85% response rate.

2. Please also disclose the actual voter registration figures for each of the years 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Date of register publication Target response rate Actual response rate Local Government Electorate
1 December 2011 85% 85% 205,093
1 December 2012 85% 83% 211,847
17 February 2014 85% 87% 207,876
1 December 2014 n/a n/a 192,325

Yours sincerely

Penny Thompson
Electoral Registration Officer