Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Electoral Registration (Disclosure of Electoral Registers) Regulations 2013 and come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

(2) These Regulations do not extend to Northern Ireland

(3) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Representation of the People Act 1983;

“the Lord President” means the Lord President of the Council;

“the Secretary of State” means the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions;

“conduit system” has the same meaning as in paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Telecommunications Act 1984( 3 );

“registration officer” means the electoral registration officer.

Disclosure of electoral registers

2. —(1) Subject to regulation 4, each registration officer must disclose to the Lord President—

(a) a copy of the electoral registers maintained by that registration officer; and

(b) any other information held by the registration officer and which the Lord President may have specified in writing which relates to the information contained in the electoral registers.

(2) Each registration officer must disclose the information in paragraph (1) on the date or dates notified to the registration officer in writing by the Lord President, which shall be within the period starting with the date these Regulations come into force and ending with 17th February 2014 in relation to England and with 10th March 2014 in relation to Scotland and Wales.

(3) The registration officer must disclose the information in such a format and through such a conduit system as the Lord President may have notified to the officer in writing.

(4) Following receipt of the information pursuant to paragraph (2), the Lord President may disclose it to the Secretary of State.

(5) Where information has been disclosed to the Secretary of State under paragraph (4), the Secretary of State may compare it against—

(a) the name, date of birth and address, including postcode, of individuals appearing in the following types of databases kept by the Secretary of State—

(i) databases kept for the purposes of functions relating to social security (including such information kept on behalf of the Department for Social Development); and

(ii) databases relating to working tax credit, child tax credit and child benefit (being information kept on behalf of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs); and

(b) any other information contained in those databases which relates to the information disclosed under paragraph (4).

(6) The Secretary of State may disclose the results of the comparison to the Lord President.

(7) On receipt of such results, the Lord President may disclose them to the registration officer.

Processing of information disclosed

3. —(1) Information disclosed under regulation 2(1), (4), (6) or (7) may not be disclosed to any other person except—

(a) for a purpose mentioned in paragraph 1A(1) of Schedule 2 to the Act; or

(b) for the purpose of any civil or criminal proceedings.

(2) A person who discloses information in breach of paragraph (1) is guilty of an offence and liable—

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both;

(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.

4. —(1) Any person who discloses information under these Regulations must process it in accordance with any requirements as to the processing of that information that may have been imposed by the Lord President in writing, including requirements as to the transfer, storage, destruction and security of that information.

(2) Any requirements, in accordance with which a person must process information, must be imposed by the Lord President before a registration officer is required to disclose that information under regulation 2(1).