Representation of the People Bill

Representation of the People Bill - continued	House of Commons
PART I, ELECTORAL REGISTRATION AND FRANCHISE - continued
Residence for purposes of registration - continued

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Residence: persons remanded in custody etc.

5. After section 7 of the 1983 Act (as substituted by section 4 above) there shall be inserted-

"Residence: persons remanded in custody etc.	7A. - (1) This section applies to a person who is detained at any place pursuant to a relevant order or direction and is so detained otherwise than after-
	(a) being convicted of any offence, or
	(b) a finding in criminal proceedings that he did the act or made the omission charged.
	(2) A person to whom this section applies shall (subject to subsection (4) below) be regarded for the purposes of section 4 above as resident at the place at which he is detained if the length of the period which he is likely to spend at that place is sufficient for him to be regarded as being resident there for the purposes of electoral registration.
	(3) Regulations may provide for a person who is registered in pursuance of an application for registration made by virtue of subsection (2) above to remain so registered for a maximum of 12 months from the date when his entry in the register first takes effect, unless a further such application is made by him by such time as may be prescribed.
	(4) Subsection (2) above shall not be taken as precluding the registration of a person to whom this section applies-
	(a) by virtue of his residence at some place other than the place at which he is detained, or
	(b) in pursuance of a declaration of local connection.
	(5) In this section "a relevant order or direction" means-
	(a) a remand or committal in custody;
	(b) a remand to a hospital under section 35 or 36 of the Mental Health Act 1983 or Article 42 or 43 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;
	(c) a direction for removal to a hospital under section 48 of that Act or Article 54 of that Order;
	(d) a committal to a hospital under section 52 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995; or
	(e) a transfer order or direction under section 70 or 71 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984."

Notional residence: declarations of local connection.

6. After section 7A of the 1983 Act (as inserted by section 5 above) there shall be inserted-

"Notional residence: declarations of local connection.	7B. - (1) A declaration under this section ("a declaration of local connection")-
	(a) may be made only by a person to whom this section applies, but
	(b) may be made by such a person despite the fact that by reason of his age he is not entitled to vote.
	(2) This section applies to any person who on the date when he makes such a declaration is-
	(a) a person to whom section 7 above applies and who would not be entitled to be registered by virtue of residence at any place other than the mental hospital (within the meaning of that section) at which he is a patient, or
	(b) a person to whom section 7A applies and who would not be entitled to be registered by virtue of residence at any place other than the place at which he is detained as mentioned in subsection (1) of that section, or
	(c) a person who does not fall within paragraph (a) or (b) above (and is not otherwise in legal custody) and who is not resident at any address in the United Kingdom (a "homeless person").
	(3) A declaration of local connection shall state-
	(a) the name of the declarant and either-
	(i) an address to which correspondence for him from either the registration officer concerned or the returning officer can be delivered, or
	(ii) that he is willing to collect such correspondence periodically from the registration officer's office;
	(b) the date of the declaration;
	(c) that on the date of the declaration the declarant falls into one of the categories of persons to whom this section applies, specifying-
	(i) the category in question, and
	(ii) (in the case of a person falling within subsection (2)(a) or (b) above) the name and address of the mental hospital at which he is a patient or (as the case may be) of the place at which he is detained;
	(d) the required address (as defined by subsection (4) below);
	(e) that on the date of the declaration the declarant is a Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or (if the declaration is made for the purposes only of local government elections) a relevant citizen of the Union;
	(f) whether the declarant has on the date of the declaration attained the age of 18 years, and, if he has not, the date of his birth.
	(4) For the purposes of this section "the required address" is-
	(a) in the case of a person falling within subsection (2)(a) or (b) above-
	(i) the address in the United Kingdom where he would be residing if he were not such a patient, or detained, as mentioned in that provision, or
	(ii) if he cannot give such an address, an address in the United Kingdom at which he has resided;
	(b) in the case of a homeless person, the address of, or which is nearest to, a place in the United Kingdom where he commonly spends a substantial part of his time (whether during the day or at night).
	(5) Where a declaration of local connection is made for the purposes of registration in Northern Ireland, the declaration must state that the declarant has been in Northern Ireland during the whole of the period of three months ending on the date of the declaration.
	(6) No declaration of local connection shall be specially made by a person for the purposes of local government elections, and any such declaration made for the purposes of parliamentary elections shall have effect also for the purposes of local government elections; but-
	(a) a declaration of local connection may be made for the purposes only of local government elections by a person who is as a peer subject to a legal incapacity to vote at parliamentary elections or by a relevant citizen of the Union; and
	(b) where so made, shall be marked to show that it is available for local government elections only, but shall in all other respects be the same as other declarations of local connection.
	(7) If a person-
	(a) makes a declaration of local connection stating more than one address under subsection (3)(d) above, or
	(b) makes more than one declaration of local connection bearing the same date and stating different addresses under that provision,
	the declaration or declarations shall be void.
	(8) A declaration of local connection may be cancelled at any time by the declarant.
	(9) A declaration of local connection shall be of no effect unless it is received by the registration officer concerned within the period of three months beginning with the date of the declaration.
Effect of declaration of local connection.	7C. - (1) Where a person's declaration of local connection is in force when he applies for registration, he shall be regarded for the purposes of section 4 above as-
	(a) resident on the date of the declaration at the address stated in it in accordance with section 7B(3)(d) above; and
	(b) for the purposes of registration in Northern Ireland, as resident in Northern Ireland during the whole of the period of three months ending with that date.
	(2) A person registered in a register of electors in pursuance of a declaration of local connection is entitled to remain so registered until-
	(a) the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the date when the entry in the register first takes effect,
	(b) the declaration is cancelled under section 7B(8) above, or
	(c) any entry made in respect of him in any register of electors takes effect otherwise than in pursuance of a declaration of local connection,
	whichever first occurs.
	(3) Where a person is registered in a register of electors in pursuance of a declaration of local connection at the time when his entitlement to remain so registered terminates by virtue of subsection (2) above, the registration officer concerned shall remove that person's entry from the register, unless he is entitled to remain registered in pursuance of a further declaration of local connection.
	(4) This section shall not be taken as precluding the registration of a person falling within section 7B(2)(a) or (b) above in pursuance of an application made by virtue of section 7(2) or 7A(2) above."

Service voters

Service declarations.

7. Section 12(3) and (4) of the 1983 Act (by virtue of which persons with service qualifications may only be registered in pursuance of a service declaration, even where they would otherwise be entitled to be registered by virtue of residence in the United Kingdom) shall cease to have effect.

Further amendments

Further amendments about registration.

8. Schedules 1, 2 and 3, which make consequential and connected amendments of-

(a) the 1983 Act,

(b) sections 1 to 3 of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (overseas electors), and

respectively, shall have effect.

Supply of information contained in register

Restriction on supply of information contained in register.

9. - (1) Schedule 2 to the 1983 Act (provisions which may be contained in regulations as to registration) is amended as follows.

(2) For paragraphs 10 and 11 there shall be substituted-

	"10. - (1) Provisions requiring a registration officer to prepare, in addition to the version of the register which he is required to prepare by virtue of the other provisions of this Act ("the full register"), a version of the register which omits the names and addresses of registered electors by or on behalf of whom requests have been made to have their names and addresses excluded from that version of it ("the edited register").
	(2) Provisions specifying a form of words to be used by a registration officer for the purpose of-
	(a) explaining to persons registered or applying to be registered, or persons acting on behalf of such persons, the purposes for which the edited register may be used, and
	(b) ascertaining whether the exclusion of their names and addresses from that register is requested by or on behalf of such persons.
	10A. Provisions requiring copies of the full register and other documents, or prescribed parts of them, to be available for inspection by the public at such places as may be prescribed.
	10B.- (1) Provisions authorising or requiring a registration officer-
	(a) to supply to such persons as may be prescribed copies of the full register and other documents, or prescribed parts of them, whether free of charge or on payment of a prescribed fee;
	(b) to supply to any persons copies of the edited register, or any prescribed part of it, on payment of a prescribed fee.
	(2) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (1) above or paragraph 11A below, regulations made in pursuance of sub-paragraph (1) may contain any such provisions as are authorised by paragraph 11A.
	11.- (1) Provisions imposing prohibitions or restrictions relating to the extent (if any) to which-
	(a) persons inspecting the full register in accordance with regulations made in pursuance of paragraph 10A above may make copies of the register;
	(b) persons to whom copies of the full register are supplied (whether in accordance with regulations made in pursuance of paragraph 10B above or in accordance with any other provision made by or under an Act) may-
	(i) supply those copies, or otherwise disclose any information contained in them, to other persons, or
	(ii) make use of any such information otherwise than for the purposes for which the copies have been supplied.
	(2) In this paragraph any reference to the full register includes a reference to any part of it."

(3) In paragraph 13 (offences and supplemental matters), after sub-paragraph (1) there shall be inserted-

"(1A) Provisions making it an offence (punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale) for a person to contravene any regulations made in pursuance of paragraph 11 above or to do so in any prescribed circumstances."

Prepared 19 November 1999