Good afternoon / 30.08.08
Corporate Solutions
Corporate Solutions
The new Electoral Roll regulations, under the Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002, regarding the supply of the Electoral Roll came in to force in October 2002. The regulations mean that two versions of the Electoral Roll, full and edited, are to be held separately.
The change to the Electoral Roll Regulations came about as a result of the case of Robertson v Wakefield MDC and Secretary of State for the Home Department.
Mr Robertson challenged the refusal of the Wakefield Council's Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to comply with his request that his name and address should not be supplied to commercial organisations. He objected to such organisations using the information for direct marketing. The High Court ruled that the Council's refusal was in breach of the European Data Protection Directive and Section 11 of the Data Protection Act 1998. This gives an individual the right to object to his personal data being processed for the purpose of direct marketing. The court also said that the supply of the information on the Electoral Roll by the ERO to commercial organisations without allowing an individual a right to opt out was a breach of the right to privacy and the right to free elections (Articles 8 and 3 respectively of the European Convention on Human Rights) incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998.
The full Electoral Roll is a list of all registered voters throughout the UK. This version of the Electoral Roll is only held by credit reference agencies and can only be supplied and used for the 'permitted purposes' as stated within the regulations (Section 114):
The edited version of the Electoral Roll is a list of registered voters excluding the names and addresses of individuals who have 'opted out' of having their data used for commercial purposes. This version of the Electoral Roll can be used for any general commercial application, for example, marketing.
Callcredit's products have been adapted so as to ensure compliance with the new Electoral Roll regulations. The search types used in our services are designed to ensure only the appropriate version of the Electoral Roll is returned in relation to the purpose of the search.
