7
There was submitted a report by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer providing information on the forthcoming annual canvass 2018 and an update on the tendering for both an electronic management system and print and scan services.
The report intimated that the issue of household enquiry forms to all properties in the Joint Board area would commence in early June. These forms invited those at each property to complete and return the form either online, by telephone, text or post and details of the method of return for 2015, 2016 and 2017 were detailed in the report. Any changes notified would result in the issue of an Invitation to Register which could be completed online using the Governments Digital Service, by post or by telephone. Reminders would be issued to all properties where no response had been received in early August.
The next phase, the door-to-door canvass of properties where no response had been received, would be undertaken during September and November with canvassers visiting the properties in an attempt to obtain a completed household enquiry form. Under current legislation local data held by Councils and other bodies could not be used for this canvass and this continued to add to the costs and complexity of the canvass. Discussions were ongoing with the Government around making changes to the canvass procedures to make the process more efficient both in terms of cost and engagement with electors.
The Registers would be published on 1 December 2018 and details of the electorate for the last three years by constituent authority area were detailed in the report.
In relation to revised proposals for the 2018 Review of UK Parliamentary Constituencies, the Boundary Commission was considering responses to the consultation and developing final recommendations for submission to the Secretary of State for Scotland in September 2018.
The report advised that Returning Officers were responsible for the next compulsory review of polling district and places which must be started and completed between 1 October 2018 and 31 January 2019. The Electoral Registration Officer would have additional workload resulting from the review.
In December 2017, Renfrewshire Council’s procurement service had invited tenders, on behalf of the Joint Board, for an Electoral Management System. On review of the submissions it was clear that some matters required further clarification and the original tender was withdrawn. A new tender document had been prepared and would be advertised in due course. The Joint Board was also in the process of inviting tenders for the provision of all print and scan services.
A National Democracy Week would take place in early July and Assessors and Electoral Registration Officers throughout Scotland had engaged STV to run some TV advertising to promote democratic engagement and help ensure that the message reached a wider audience.
DECIDED: That the report be noted.