Warnings over electoral register data

The government has spent £2.5m encouraging citizens to register to vote before next month's general election, but some experts warn that doing so could lead to personal details being sold on to companies.

New data from credit rating agency Equifax found that two per cent fewer UK adults were registered to vote in 2014 compared to the previous year.

Not being on the register can have a negative impact on your credit rating, as electoral roll data are routinely used by lenders, utilities, insurers and mobile phone companies to help verify a customer's identity.

Laura Barrett, head of Equifax consumer affairs, said: "If an individual is registered to vote, it will appear on their credit report as a 'good' risk signal. It's important to be on the electoral register if you're planning to apply for credit or a new service or utility contract."

She added that for those people moving home it is important to register with the local authority for their new address as soon as possible. It can take up to six weeks for changes to the electoral roll to appear on an individual's credit report.

Councils maintain two versions of the electoral register. The full version is used for voting records, identity checks and criminal investigations but its distribution is very limited.

The edited register, which includes anyone who does not ask to opt out, is available for sale to direct marketing firms; councils are allowed to sell on the edited roll for as little as £10 a time to private companies, including estate agents, pizza delivery shops and direct marketing firms. At a time when council budgets are under pressure, it can be a useful source of revenue.

Research published by Big Brother Watch, an organisation set up to challenge policies that threaten people's privacy, showed that 307 councils sold their registers to 2,700 individuals and companies over the past five years - receiving more than £250,000.

Emma Carr, director of Big Brother Watch, said: "Registering to vote is a basic part of our democracy. It is quite simply bizarre that this process has been allowed to become a back door for our names and addresses to be sold to anyone and everyone.

"The edited register is a pointless waste of council time, undermines trust in the electoral system and contributes to huge volumes of junk mail. It should be abolished," she said.

The Electoral Commission and Association of Electoral Administrators also believe the register should only be used for purposes related to elections and referendums.

The easiest way is to opt out of the edited register is when filling out your annual electoral registration form. There are also a few free services to stop junk mail and unwanted telephone marketing calls. You can ask Royal Mail not to deliver junk mail (email:[email protected]) and sign up to the mailing preference service (mpsonline.org.uk) and telephone preference service (tpsonline.org.uk), which will remove your name from junk mail and landline and mobile phone sales lists.

Personal data are also held on share registers, which list active owners of a company's shares. These registers include each person's name, address and number of shares held, but can also further detail the holder's occupation and the price paid for shares.

Share registers are public documents, but changes to the law in 2006 mean that access is now more carefully controlled. Stuart Ellen, managing director of registration services at Equiniti, said there are safeguards to prevent wholesale copying of data.

"Our databases have multiple levels of both physical and logical protection, including numerous layers of passwords and authentication.

"All staff undertaking the administration of register details have very granular permissions to control which parts of the registers they may access and can only undertake processes or changes where they are specifically authorised. No direct bulk access to data are allowed," he said.

The Companies Act 2006 requires that enquires relating to share registers follow a "proper purpose" process. It is an offence for a person knowingly or recklessly to make a request that is misleading, false or deceptive and the enquirer must also sign a declaration relating to the purpose of their inquiry and continuing use of the data.

Individuals' names only appear on the share register if they are the legal owner of the stock - usually because they hold share certificates. Those with holdings in nominee accounts, including all Isas, are beneficial owners and not listed on the share register.

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