Delivering the annual canvass - England

Your duty to maintain the registers of electors includes the provision of training to all the staff you have appointed to assist with delivery of the canvass.1  

You should review the training needs of both permanent and temporary staff, including canvassers. It is important that all staff understand their particular role and any statutory obligations associated with the work they are undertaking. As well as training on the legislative requirements and responsibilities relevant to their role, it is important that staff are trained on ensuring equal access, data handling and good customer care.

To embed data protection principles in your work and demonstrate compliance with the legislation, you will need to ensure that all staff, including canvassers, are trained in handling personal data. You should discuss any data protection training with your Data Protection Officer.

Where you identify that training is required, you will need to make arrangements for this to be provided and reflect this in your canvass plans. 

You may already have existing structures for training sessions and materials for their delivery which you can review and refine to ensure they are relevant and appropriate. 

If you have training personnel within your council, they may be able to assist you with this process.

What training is required for staff dealing with enquiries about the canvass?

You will need to identify how you will support staff dealing directly with the public by phone or face-to-face, whether in the office, undertaking personal visits or working at any contact centres or call management centres. 

Staff will need to understand the differences between the different canvass communications and be able to:

• offer advice about whether or not a response is required
• encourage a successful response to the canvass communication as required when speaking to someone on the telephone 
• give advice on registering to vote, the options available to make an application to register and, where appropriate, assist with the registration process
• apply knowledge to deal with a person’s individual circumstances
• be able to identify non-standard questions and refer these to staff with more detailed knowledge of registration as necessary

To support front-line staff we have produced a frequently-asked questions (FAQs) document covering a range of queries that may arise about electoral registration.

You can adapt this document to reflect your local approach to the canvass.

Planning training for canvassers

You need to ensure that your canvassers are trained to carry out the job they have been appointed to undertake. You may need to deliver different types of training sessions depending on how you intend to deploy them. For example, those making house to house visits may require different training to canvassers who are making telephone contact.

All canvassers must receive appropriate data protection training and be trained as to how to keep any personal information they collect from electors safe.

Further information on the recruitment and training of canvassers can be found in our Canvasser recruitment and training checklist.

Resources to support the management and briefing of canvassers can also be found on our website.