Delivering the annual canvass - England

As well as carrying out the mandatory national data match step, you have discretion to match all, or part, of your electoral register against locally held data sets (such as council tax or housing benefit data).1 This can take place before or after the national data match step, or both before and after the national data match.

The outcome of the national data match along with any local data matching you have undertaken will influence the allocation of properties to canvass routes and determine which type of contact you are required to make in relation to each property during the canvass as a result. 

Working with other council departments

Working closely with other council departments may help you to work more effectively and efficiently with local data. If a consistent approach to data collection can be agreed with other departments, it will be easier to use multiple data sets for your own purposes.

When receiving local data sets from other teams or departments, you should consult with your EMS supplier to check how the data should be formatted. You may find that significant time and resources are required to properly prepare the data before it is suitable to be imported into your EMS system. 

Other departments within your council may have more experience with manipulating data effectively. You should consider working with these departments, and potentially seconding skilled colleagues if possible, to assist you with ensuring your local data is ready to upload to your EMS in a timely manner.

When setting up a new working relationship for the sharing of local data, you may want to have an initial telephone conversation or face to face meeting to discuss your aims and agree working arrangements. Some of the points it may be useful to cover in your initial contact include:

• outlining the legislative requirements of the canvass, and your rights to access data
• explaining the benefits that can be gained by the increased use of data matching
• discussing the level of support that can be offered to you and your team
• agreeing a shared approach to working with data, potentially through the use of a data sharing agreement
• establishing a clear timeline for your work together
• agreeing how you will communicate going forward
• agreeing an approach to evaluation of your work together at the end of the canvass
• consideration of whether any council or service privacy notices should be updated

You are not automatically entitled to access and use any additional contact information contained in local records other than names and addresses. Further information on the collection and sharing of other contact details such as email addresses and telephone numbers can be found in our guidance on planning for canvass communications.

Establishing partnerships and setting out plans for both the sharing and processing of local data may initially take some time and effort, but should become less intensive in subsequent years as working practices and relationships are embedded.

As people become familiar with their roles in the process, what data they need to provide and what is expected of them, you should see improved results and a more efficient, streamlined process.