Delivering the annual canvass - England

What are the communication options for the second contact attempt?

If you do not get a successful response within a reasonable period of time following the first contact, a second contact attempt must be made.1

While a reasonable period of time is not defined in legislation, in our view this should be no longer than 28 days and may, in some circumstances, be shorter (for example, where you are approaching the conclusion of the canvass or where there is an election due to take place).

You can choose to make either:

• a property contact (i.e. Canvass Form, CCB, visit to the property), or
• an individual contact (i.e. email, SMS, telephone or any other electronic communication method), if you hold contact details for any matched individual(s) (aged 18 or over) at the property 

Electronic communications (e-communications) are designed to encourage a response to be made by channels other than by post. 

Your e-communication must inform the recipient that they are required to respond and should also:

• Provide the recipient with a deadline for response
• Include information on the response channels available to them and instructions on how to use them
• Include a link to the UK Government’s registration website (gov.uk/register-to-vote)
• Inform the recipient how you obtained their contact details and give them the opportunity to opt-out of further e-communications

Whilst the e-communication you send must inform the recipient of the requirement to respond, you need only receive a response from one recipient of an e-communication within a household to meet the response requirement for that property and prevent the need for follow up. You can find out more information on e-communications in the forms and letters guidance.