Running electoral registration - Wales

What documents or attestations must be included with an application for anonymous registration?

The application must be accompanied by either a court order or an attestation.1  

Any court order or injunction must be for the protection or the benefit of the applicant or another person of the same household.2 The order must be in force on the day of the application,3 but need not be for the whole 12 month period of registration. An order ceasing to be in force during the 12 month period of registration does not reduce or otherwise affect the length of registration. A copy of any relevant court document is acceptable.4  

The eligible court documents are:5  

No documents other than these can be used as eligible court documents in support of an application for anonymous registration.

If an attestation is used it must certify that if the name or address were on the register the applicant’s or another member of the same household’s ‘safety would be at risk’.6 Attestations must be in writing and must be signed and dated by a qualifying officer. The period of the attestation begins on the date stated and lasts for a period of between one and five years. The actual length must be stated within the attestation.7
 
The anonymous registration application form approved by the Lord President of the Council and made available by the Electoral Commission contains a template attestation that applicants may use.

The qualifying officers who may attest are:8  

• a police officer of or above the rank of inspector of any police force in the UK 
• the Director General of the Security Service or the National Crime Agency
• a director of adult social services or children’s services in England or a director of social services in Wales
• any chief social work officer in Scotland
• a director of social services in Wales may authorise any person to attest an anonymous registration application for a person aged under 16. The written authorisation from the director of social services must accompany the attestation9
• any director of social services of a Health and Social Services Board or executive director of social work of a Health and Social Services Trust in Northern Ireland
• any medical practitioner who is registered with the General Medical Council
• any nurse or midwife who is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council
• any person who manages a refuge. A ‘refuge’ means accommodation together with a planned programme of therapeutic and practical support for victims of, or those at risk of, domestic abuse or violence10  

No person other than those listed may attest an application for anonymous registration. It is not possible for a qualifying officer to delegate their power to attest an application to a different person.

The attestation can come from one of the qualifying officers from a different area from which the elector now lives and is registering. This may often be the case where the applicant has moved to a new area to set up home away from the cause of the risk to their safety. For example, an attestation from one English local authority director of children’s services is valid in every local authority area in Great Britain.

You should consider contacting any qualifying officers to alert them to their powers under the anonymous registration process. They may wish to be aware of their attestation powers and any guidance that their representative groups have given on dealing with requests for attestation. In particular, you should proactively contact any refuges, GP surgeries and other medical establishments in your registration area who may not be aware that the types of court order and the attestation requirements have been expanded. For example, you could contact social services, Women’s Aid, or other organisations who work with survivors of domestic abuse, and – explaining what are you doing – ask for details of refuges in your registration area.

In partnership with Women’s Aid we have produced a guide to anonymous registration for professionals working with survivors of domestic violence.

The guide explains what anonymous registration is and that an applicant’s name and address details will be kept securely and will not be searchable on the electoral register. The guide also outlines how to apply for anonymous registration and how refuge managers may provide an attestation if they wish to do so.

If you consider it necessary, you are able to undertake online checks of certain categories of attestor:

• The General Medical Council maintains a list of registered medical practitioners available on their website: www.gmc-uk.org
• The Nursing & Midwifery Council maintains a list of registered nurses and midwives on their website: www.nmc.org.uk

If you have concerns about an application for anonymous registration, it should be treated like any other application for registration. As set out in identifying suspicious registration applications, your local police single point of contact (SPOC) will help you ensure that any possible instances of registration fraud are quickly identified and dealt with. If you have reason to believe that an attestation provided as part of an application for anonymous registration is not genuine, you should contact your SPOC as soon as possible.