Running electoral registration - Wales

What resources are needed to deliver your registration plan

What resources are needed to deliver your registration plan?

You will need to identify what work you need to do to engage with residents, and consequently, what resources you will need to do this. Keeping your plan and activity under review will enable you to understand whether your local challenges are being met and enable you to target your resources where they are most needed.

You will need to consider what resources, including staffing resources, are needed to process applications for 14-16 year olds. Staff will need to be given appropriate training and guidance relating to handling and storing the personal data pf 14 and 15 year olds.

You should also liaise with your local education services department to obtain data that will help to refine your assumptions further. If you have not already done so, you should consider developing a data sharing agreement to facilitate the secure and timely sharing of data.

Key departments and individuals you will need to involve, may include:

  • the local authority’s IT department 
  • the local authority’s finance team
  • data holders
  • the data protection officer at the local authority
  • the local authority’s call centre / reception manager
  • the communications / media manager at the local authority (if there is one)
  • the local authority’s HR manager
  • representatives of local authority teams/individuals and local organisations who work with under-registered groups in your area, such as local education departments

When working with key departments you should remember that subject to limited exceptions, only EROs and their staff will be able to use the data relating to these individuals. Returning officers at Senedd elections will have access to the data relating to those 15 year olds who will attain voting age on or before polling day. A young person's data may also to the young person themselves, and in certain other prescribed circumstances. For further guidance on access to the information included in the electoral register, see Who can be supplied with the register?

Your plan should cover how you will be engage these departments/individuals and how often you will meet with them. Consider:

  • whether you should personally chair the group
  • who should be involved
  • what the terms of reference will be
  • how actions will be recorded and taken forward
     
Last updated: 26 May 2021