Charities and the credit services industry have breathed a collective sigh of relief after the Government performed yet another U-turn, this time on plans to scrap the edited Electoral Register.
There had been fears that the move would spark an increase in poorly-targeted direct mail, especially from charities, which use the edited ER to supplement their own databases.
And although the DM industry’s reliance on the edited ER has waned since its height in the Eighties and Nineties, many businesses – including credit firms – still rely on it to identify and access customers, as well as verify addresses.
It was in November last year that the Political & Constitutional Reform Select Committee published its report on ‘Individual Electoral Registration and Electoral Administration’, calling for the abolition of the edited ER on the grounds of improving voter registration rates.
But the call has finally been rejected by Cabinet Office minister Mark Harper, who holds the portfolio for Political & Constitutional Reform.
President of the Credit Services Association Sara de Tute believes the decision is a victory for common sense: “We are delighted that our efforts as part of the Cross Industry Working Party have borne fruit,” she said.
“We have always maintained that it is somehow strange and unfair that creditors can use the full Electoral Register for lending money, but we are denied access to it for collecting money owed and helping individuals resolve their financial difficulties.”
De Tute said that the Government’s decision to retain the edited register will be well received by CSA members, many of whom have been actively lobbying their own local MPs. She added that the fight will continue to get access to the full register.
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