Group calls for end to ER data sale

Privacy campaigners are urging the Government to ban councils from selling the edited Electoral Roll after releasing figures which show more than 300 local authorities sold it to more than 2,700 private companies and individuals.
According to Freedom of Information Act requests, councils sold the edited ER to pizza shops, estate agents, lobbyists and driving schools among others; a practice which Big Brother Watch claims “undermines trust in the electoral system”.
The edited ER was first introduced just over a decade ago after retired accountant Brian Robertson won a High Court case after objecting to its use for marketing purposes. He successfully claimed that the resultant “junk mail” was an unjustified interference in his private and family life.
Councils were forced to introduce an opt-out clause but Big Brother Watch claims this system is not working. It believes that if the edited ER is to be retained, the Cabinet Office should allow councils to include a permanent opt-out option, something currently not possible due to statutory provisions.
Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles said: “Registering to vote is a basic part of our democracy and should not be a back door for our names and addresses to be sold to anyone and everyone.
“Many people don’t realise that the pizza shops and estate agents drowning their doorsteps with junk mail are able to do so because their local council is forced to sell the names of every voter who fails to tick the right box when they register to vote.
“The edited register is a pointless waste of council time, undermines trust in the electoral system and contributes to huge volumes of junk mail. It should be abolished.”
Some 307 local authorities sold the edited electoral register to more than 2,700 different companies and individuals between 2007 and 2012. A breakdown of the figures shows there have been at least 2,742 sales of the edited ER over the five-year period, raking in at least £265,161.21 for the local authorities.
The council with the most buyers was Westminster, which sold it 93 times, while three other councils – Elmbridge, Kensington and Chelsea and Broadland – sold the edited ER to more than 50 buyers.
The full Electoral Roll was a mainstay of direct marketing for many years. The edited version is still used by credit reference firms, charities, and data companies, although its use has declined due to technological advances in data gathering techniques.