The minister for the constitution has launched an electoral canvass pilot that could potentially save up to £20m.
Local authorities are required to carry out an annual canvass to ensure the electoral registers are accurate and up to date. This costs the country around £65m per year.
Under the current system, councils are forced to spend time and resource chasing households where the number and identity of the residents has not changed.
The new pilot scheme will allow local authorities to utilise local knowledge to better target the smaller proportion of households where a change in occupancy is likely to have taken place.
They will also be able to focus resources on targeting those who don’t usually sign up.
The pilot scheme will see four different models—combining notification by letters, email or by phone—of electoral canvassing tried out in 21 local authority areas.
The piloting areas in 2017 are expected to make savings during the pilot process of between £1.2m and £1.7m.
The cabinet office estimates that if the reforms are rolled out nationally, the total savings to the canvass process could be in excess of £20m per year.
‘Currently the annual canvass costs around £65 million to conduct every year - it is too high and we must take advantage of new and emerging technology to make the process more efficient where we can,’ said the minister for the constitution Chris Skidmore MP.
‘We have already brought in huge changes to our electoral system with the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration and now, through these pilots, we are continuing to update and improve the system to fully realise these benefits and potentially save the taxpayer an estimated £20m every year.
‘If we are going to achieve our vision of a democracy that works for everyone I am determined that our electoral system is one that efficiently supports a modern electorate.’
