§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what action he is taking to486W prevent the distribution of electoral registration forms with advertising material; and what assessment he has made of the extent of the practice;
(2) what authority electoral registration officers have to take any actions in an official capacity that are not specifically required of them by law;
(3) what authority electoral registration officers have under law to send out commercial advertising and other material covering statutory electoral registration forms;
(4) what regulations govern the handing out by an electoral registration officer or a local authority of commercial advertising material with ballot papers in polling booths.
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerWe are not aware of any cases involving the distribution of advertising material with electoral registration forms and no assessment has been made of the extent, if any, of this practice.
The duties of the electoral registration officer are set out in representation of the people legislation and the Juries Act 1974. The electoral registration officer's official duties include only those duties imposed by the law relating to elections or the registration of electors. The representation of the people legislation contains no provisions relating to the distribution of commercial advertising and other material with electoral registration forms, but there is no statutory provision prohibiting the distribution of such material.
Rules for the conduct of parliamentary elections are contained in schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 1983. Similar provisions are contained in the Local Elections (Principal Areas) Rules 1986 and the Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) Rules 1986. The only item which may be given to voters at the polling station is the ballot paper.