§ Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what estimate he has made of the annual costs to business resulting from the provisions on the availability of the full and edited electoral register in the draft Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2001; and if he will make a statement. [1289]
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§ Mr. RaynsfordOfficials have been in frequent contact with representatives of businesses and business associations since the beginning of 1998 when changes to the availability of electoral registers were first considered by the Working Party on Electoral Procedures. A summary of the estimates made by companies which responded to the working party was published in Annexe M to the working party's final report of October 1999, copies of which are in the Library of the House and on the Home Office website.
A draft Regulatory Impact Assessment accompanied the draft Amendment (No.2) Regulations when these were placed on the internet for public comment.