OpenLegislation

Regulation 115 Notification of a rejected postal petition document: England and Wales and ScotlandF7I1

England, Wales and Scotland

(1)

Where an absent signer for a petition in England and Wales or Scotland appears on the list compiled under regulation 110(4) F1, or on the list compiled under regulation 110(6) (list of rejected postal petition documents) with an indication in accordance with regulation 110(6)(d) that a postal signing sheet was included in rejected postal petition documents,—

(a)

the registration officer responsible for the personal identifiers record that contains information in respect of the absent signer must notify the absent signer (and the elector if the absent signer is a proxy) that the signing sheet concerned was rejected because—

F2(i)

the petition officer was not satisfied that the postal petition statement was duly completed;

F3(ii)

the postal signing sheet was handed in and the relevant officer—

(aa)

was not satisfied that the return of postal petition documents form had been completed properly and provided the required information;

(bb)

suspected that the person handing it in had handed in postal signing sheets on behalf of more than the permitted number of electors;

(cc)

suspected that the person handing it in was a political campaigner who was committing an offence under regulation 122A;

(iii)

the postal signing sheet was a left behind postal petition document;

(b)

the registration officer must send the notification as soon as possible, and within the period of three months beginning with the last day of the signing period; and

(c)

the notification must include information as to which of the specified reasons referred to—

F4(i)

in regulation 110(5) applied to the postal petition statement;

F5(ii)

in regulation 110(7) applied to the postal signing sheet.

(2)

The registration officer is not obliged to send a notification—

(a)

to any person who is no longer shown as signing the petition by post in the record kept under regulation 51(4) or regulation 58(7) at the time the registration officer proposes to send the notification; or

(b)

where the registration officer suspects that an offence may have been committed in relation to the postal signing sheet, the postal petition statement or the absent signer’s entitlement to sign the petition under section 10 of the Act (persons entitled to sign a recall petition) F6except where that offence is committed by a political campaigner under regulation 122A.

(3)

A notification issued under paragraph (1) may also include any other information that the registration officer considers appropriate, but a notification must not include information held on the personal identifiers record.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1

Words in reg. 115(1) substituted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Representation of the People (Postal Vote Handling and Secrecy) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1225), reg. 10(17)(b)(i)

F2

Words in reg. 115(1)(a) renumbered as reg. 115(1)(a)(i) (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Representation of the People (Postal Vote Handling and Secrecy) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1225), reg. 10(17)(b)(ii)(aa)

F3

Reg. 115(1)(a)(ii)(iii) inserted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Representation of the People (Postal Vote Handling and Secrecy) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1225), reg. 10(17)(b)(ii)(bb)

F4

Words in reg. 115(1)(c) renumbered as reg. 115(1)(c)(i) (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Representation of the People (Postal Vote Handling and Secrecy) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1225), reg. 10(17)(b)(iii)(aa)

F5

Reg. 115(1)(c)(ii) inserted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Representation of the People (Postal Vote Handling and Secrecy) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1225), reg. 10(17)(b)(iii)(bb)

F6

Words in reg. 115(2)(b) inserted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Representation of the People (Postal Vote Handling and Secrecy) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1225), reg. 10(17)(c)

F7

Word in reg. 115 heading substituted (with effect in accordance with reg. 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Representation of the People (Postal Vote Handling and Secrecy) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1225), reg. 10(17)(a)

Commencement

I1

Reg. 115 in force at 4.3.2016, see reg. 1