A government project to create a nationally searchable electoral
register is still gridlocked a year after the system was due to be
in place.
The Local Authorities' Secure Electoral Register project aims to
create a list of voters that can be searched anywhere in the
country by linking more than 400 local authority databases.
It will help the government to check that political donations are
from individuals who are on the electoral register and allow
councils to update their registers on a monthly rather than the
annual basis under the current system.
The register, which is being funded by the Office of the Deputy
Prime Minister, was originally due to be in place by early last
year.
The project was stalled after the High Court ruled in late 2001
that the sale of electoral register information breached data
protection and human rights laws. This prompted councils to suspend
sales of the electoral register for commercial use.
Contracts for the project have yet to be signed but Intelligent
Addressing and Unisys are understood to be shortlisted suppliers.