Ms Petra Woods:

It is a recognition of the role of local authorities and the confidence that people have in how they manage the register. In part, that says that they should still continue to hold that role and that they would manage those registers in the context of this shared national database, which would make the identification of duplicates and people moving between local authorities so much easier. The other reason is a practical one. There is a lot of local knowledge in local authorities in terms of addresses and changes in their local areas that will need to be reflected in the register. Furthermore, in times where there are peaks of engagement by the public, it would not be reasonable for the commission to be able to draw in staff, in the way that local authorities can draw staff from other parts of their authorities, to assist with that work.

The decision was made to leave that role with local authorities and we will make it easier for them. They will be required to report annually on the activities they have undertaken in managing their registers. The commission, in turn, will issue a report that will look at the national picture overall of the register on the basis of those reports. The designated authority to manage the central database is also required under these heads to report to the commission on the functioning of the database and any matters that might arise. In addition, the commission can conduct research of its own to supplement that information in producing its own report.