Schemes under section 35: proposals, consultation and evaluation

(1) A scheme may be included in an order under section 35 only if a proposal has been submitted to the Secretary of State by the registration officer to whom the scheme relates and the scheme gives effect to the proposal, either—

  (a) without modification, or 

  (b) with modifications suggested by the Secretary of State and agreed to by the officer.

(2) The Secretary of State may not make an order under section 35 without first consulting—

  (a) the Electoral Commission;

  (b) any person authorised or required by the order to provide information to a registration officer;

  (c) the Information Commissioner.

(3) An order under section 35 must specify a date (the “evaluation date”) for each scheme included in the order. The Electoral Commission must prepare a report on the operation of each scheme and, no later than the evaluation date, give a copy of it—

  (a) to the registration officer concerned, and

  (b) to the Secretary of State.

(4) A report under subsection (3) must set out the terms of the scheme and must contain—

  (a) a description of the scheme;

  (b) an assessment of the matters set out in subsection (5);

  (c) anything else specified in the order under section 35.

(5) The matters are—

  (a) the extent to which the scheme has achieved the purpose mentioned in section 35(2);

  (b) whether there was any objection to the scheme, and if so how much;

  (c) how easy the scheme was to administer;

  (d) the extent to which the scheme resulted in savings of time and costs, or the opposite.

(6) The registration officer concerned—

  (a) must give the Electoral Commission whatever assistance they reasonably require in connection with the preparation of the report;

  (b) must publish the report in whatever way the officer thinks appropriate.

(7) In this section “scheme” has the same meaning as in section 35.