The Credit Services Association (CSA), the voice of the UK collections industry, has welcomed the decision by the Government to retain the Edited Electoral Register (EER) and will continue to lobby Parliament for access to the Full Electoral Register.
President of the CSA Sara de Tute believes the decision is a victory for common sense saying:
“We are delighted that our efforts as part of the Cross Industry Working Party have borne fruit,”
“We have always maintained that it is somehow strange and unfair that creditors can use the Full Electoral Register for lending money, but we are denied access to it for collecting money owed and helping individuals resolve their financial difficulties.”
It was in November last year that the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee published its report on ‘Individual Electoral Registration and Electoral Administration’, calling for the abolition of the EER on the grounds of improving voter registration rates.
Sara says that the Government’s decision to retain the EER will be well received by CSA members, many of whom have been actively lobbying their own local MPs:
“This announcement is an encouraging step forward as we continue to campaign for access to the Full Electoral Register.”
