01 August 2018

2018 Household Canvass - save taxpayers' cash, use automated service to respond now

Householders across the north-east have responded well to 2018 Canvass forms which landed on their doorsteps at the start of this month, helping to save taxpayers' money.

The Grampian Electoral Registration team had earlier appealed for people to use automated response mechanisms at the earliest opportunity to minimise public expense.

Each online response saves 21p per household in postage alone, not to mention the savings in back-office processing costs, which when taken into account more than doubles the saving. Telephone and text responses save similar amounts.

Making sure your details are correct on the electoral register is vital if you are to vote in any local or national elections.

That's why every year a form is sent out with members of the household listed, seeking confirmation that the details are correct. This process is called the annual canvass.

The Grampian Electoral Registration team is encouraging people to use the automated response function to make their return as soon as possible.

Householders in Aberdeenshire can respond online, by text or telephone - all the details are provided on the form received.

At this point, 77,504 households have used the automated response services so far, compared to 68,641 at the same point in the canvass last year.

Responding quickly using the automated system saves time and taxpayers' money while performing a vital role in our democratic system.

Grampian Electoral Registration Officer, Ian Milton, said: "We still have a lot of forms outstanding and reminder letters will be delivered to addresses in Grampian from Friday, August 3.

"A record-breaking 77,504 households in Grampian have responded using our automated response service within the first month of the annual household canvass. This is a 17% increase in take-up compared to last year and means more households than ever before are saving our postage costs by responding online, by phone or by text.

"If you have not already responded to your household enquiry form please don't wait for the reminder - respond as soon as you can using our automated response services with the security codes provided on your household enquiry form."