Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 41457 on Local Government: Elections, whether the public can request data held by (a) returning officers and (b) electoral registration officers through Re-Use of Public Sector Information requests.

Regulation 3 of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 defines the public sector bodies to which the Regulations apply, and neither Returning Officers nor Electoral Registration Officers are defined as public sector bodies for these purposes. Consequently, the public are not able to request data held by either Returning Officers or Electoral Registration Officers via these Regulations.