Textual Amendments
F1Sch. 6 inserted (6.4.2013) by The Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/798), regs. 1, 7, Sch. 1
7.—(1) The business registration officer must publish and make available—
(a)in such a manner as the business registration officer considers necessary to bring it to the attention of business vote holders in the referendum area,
(b)no earlier than the date on which the information statement and specified documents are published under regulation 4, and
(c)no later than 56 days before the date of the business referendum,
such information as the business registration officer considers appropriate as to—
(i)who can vote in the business referendum;
(ii)how business vote holders can register on the business voting register; and
(iii)how they can vote in the business referendum.
(2) The information required to be published by sub-paragraph (1) must, so far as practicable, be published in the same manner, and in the same place or places, as the information statement published under regulation 4 in relation to the business referendum.
(3) In addition to the requirements of sub-paragraph (1) the business registration officer may take such other steps as the officer considers appropriate to identify business vote holders in the referendum area and to inform them—
(a)that they may be entitled to vote in the business referendum;
(b)of how they can register on the business voting register; and
(c)of how they can vote in the business referendum.
8.—(1) As soon as the business registration officer knows that a business referendum is to be held, the business registration officer must request that each billing authority for the whole or any part of the referendum area provides, as far as it is able to ascertain from the records they hold for the purposes of non-domestic rates at that time, the information listed in sub-paragraphs (2)(a) to (c) and, where applicable, the information at sub-paragraph (3).
(2) As soon as practicable after the billing authority have received the request from the business registration officer in accordance with paragraph (1), and in any event no later than the fiftieth day before the referendum, the billing authority shall provide the following information to the business registration officer—
(a)the name of each non-domestic rate payer who is liable, in respect of a hereditament in the referendum area, to pay rates on the fifty- sixth day before the business referendum according to the non-domestic rating list kept and maintained by that billing authority; and
(b)for each person described in (a), the address of the hereditament (or, if applicable, hereditaments); and
(c)the rateable value of each hereditament the address of which has been provided in accordance with (b).
(3) Where it appears to the relevant billing authority that it would be impractical for communications to be sent to a particular hereditament address, the billing authority shall also provide to the business registration officer, in respect of that hereditament, the billing address of the person who is liable to pay rates on that hereditament.
(4) The business registration officer may, at any time during the referendum period, request from the billing authority any update on the information mentioned in sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) which the billing authority is able to ascertain from its non-domestic billing records at that time.
(5) The business registration officer may, at any time during the referendum period, request from the billing authority that it provide that officer with the name of each non-domestic rate payer who has become liable, in respect of a hereditament in the referendum area, after the fifty-sixth day before the referendum to pay rates according to the non-domestic rating list kept and maintained by that billing authority.
(6) As soon as practicable after the billing authority have received a request from the business registration officer under paragraph (5), the billing authority shall provide that information to the business registration officer, as well as the information mentioned in sub-paragraphs (2)(b)-(c) and (3).
(7) Subject to sub-paragraph (8) below, the information provided under sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) by the billing authority in response to a request from the business registration officer under sub-paragraph (1) comprises “the initial registration list”.
(8) Where a referendum area comprises any part of the area of more than one relevant council, the business registration officer shall compile the information received in response to a request made under sub-paragraph (1) from each relevant billing authority under sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) into a single list and this single list shall comprise “the initial registration list”.
(9) The business registration officer shall, as far as practicable and seeking advice from the billing authority or authorities as appropriate, ensure that the initial registration list is free from duplicate entries.
(10) For the purposes of this paragraph, a “duplicate entry” is where the name of a non-domestic rate payer appears more than once on the initial registration list, for whatever reason.
(11) The business registration officer may use the information provided under sub-paragraphs (2) and (3), and (5) and (6) (if any), in any form in connection with requirements imposed by this Schedule in relation to the business voting register and not for any other purpose.
9. On the twenty-fifth day before the business referendum, the business registration officer must publish in a manner that the officer considers appropriate in order to bring it to the attention of business voter holders in the referendum area a notice which—
(a)specifies that business vote holders who were included on the initial registration list have been sent an invitation to register; and
(b)invites those who believe they have become liable to pay non-domestic rates since the initial registration list was sent by the billing authority to the business registration officer, to contact the business registration officer; and
(c)informs those who were included on the initial registration list and so have been sent an invitation to register but have since ceased to become liable to pay non-domestic rates on any hereditament in the referendum area, that they must contact the business registration officer.
10.—(1) The business registration officer must send, to each business vote holder in the referendum area of whom the business registration officer is aware, a notice (“invitation to register”) in the form set out in Form 1 in the Appendix to this Schedule.
(2) The business registration officer must send the invitation to register—
(a)no earlier than the date when information is first published under paragraph 7(1);
(b)no later than 45 days before the date of the business referendum or, in the case of a business vote holder the officer becomes aware of at any time between 45 and 11 days before the date of the business referendum, as soon as practicable.
(3) The address to which the invitation to register must be sent is the hereditament address, unless the billing authority have indicated, under paragraph 8(3), that communications should be sent to the billing address of the non-domestic rate payer, in which case the business registration officer must instead send the invitation to the billing address so provided.
(4) Where a business vote holder is liable for a non-domestic rate in respect of more than one hereditament in the referendum area, the business registration officer must send the invitation to the hereditament address of the business vote holder which corresponds to the hereditament with the higher or highest (as the case may be) rateable value.
(5) Where the business registration officer has reason to believe that, in respect of a business vote holder who is liable for a non-domestic rate in respect of more than one hereditament in the referendum area, it would be appropriate to send the invitation to the hereditament address of the business vote holder which does not correspond to the hereditament with the higher or highest (as the case may be) rateable value, that officer may instead send the invitation to that address.
(6) Enclosed with the invitation to register must be a form (“voting registration form”) in the form set out in form A in the Appendix to this Schedule and a form (“voting choices form”) in the form set out in form B in the Appendix to this Schedule and both forms are “registration response forms”.
(7) The business registration officer must ensure that the return of both registration response forms, from an address in the United Kingdom, is free of charge to a business vote holder.]