I've done a little investigation on the government website and found the guidance notes which refer to the new Representation of the People bill. It is aparently before Parliament now, but I couldn't find any date when it is due to become law.(posted 8649 days ago)The link to the guidance notes is:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmbills/002/en/00002 x--.htm
but if you don't want to read it all, the bit we're interested in is clause 9 which says:
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Clause 9: Supply of Information Contained in the Register
53. This clause allows regulations to be made regulating the supply of the electoral register.
54. New paragraph 10 of Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 1983 allows regulations to be made requiring registration officers to produce two versions of the electoral register - a complete one and an edited version omitting the names of those who have asked to have their names excluded from it.
55. The regulations can also specify how the registration officer should go about ascertaining who wishes to be excluded from the edited version and the words to be used to explain what the edited version might be used for.
56. New paragraph 10A of Schedule 2 allows regulations to be made to require the full register to be available for public inspection.
57. New paragraph 10B of Schedule 2 allows regulations to be made which require registration officers to supply copies of the full register to prescribed people, either free of charge or on payment of a fee, or to supply copies of the edited register to anyone on payment of a fee.
58. New paragraph 11 of Schedule 2 allows for regulations to be made to prohibit those inspecting the full register from making copies of it and those to whom the full register has been supplied from passing it on or using it for unauthorised purposes.
59. Subsection (3) allows regulations to be made creating an offence (punishable by a fine up to level 5 on the standard scale of fines) of contravening regulations made under new paragraph 11 of Schedule 2 to the Representation of the People Act 1983.
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The articles in the Guardian archives refered to in the original message and a couple of other interesting ones are:
"Talk builds of Experian demerger" http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3908894,00.h tml
"Now they know where you live" http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3908360,00.h tml
"Voter's offered a vanishing trick" http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3931721,00.h tml
I couldn't find any information about the Government Minister at loggerheads with the credit industry over CCJs, so I've written an email to the Home Office to find out. I'll post any response I get.