2006 electoral roll data already online at Callcredit

Credit reference agency Callcredit says 2006 electoral roll data, which councils have only begun releasing today (1st December), has already been uploaded to its online database.

Mark Davison, Callcredit's Technology Development Director said:

"At Callcredit, we handle submissions from the UK's 400+ councils electronically, which means the new records can be processed, matched and online within hours of being received.

The Electoral Roll is the cornerstone of identity verification and an essential element of the credit granting process. Around 13% of the information on the Electoral Roll changes each year and given that credit searches peak in December it is important we give businesses access to the most accurate, up-to-date information available as quickly as possible.

Initial analysis indicates that the trend for the increasing opt-out rates looks to continue putting the completed year's figure around 36-37% of the entire electorate. Further analysis will be published as more data becomes available.

So far, only a minority of councils have distributed their 2006 electoral roll files but Callcredit anticipates it will have received, and processed, the vast majority by Christmas.