The Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors (Core) will allow national access to local electoral registration data. Currently, electoral registers are maintained at local level across the UK, which means that most users have to approach each electoral registration officer separately.
"By having a consolidated central record we can ensure greater consistency and capture best practice," says Harriet Harman, Elections minister.
"It will make it possible for the public to check information held on them online by electoral registration officers and request changes to that information as necessary, all via a single point of access."
The direct marketing industry has welcomed the proposals, but says it could be some time before the benefits are reaped.
"This won't affect the direct marketing industry in the next three to five years because it won't happen before then," says Leanne Douglas, group product and marketing manager at EuroDirect. "But when it does, we could benefit in many ways. For instance, data should be available quicker and the format should be more consistent."
However, Douglas is concerned that identity fraud could be an issue, if members of the public are allowed to make changes to their records without a secure identity verification checking system in place.
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