Ulster Unionist peer Lord Empey has said that he has received information which indicates that all electoral offices bar one in Belfast are to close next year, raising major issues in terms of public confidence and accessibility.
Lord Empey said:
“For some time now I have been warning that significant change is coming to the Electoral Office in Northern Ireland, possibly driven by budget cuts.
“I have stated that it is vital that nothing should be done to reduce the confidence which the public has in the Electoral Office.
“I have now been told that huge changes are indeed planned which will ultimately result in one electoral office based in Belfast covering the whole of Northern Ireland in 2017.
“I understand that the Ballymena and Newtownards offices will close after the referendum in June, with the Ballymena staff being relocated to Newtownabbey and the Newtownards staff being relocated to the Belfast Office.
“This has been described as a temporary move as the leases from these two sites are due for renewal and budget cuts will not allow these to be extended.
“I believe that the plan is for the entire organisation to be centralised at a Belfast location in 2017 and all satellite offices will close with the loss of many positions.
“I am concerned that the loss of regional offices could have a detrimental effect on the electoral process and will be contacting the Electoral Office to seek further information as to future plans and whether or not they are open to persuasion or if this is a done deal.”