WE wonder how many people are aware that their council could be selling on their personal details to marketing companies for profit?

The fact local authorities are able to pass on the details of residents who have registered to vote to the likes of estate agents and pizza companies is concerning.

Granted, local councils in Sussex say they do not actively tout the details for sale and only pass on information from the ‘open register’ when they are approached.

But with the upcoming election on the cards, news of this nature will definitely not be encouraging people to vote. After all, nobody wants to receive cold calls from companies they have never heard of.

At the moment it is down to residents to tell the council if they do not want this to happen. We agree with the Electoral Commission, which says residents should have to ‘opt in’ to such an agreement instead of putting the onus on them to opt out.