CASH for council services could be cut and ward boun-daries withdrawn under changes to voter registration, a council boss fears.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price sounded the warning over a recent change that now means each resident must personally register to vote.

Previously, one resident could register all occupants of the same property.

Cllr Price is concerned up to 15,000 people, mostly students, wouldn’t bother to register to vote.

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He said a recorded drop in population could see the council get less Government cash and boundaries withdrawn in areas like Carfax and Hollywell. He said: “This wouldn’t be just a little bit [of money], this would be quite significant.”

At its height, Oxford’s student population is about 35,000.

The 2011 census recorded a city population of 151,900.

Cllr Price said: “I am really concerned this will bias the re-warding in a way that will upset the natural boundaries.

“The way the student population is concentrated we could end up with a large area where only a few students have registered and they won’t get a fair say.”

The council is already working with student unions and secondary schools to encourage youngsters to register.

Electoral services manager Martin John, pictured, said: “I don’t think there is any doubt whatsoever that half a dozen wards’ electorate will be significantly reduced.”

In particular, he said Hollywell ward – the eastern half of the city centre – was 95 per cent students.

He said of the Government: “I don’t think they grasp the difficulty of getting someone’s name on the form, let alone further details.

“We have been in talks with them saying this new system will disenfranchise more people than they think.”

A common form of registration previously was one person answering the door at a student house who then registers everyone at the property, he said.

“The challenge with Oxford is persuading students to register when they’re already registered at home,” he added.

And the council is unlikely to pursue £1,000 fines against those who do not sign up as this is expensive and most of the money goes to the Treasury, he said.

He added: “We have repeatedly said to the Treasury if they want councils to do that they need to make it more appealing.”

Universities cannot be forced to register their students if they were registered at home, he added.

In February it will contact households to check that the electoral roll for each property is correct. A review of all boundaries could be held in 2016.

Cabinet Office spokesman Ross Palmer said: “We are transforming electoral registration to make it fit for the 21st century.

“Individual Electoral Registration has replaced the outdated ‘head of household’ voter registration system and is both increasing the accuracy of the register and giving people more control and ownership over the process.”

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