An exchange between the Chairman of the Parliamentary Constitutional Reform Committee, Graham Allen MP and the Chief Executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators on 1 May 2014 regarding Electoral Returning Officers (EROs) failing to complete house-to-house canvassing [recall it has been confirmed by Chris Ruane MP of the same committee that
EDDC’s ERO, Chief Executive Mark Williams failed to carry out house-to-house surveys in 2011, 2012 and 2013]:

Q282 Mr Turner: Are we speaking of a criminal offence or a civil offence?

John Turner: Which?

Mr Turner: The failure to do what Chris Ruane has asked should be done.

John Turner: There is a section in the Representation of the People Act 1983 that makes it a breach of official duty for a registration officer not to do that and follow the law.

Q283 Mr Turner: Does that mean a police officer would be handling that or a civil matter?
John Turner: No, it is a criminal matter, a criminal offence. It carries a penalty. I can’t recollect what it is offhand, but it is definitely a criminal offence. What I should also tell you is that I have been doing this for some long time now and I have never known anybody to be prosecuted for it.

Q284 Mr Turner: I am just wondering whether it would help if it were drawn to the attention of the local police officer.

John Turner: We go down an interesting route here. Things have happened where there have been investigations by the police—the police are only the investigating body in this sense—and it always ends up at the door of the Crown Prosecution Service and we get into matters where we start talking about public interest and decisions to prosecute. That would take us another five hours I fear, Chair, so—

Q285 Chris Ruane: Is it in the public interest to have 6 million people and the poorest people in the country off the electoral register? Is it in the public interest or not?

John Turner: That is a different question from the public interest to prosecute, but what I am saying is, in answer to your question, there is already on the statute book an offence of breach of official duty. It is certainly not within my bailiwick to decide how that should be enforced but it is there. It sits there.

See also
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/journalist/electoral-commission-media-centre/news-releases-reviews-and-research/electoral-registration-officers-must-all-conduct-house-to-house-canvassing-during-transition-to-new-electoral-registration-system