Most definitely! If the neutral went missing you'd get some bizarre effects; for one thing none of the elements would get the correct voltage, and more than one element would have to be switched on to get anything at all. Timer motors and oven lamps would not be happy with 415V across their terminals.
Not really, there's nothing inherent about the neutral that makes it special to controls or any other components.
Steve, our voltages work in a different way down here.
How can you discount a conductor like a neutral as not necessary?
