§ 51. Mr. Turtonasked the Secretary of State for Air what steps he is taking to inform airmen and their wives of their procedure of making service declarations under the Representation of the People Regulations, 1949; and whether he will give the necessary order to ensure that airmen and their wives are notified of the entry of their names in the electors lists.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Air (Mr. Geoffrey de Freitas)An Air Ministry Order setting out the procedure for making service declarations will be published tomorrow, together with a leaflet for display on unit notice boards. In addition to this, two Air Ministry pamphlets will be issued in the next few days for the guidance of airmen and their wives in completing these declarations. The responsibility for notifying Service declarants that they will be entered in the electors lists is laid upon electoral registration officers by Regulation 58 of the Representation of the People Regulations, 1949.
§ Mr. TurtonApart from that, will the Under-Secretary take steps to see that these airmen and their wives are also notified by their station commander as to what polling electoral list they are on, because at the present time there is great dissatisfaction as they do not know where they get their votes?
§ Mr. de FreitasI do not quite understand that question. As I said, under the regulations, if the hon. Member studies them, it is quite clear that it is the electoral registration officer who is under an obligation to notify service declarants.