§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints(a) his Department and (b) electoral registration offices received from those whose names did not appear on registration lists for the last General Election; and if he will make a statement. [6020]
466W
§ Mr. George Howarth[holding answer 1 July 1997]: (a) We have received around 400 complaints about non-registration for the last General Election. (b) Information on the number of complaints received by electoral registration officers is not compiled centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of homeless people who fail to qualify for electoral registration because of the residence requirement; and if he will make a statement. [6013]
§ Mr. Howarth[holding answer 1 July 1997]: Information on the number of homeless people who are not included on the electoral register is not available. The guidance issued to electoral registration officers makes it clear that no one should be denied the right to register simply because they are homeless. Although an elector must be registered at an address at which he or she is resident, that address need not be a conventional one.