§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the number of (a) members of the Services and (b) their dependants entitled to vote in the Common Market referendum who will be based in Northern Ireland on 5th June; what facilities will exist for them to register their votes; and what assistance, financial and otherwise, will be provided for the dependants concerned to travel to cast their votes where they are registered in Great Britain.
§ Mr. William RodgersOn 5th June about 14,500 Service personnel and about 2,800 dependants—mainly spouses—entitled to be on the electoral register will be in Northern Ireland. The Service men and women concerned will be able to vote under the special arrangements provided for under Section 1(5) of the Referendum Act. Spouses who are registered and who will be unable to vote in person qualify for postal voting 355W facilities. Other dependants may qualify by virtue of the requirements of their occupation or change of address. The decision in each case is a matter for the electoral registration officer concerned. No special assistance is planned to enable dependants to travel to other parts of the United Kingdom to vote.
§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the number of United Kingdom civilians employed overseas by the Services; and what assistance he proposes to give them in order to enable them to vote in the Common Market referendum.
§ Mr. William RodgersOn 1st April 1975, there were about 6,000 United Kingdom civilians employed overseas by the Ministry of Defence, all of whom qualify for registration as Service voters. Provided they are so registered, they will be able to vote in the referendum by proxy. The special arrangements agreed by Parliament under which Service personnel and their spouses overseas may vote do not apply to civilians.