§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the costs of production of the electoral registration lists for each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesElectoral registration officers have responsibility for the production of the register of electors in their area, and no statistics are kept centrally on the cost of production. Consultations with the local authority associations have, however, revealed that there has been a considerable increase in production costs since 1969 when fees for copies of the register were set at their present level.
§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why orders for 1978 electoral registration lists were invited to be placed in November 1977 in the light of the fact that the price 567W rise of 100 per cent. was only first announced in January 1978 to be effective from February 1978.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesCopies of the register of electors may be sold by electoral registration officers if there are sufficient copies available after allowing for the number required for electoral purposes. The arrangements for the supply of copies of the register are determined by each electoral registration officer, but the fees payable for copies of the 1978 electoral register cannot take effect until they have been approved by Parliament.
Citizens of India Citizens of Pakistan Other Commonwealth Citizens† Total 1974‡ … … 222 175 10 407 1975 … … 340 463 7 810 1976 … … 105 215 14 334 1977§ … … 30 73 4 107 * On 11th April 1974 my predecessor announced that the power contained in the Immigration Act 1971 to remove illegal entrants would not be used retrospectively to send away Commonwealth citizens and citizens of Pakistan who entered clandestinely before 1st January 1973. † A breakdown between Old and New Commonwealth is not readily available. ‡ 11th April to 31st December. § January to September.