§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number 104W of people whose names are on the electoral register in more than one parliamentary constituency; and what are the principal categories of people who are so registered.
§ Mr. MellorThe information needed to make the estimate requested is not available and could be obtained only at very considerable cost. However, my hon. Friend may be interested in the results of a sample survey of about 10,500 persons eligible to vote conducted by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and published in "Electoral Registration in 1981", a copy of which is in the Library. 0.4 per cent. of those in the sample were legitimately registered at more than one address, although not necessarily in more than one constituency. In addition, there were instances of names being included on the register twice by mistake, usually because they had been retained on the register at a previous address in addition to being registered at a new qualifying address.