§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the percentage of voter non-registration in each of the age groups(a) from 17 to 24 years, (b) from 25 to 29 years, (c) from 30 to 49 years and (d) over 50 years; if he will publish a breakdown of the estimated number of non-registered voters in each of those age groups by sex and ethnic origin; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr Peter LloydThe Office of Population Censuses and Surveys carried out research on behalf of the Home Office and the Scottish Office Home and Health Department after the 1991 census to assess the coverage 639W and quality of the electoral register in Great Britain in 1991. The proportions of eligible people in the survey who were not included in the register, for different groups of people, are set out in the table. Copies of the survey, "Electoral registration in 1991", are in the Library.
Non-registration by age and sex Men Per cent. Women Per cent. All Per cent. Aged 17 (attainers) 20.3 24.4 21.9 18–19 10.4 13.6 12.1 20 21.1 18.5 19.5 21–24 22.5 19.3 20.6 25–29 16.6 12.3 14.9 30–49 7.2 4.3 5.8 50 and over 2.6 1.8 2.1
Non-registration by ethnic groups Per cent. White 6.5 Black 24.0 Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi 15.1 Other groups 23.5