HC Deb 18 January 1994 vol 235 cc479-80W
Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people under the age of 25 years are not included in the electoral register.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Information on the number of people under 25 included in, or missing from, the electoral register is not collected. However, research carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys after the 1991 Census suggested that approximately 12.1 per cent. of people aged 18–19, 19.5 per cent. of people aged 20 and 20.6 per cent. of people aged 21–24 were missing from the register.

Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department is spending on(a) electoral registration in the United Kingdom, (b) electoral registration of EC nationals in the United Kingdom and (c) electoral registration of overseas voters.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Electoral registration officers are appointed by district and London borough councils in England and Wales and receive their funding through their local authority. The Home Office undertakes an annual publicity campaign in support of electoral registration in England and Wales. Some £620,000 has been spent on television advertising in support of the canvass for the 1994–95 electoral register. We have no plans for expenditure on overseas electors publicity. We are currently considering ways of letting European Community nationals know about their new voting rights.