§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his most recent assessment of the accuracy of electoral registers at the end of their lifespan. [47712]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe information required for such an assessment to be made is not held centrally.
§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been fined for failing to comply with the requirement to register for electoral purposes in each of the last 10 years. [47713]
§ Mr. George HowarthIn 1988 there were three prosecutions and in 1989 there were 13 prosecutions, although we have no information as to their outcome. Data for this summary offence have not been collected centrally since then.
§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the amount of canvassing carried out in each local authority area to compile electoral registers; and how many areas carry forward names from the previous year's register for (i) one year and (ii) longer than one year. [47704]
§ Mr. George Howarth"Compiling the electoral register 1996", published by the Office for National Statistics last year, looked at the main canvass procedures adopted by local authorities, the number of reminder stages and whether, and in what circumstances, names of non-responders were carried forward.
§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been spent on advertising electoral registration by central Government in each of the last 10 years. [47714]
§ Mr. George HowarthExpenditure for England and Wales was as follows:
Year Expenditure (£) 1998–89 472,000 1989–90 481,000 1990–91 541,000 1991–92 648,000 1992–93 624,000 1993–94 653,000 1994–95 697,000 1995–96 868,000 1996–97 728,000 1997–98 691,000 The figures available for Scotland and Northern Ireland are as follows
141W
Year Scotland Expenditure (£) Northern Ireland 1994 1128,000 11,000 1995 59,000 10,000 1996 1115,000 5,000 1997 73,000 5,000 1Includes publicity for absent voting
§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the extent of non-registration on the electoral register of(a) those in privately rented and furnished accommodation, (b) New Commonwealth citizens, (c) those who had moved in the past year, (d) black people, (e) those aged under 17 years, (f) those aged 21–24 years and (g) those living in inner London. [47708]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe most recent information available is set out in "Electoral registration in 1991", published in 1993, which provides estimates for all seven categories listed.
§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the extent of dual electoral registrations by(a) students, (b) owners of second homes and (c) others. [47705]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe information needed for such an estimate is not available.
§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for electoral registration statistics to be compiled by parliamentary constituencies. [47707]
§ Mr. George HowarthElectoral registration statistics are already compiled by parliamentary constituencies, as well as by local government areas. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published figures for the 1998 register on 23 April 1998, in an ONS Population and Health Monitor (reference EL 98/1), copies of which are in the Library.
§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of overseas voters and service voters who live abroad. [47706]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe total number of overseas electors and service voters (whether serving in the United Kingdom or overseas) included on the 1998 register was published by the Office for National Statistics in "Population and Health Monitor" EL 98/1, copies of which are in the Library. Figures for the number of registered services voters posted abroad are not held separately.