§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to ensure that members of Her Majesty's armed forces are aware of the new requirement to register to vote on an annual basis. [127748]
§ Mr. CaplinIt is the individual responsibility of each member of the armed forces to register to vote annually. The Ministry of Defence issues an annual Defence Council Instruction explaining this requirement in detail. The last was issued on 31 January 2003.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures have been put in place to facilitate annual entry on the Service register of electors for Servicemen and women who are overseas or on active Service. [127749]
§ Mr. CaplinIt is the individual responsibility of each member of the armed forces to register to vote annually. Service personnel overseas can choose to register as Service voters by means of a Service declaration, but they can then only vote by proxy. Those who choose to register on their local electoral register will be able to vote either by post or proxy if they are overseas or away from home during any election. Every effort is made by ships, units, and stations to give reasonable assistance to personnel overseas to register or vote in line with their individual electoral registration choice.
§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of HM armed forces were registered to vote on the Service register of electors in each of the last three years. [127754]
§ Mr. CaplinInformation on the number of registered Service voters is no longer held centrally. With the introduction of the new voting arrangements from 16 February 2001, those armed forces personnel that now choose to be Service registered voters register annually with the individual electoral registration officers of their choice.