To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to help servicemen on operations overseas to comply with the Electoral Administration Act 2006 by providing a signature and date of birth within 21 days of it being requested; what recent assessment he has made of levels of voting eligibility in the armed services; and if he will make a statement. (120007)

[holding answer 8 February 2007]: We are ensuring that Service personnel, whether serving in the UK or on operations overseas, are made aware within their units of the requirement to provide personal identifiers, if they wish to retain their option to vote as an absent voter. If they have not received a request to provide identifiers by 21 February 2007, we have instructed them to contact their local electoral authority. In addition, personnel serving abroad can return identifiers through official mail channels at no personal cost.

We conducted a survey in December 2005 to determine the levels of voting eligibility in the armed forces, the results of which were published in the Library of the House. This survey was repeated in December 2006 and we expect to receive the results within the next two months.