What estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the number of eligible UK voters who live abroad but have not registered to vote.

Recent research suggests that the total number of British people who live abroad for a year or more may be approximately 5.5 million. Only British citizens who have registered to vote in the United Kingdom in the past 15 years are eligible to register while living abroad. There is no effective way of measuring that number.

One can only imagine why so many Brits want to live abroad. Of the many millions that my hon. Friend mentioned, only 13,000 are registered to vote in general elections. That is a low figure. The amount of money that the Electoral Commission spends on promoting voting abroad is £12,000. Is not that figure far too small? Should not it be greater and be properly focused to try to attract those who are eligible to register and vote?

The Electoral Commission ran a campaign last autumn at a cost of about £100,000, which was more than twice as much as was spent in advance of the previous General Election. The problem, of course, is identifying the market. The number of people is extremely large, but the number registered is extremely small, as my hon. Friend pointed out. The most recent campaign to reach British citizens living abroad included online advertising, public relations activity, mailing to British people living overseas and the distribution of information via British embassies and high commissions.

The Electoral Commission is also proposing to convene a seminar later this year with political parties to discuss ways of improving registration levels among overseas residents. How good it would be if we could learn something from the American elections. I understand that it is estimated that many thousands of American citizens living in London are exercising their right to vote. I have been advised to be cautious about quoting those numbers, but it would be nice to think that lessons could be learned from that campaign.

One of the problems with the votes in the American presidential elections is that they sometimes arrive far too late to be counted, but that is another matter. I agree with Mr. Evans that the number of people voting among those living abroad who are eligible to vote is woefully low. I wonder whether the electoral registration officers, who play such an important role in getting our registers up to date, have a role in attracting people who live overseas to register to vote.

The hon. Gentleman makes an extremely good point. There are three parties involved. The first is the Electoral Commission, which takes the view that it would not be proportionate for it to devote very large amounts of resources to overseas voters, because of the difficulties of reaching them. The second is the electoral registration officers and I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making a valid point about them. I will discuss with the Electoral Commission what further can be done to enable them to fulfil their duties in that regard. The third is the political parties. The Electoral Commission takes the view that it is primarily the responsibility of the political parties to seek to encourage overseas citizens to register and vote in UK elections.

Does the Electoral Commission have a view on whether UK citizens living abroad have been deterred from bothering to register to vote by the Government's decision to cut the qualifying period during which people who have left the UK can participate in general elections?

This is of course a controversial issue. Parliament has taken the view that residents who have lived overseas for 15 years or less after their period of registration in the United Kingdom should vote. It has been suggested that that period should be lengthened or even shortened. My hon. Friend makes a fair point, although it would not be appropriate for me to express an opinion.

Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that many of my constituents would regard spending resources that could be better used to increase registration among those who live in the United Kingdom as a gross waste of money? I have nothing against those who live abroad, but they often pay no taxes and break the connection. I would far sooner encourage UK residents to vote than those living overseas.

The Electoral Commission spends less than 2 per cent. of its budget on exhorting overseas residents to register and vote. The commission believes that to be a proportionate amount, but the hon. Gentleman's point will of course be noted.