From Hansard, 4 Mar 2013 : Column 806W
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Electoral Register: British Nationals Abroad
Mr Streeter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will commission qualitative research to determine why more British citizens living overseas do not register to vote in UK elections. [144269]
Miss Chloe Smith: As of 1 December 2011, there were 23,388 registered overseas electors. This is a relatively small proportion of the estimated 5.6 million British nationals living overseas.
The Government is committed to doing all it can to maximise registration, including among British citizens living overseas. For example as part of the move to individual electoral registration, to help simplify the registration process we plan to remove the current requirement for a person's initial application as an overseas elector to be attested by another British citizen resident abroad.