Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what safeguards are in place to ensure that people registered to vote outside of the UK do not register in more than one parliamentary constituency.

British citizens outside the UK can only register as an overseas elector in the constituency in which they were registered to vote, provided that entry was in force within 15 years of them making an overseas elector's declaration. Section 2(4) of the Representation of the People Act 1985 prevents a person from specifying more than one address on the declaration; and also prevents a person from having more than one declaration in force at any one time.

Registration Officers have the power to request information required to prove this. Providing false information to a registration officer is an offence and for England and Wales can result in up to 51 weeks imprisonment or an unlimited fine, and for Scotland up to 6 months imprisonment or a maximum fine of £5,000.