Has the government denied Remand prisoners their legal right to vote?

Has the government denied Remand prisoners their legal right to vote?

The other day Simon Israel of Channel 4 News asked me if I knew how many Remand prisoners are entitled to vote and how many exercised this right. Compare the information immediately below provided by the government, a big fat zero!

A PQ on 13 October 2005 revealed that there were no records kept of the number of remand prisoners who are eligible to vote.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many remand prisoners were eligible to vote in each of the last three general elections; and how many exercised their right to vote in each.

Ms Harman: The information sought is not available. The Representation of the People Act 2000 made it possible for prisoners on remand, who are otherwise eligible to vote, to register to vote from their place of detention. HM Prison Service records the total number of remand prisoners though no separate record is kept of those remand prisoners who are eligible to vote. Records are not kept of whether particular categories of voters have exercised their right to vote at UK elections.

In complete contrast...

General election 2007: voting in Irish prisons
No. in prison on 15 May 2007 3,359
No. eligible to vote 3,202
No. registered 451
No. who voted 322
Percentage of eligible prisoners who voted 10.1%
Percentage of registered prisoners who voted 71.4%
Percentage of registered national population who voted 67.0%

Sources: Personal correspondence with Irish Prison Service and Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, April – July 2007.

With such secrecy from the government, it is quite possible that Remand prisoners were denied the opportunity to exercise their right.