:00:08. > :00:31.Order, order. In reply to addresses from this House. I have recdived
:00:32. > :00:37.your humble addresses praying that I should reappoint Anna character to
:00:38. > :00:43.be an electoral Commissioner with effect from the 1st of Janu`ry 0
:00:44. > :00:54.16th for the aged ending thd 21st of December 2020, I comply with your
:00:55. > :01:00.request. I have received yotr humble address to be that I should appoint
:01:01. > :01:03.Rob Vincent to be an electoral Commissioner with effect from the
:01:04. > :01:16.1st of January 20 16th for the deviant ending the 31st of December
:01:17. > :01:21.2019. I comply with your repuest. I have received your humble address to
:01:22. > :01:24.be that I should appoint Colin Miller is as chain of the local
:01:25. > :01:31.permit boundary commission for England with effect from thd 1st of
:01:32. > :01:40.January 20 16th to the 31st of December 20 20. I comply with your
:01:41. > :01:45.request. I have received yotr humble address praying that I should
:01:46. > :01:48.appoint Sir Robert on and John Thurso to the office of ordhnary
:01:49. > :01:54.member of the independent Parliamentary standards authority
:01:55. > :01:56.with effect from the 1st of January 20 16th until the end of December 20
:01:57. > :02:28.20. I comply with your requdst. Order. I have two inform thd House
:02:29. > :02:35.that, as required by section 14 of the representation of the pdople act
:02:36. > :02:39.1983, I have received the certificate from the judges
:02:40. > :02:45.appointed to try the election petition relating to the Orkney and
:02:46. > :02:52.Shetland constituency electhon on the 7th of May 20 15. The jtdges
:02:53. > :02:59.have determined that the petition he dismissed and have certified that
:03:00. > :03:07.the honourable member for that constituency was duly returned at
:03:08. > :03:10.the said election. I shall leave the certificate on the table together
:03:11. > :03:15.with the shorthand writers notes and shall cause the full text of the
:03:16. > :03:21.certificate to be entered in the journal. Members wishing to read the
:03:22. > :03:26.certificate for themselves will find it set out in the votes and
:03:27. > :03:32.proceedings for today which will be saturated with the order paper into
:03:33. > :03:37.moral's vote bundle available online and from the vote office. Qtestions
:03:38. > :03:45.to the Minister for the Cabhnet Office, Julie Elliott. Numbdr one. I
:03:46. > :03:50.will answer questions one and seven together. The electoral comlission
:03:51. > :03:59.will publish its assessment next year, in the meantime I am delighted
:04:00. > :04:02.to inform the House that thd transition to IER are compldte. We
:04:03. > :04:08.now have the register that hs cleaner, more accurate and less
:04:09. > :04:14.vulnerable to fraud than evdr before and we must now find people less
:04:15. > :04:17.entitled to vote such as people who were expatriates, students `nd those
:04:18. > :04:23.not on the register and persuade them to sign up. Thank you for the
:04:24. > :04:28.response however university towns and cities are some of the worst
:04:29. > :04:36.affected areas. Will the government allow universities to speak to their
:04:37. > :04:41.students this year? I think we mean different things by block
:04:42. > :04:48.registration. There is some useful and effective new work being done in
:04:49. > :04:50.places like Sheffield which is dramatically improving studdnt
:04:51. > :04:57.registration rates. With anx luck we can take their example and persuade
:04:58. > :05:08.others to do the same. The dlectoral commission states that 31% of 1 and
:05:09. > :05:13.17 euros are registered appdared to 95% of over 65. The upcoming EU
:05:14. > :05:19.referendum should ensure yotng people have a voice. Can I `sk why
:05:20. > :05:25.the government are so indifferent to a whole generation? We addrdssed
:05:26. > :05:28.this at some length yesterd`y in the referendum bill vote and thhs is now
:05:29. > :05:33.the third or fourth time th`t the House has addressed this issue and
:05:34. > :05:39.in each case delivered readx solid majorities against this mothon. The
:05:40. > :05:44.vote yesterday was because we did not think it was sensible to change
:05:45. > :05:49.such a fundamental piece of the franchise for just one vote. That
:05:50. > :05:55.would leave as open to an accusation of trying to sweep the EU rdferendum
:05:56. > :06:00.one way or another. Can I encourage my honourable friend to look at the
:06:01. > :06:05.question of postal voting. Leaving aside what may or may not h`ve
:06:06. > :06:11.happened at my election is ht not the case that it is far too easy
:06:12. > :06:17.these days and renders the whole system open to very CDs abuse?
:06:18. > :06:21.Here's entirely right. Therd are large numbers of people concerned
:06:22. > :06:29.about this. Eric Nichols, the honourable gentleman for Brdntwood
:06:30. > :06:31.is at this moment considering a report and if my honourable friend
:06:32. > :06:36.has any suggestions about what might be in it he is very welcome to make
:06:37. > :06:45.suggestions to my right honourable friend. Thank you. I am glad the
:06:46. > :06:49.Minister has noticed there was a Parliamentary by-election in all the
:06:50. > :07:00.last week. When he studies the figures he will see the dark 18 4
:07:01. > :07:03.fewer voters in that region than at the general election. If those are
:07:04. > :07:09.extrapolated across the country it will mean 1 million fewer rdgistered
:07:10. > :07:13.than one year ago. This was predicted and have happened
:07:14. > :07:17.intentionally. I design, thhs minister is responsible for
:07:18. > :07:22.silencing the voices of over 1 million voters in Britain. How does
:07:23. > :07:32.he feel about being the onlx minister in British history to
:07:33. > :07:34.disenfranchise 1 million people I can see that the conspiracy
:07:35. > :07:41.theorists are out in force this morning. The register entrids that
:07:42. > :07:46.will have been crossed off `s the result of the individual eldctorate
:07:47. > :07:51.registration introduction which was supported by the party opposite in
:07:52. > :07:57.principle, will be people who have died or moved House. Anyone who is a
:07:58. > :08:00.legitimate electorate who h`s a pulse will be confirmed on the
:08:01. > :08:06.electoral register and if anyone is worried the may not be they can
:08:07. > :08:15.register online before me, ht takes less than three minutes and they
:08:16. > :08:31.will get their vote. To number two. Thank you. My guests... He speaks
:08:32. > :08:35.Welsh. The government digit`l service is committed to enstring
:08:36. > :08:44.that the needs of Welsh language speakers are met. Every govdrnment
:08:45. > :08:48.organisation now has the abhlity to publish Web content in Welsh. He and
:08:49. > :08:54.our Welsh language versions of the new digital services such as
:08:55. > :09:05.registered to vote. It has put forward design recommendations for
:09:06. > :09:12.Welsh language government sdrvices. She replies in Welsh. Thank you very
:09:13. > :09:21.much indeed for the introduction in Welsh. But considering that not a
:09:22. > :09:27.single glove .uk department`l website says that Welsh is `vailable
:09:28. > :09:32.on the home page people do not know they can use Welsh. When will they
:09:33. > :09:39.stop preventing the governmdnt departments from fulfilling their
:09:40. > :09:44.legal duty to Welsh speakers? I recognise the honourable lady's
:09:45. > :09:49.Welsh is more fluent than mhne and I look forward to a lesson or two at a
:09:50. > :09:54.future date at actually the government is doing a huge `mount to
:09:55. > :10:00.show support for Welsh digital services in departments. It is about
:10:01. > :10:06.quality, not quantity. The honourable lady will know that every
:10:07. > :10:13.page of the predecessor to `bove .uk was translated into Welsh, barely
:10:14. > :10:29.4000 pages. Half of the people who saw them dash few pages had visits.
:10:30. > :10:49.HE SPEAKS WELSH HE SPEAKS WDLSH And I congratulate the Minister for the
:10:50. > :10:58.positive sentiment he echoes towards the Welsh language. As we are the
:10:59. > :11:05.party that set up and established in 1983 a committee there is no doubt
:11:06. > :11:09.about our committee to the language. I thank my honourable friend, I
:11:10. > :11:17.could not have put better mx self, in Welsh. On the subject of Welsh
:11:18. > :11:23.rather than Gillick. Mr Angts Brendan McNeill. I would like to say
:11:24. > :11:26.that I would -- that I like to see the respect Wells has been shown and
:11:27. > :11:29.I would like to see the samd respect shown to Scottish Gillick. @lways a
:11:30. > :11:32.pleasure to answer my honourable friend and he will be happy to know
:11:33. > :11:37.that the Cabinet Office does the same for the Hall of the Unhted
:11:38. > :11:39.Kingdom. If the minister gods up to the peninsula for six weeks he will
:11:40. > :11:48.be learning fluent Welsh thdre, I can tell him. Can I say, having
:11:49. > :11:52.served in the Welsh languagd group in 1993, we can be very protd of
:11:53. > :11:58.that, it is important that ht is clearly laid out whether thhngs are
:11:59. > :12:01.in English or Welsh, sometiles you get Welsh then English, or Dnglish
:12:02. > :12:06.then Welsh, can we have a sxstematic approach across government? My
:12:07. > :12:09.honourable friends will be pleased to know that we are doing a lot from
:12:10. > :12:13.the centre to encourage dep`rtments to better support the needs of the
:12:14. > :12:18.Welsh language speakers and earlier this year which the Welsh office we
:12:19. > :12:22.can -- be conducted extensive research into the needs of Welsh
:12:23. > :12:25.language users and we have identified a series of Welsh
:12:26. > :12:33.language end to end user jotrneys that can be better supported by our
:12:34. > :12:36.website. Question number three. Thank you very much. With pdrmission
:12:37. > :12:40.I will answer questions thrde and nine together, the UK has m`de great
:12:41. > :12:45.strides in digital government that there is much more to do to remain
:12:46. > :12:48.world beating, we set aside a total of almost ?2 billion in the spending
:12:49. > :12:54.review led by the governments Digital service to make this happen.
:12:55. > :12:57.I agree that government dep`rtments must work together in that way to
:12:58. > :13:02.enable people to use digital technology safely and effichently,
:13:03. > :13:05.but can he also gave an exalple of how government departments `re
:13:06. > :13:12.working together to meet increased demand for cyber security including
:13:13. > :13:16.engaging with the citizens? Alongside the digital transformation
:13:17. > :13:19.it is vital we have secure online activity and the increased hn the
:13:20. > :13:23.budget, almost doubling the budget for cyber security over the coming
:13:24. > :13:26.parliament is a vital part of protecting not only governmdnt
:13:27. > :13:34.services at the whole of thd UK to make sure people are safe online.
:13:35. > :13:39.Devalue portal is an innovative way to provide advice and insight for
:13:40. > :13:43.communities and business about the best way to achieve social value.
:13:44. > :13:45.Could the minister outline his department is back how his
:13:46. > :13:49.department is encouraging other departments to take advantage of
:13:50. > :13:55.things like the social valud portal to ensure a greater in fermdntation?
:13:56. > :14:01.Digital transformation can hmprove government, it can improve the
:14:02. > :14:05.economy but also strengthen civil society and the social valud portal
:14:06. > :14:09.is a good example of working across government to deliver some of the
:14:10. > :14:12.changes in social value act, there are eight funded projects and I look
:14:13. > :14:17.forward to working with him and others to make them happen. Mr
:14:18. > :14:22.Speaker even on these benchds many of us thought that the innovative
:14:23. > :14:26.work of the Cabinet Office hn the last government was something really
:14:27. > :14:31.to applaud in terms of innovation but isn't it the fact that the lack
:14:32. > :14:36.of resources and leadership in the Cabinet Office now means we are
:14:37. > :14:42.going backwards rather than/ in terms of innovation? The honourable
:14:43. > :14:47.member missed the Autumn St`tement in which we double the fundhng going
:14:48. > :14:52.forward for the Cabinet Offhce digital service, it is world
:14:53. > :14:57.beating, we made sure that over this parliament that is ?450 million to
:14:58. > :14:59.make sure that while there hs digital transformation in
:15:00. > :15:04.departments there is strong leadership from the centre. Given
:15:05. > :15:10.the recent media reports of cyber security breaches in the prhvate
:15:11. > :15:15.sector across the United Kingdom what steps are being taken to ensure
:15:16. > :15:19.there is no repeat, particularly on data protection issues and hn
:15:20. > :15:23.relation to government departments? We are as a country as well as both
:15:24. > :15:27.the government and the priv`te sector under constant cyber attack,
:15:28. > :15:31.and we need to make sure th`t we step up our game to respond to that.
:15:32. > :15:37.We are bringing in a nation`l cyber centre that will be a singld place
:15:38. > :15:42.of expertise under the GCHQ umbrella but clearly able to coordin`te and
:15:43. > :15:47.talk to wider society and btsiness to make sure that we have all of the
:15:48. > :15:55.expertise in one place, properly funded to take this fight on.
:15:56. > :15:58.Question number four, Mr Spdaker. The electoral commission will
:15:59. > :16:01.publish its assessment of the 2 15th annual canvass in spring next
:16:02. > :16:06.year but in the meantime thdre is a growing acceptance that while the
:16:07. > :16:09.annual canvass is an essenthal tool in maintaining accurate reghsters
:16:10. > :16:13.the process is taking -- usdd to undertake are increasingly tnder --
:16:14. > :16:18.out of date, they were developed in an analogue and not a digit`l world
:16:19. > :16:20.and we will look to provide our registration officers more
:16:21. > :16:24.discretion to adapt their activities to make the canvass more effective
:16:25. > :16:31.in future. I thank the Minister for his answer, only 6.4% of holeowners
:16:32. > :16:34.are not on the electoral register, yet of those living in rentdd
:16:35. > :16:39.accommodation this figure is a massive 36.7%. The government has
:16:40. > :16:43.made and is making it harder for generation rents to get on the
:16:44. > :16:47.property ladder or to obtain a secure tenancy. Is that why they do
:16:48. > :16:52.not want to hear the voices of private renters in our democracy? Mr
:16:53. > :16:56.Speaker we do want to hear everybody's voice in our delocracy,
:16:57. > :16:59.and therefore one of the thhngs we are aiming to do in this new
:17:00. > :17:03.approach in the speech I mentioned in my initial response is to look at
:17:04. > :17:06.other ways to make better contact with those groups which are
:17:07. > :17:11.underrepresented and to makd sure that one of them gets to usd their
:17:12. > :17:15.voice and democratic right. On the topic of using other ways to contact
:17:16. > :17:20.people to register their vote, has the Minister considered using credit
:17:21. > :17:26.reference agencies as a way to list electoral register nation? That is
:17:27. > :17:28.an intriguing and to meet ndw idea, I would be very interested to hear
:17:29. > :17:35.anything more the honourabld gentleman may have the suggdstion
:17:36. > :17:38.that area. Question five. I am glad to be able to tell the honotrable
:17:39. > :17:43.member that the Autumn Statdment significantly increased the funding
:17:44. > :17:48.for this involuntary and social sector in the Cabinet Officd, and
:17:49. > :17:51.that has enabled us to expand the National citizens service and expand
:17:52. > :17:55.our efforts on social impact bonds and I am delighted to see that in
:17:56. > :17:59.the honourable member's own constituency Kirkley 's council has
:18:00. > :18:02.issued a very good contact with the voluntary sector showing how they
:18:03. > :18:06.can collaborate with them and I very much hope that they will be able to
:18:07. > :18:10.take advantage of the extra funds now available. I thank the Linister
:18:11. > :18:13.for that answer but as he whll be aware country is in the grip of a
:18:14. > :18:18.growing social care crisis, significant funding shortfalls
:18:19. > :18:23.projected by 2020 and huge pressures on families, carers and the NHS in
:18:24. > :18:27.my constituency and nationwhde. Can he specifically say what pl`ns he
:18:28. > :18:33.has the support those charities currently plugging the gap hn terms
:18:34. > :18:38.of care but under enormous strain? The Treasury Secretary as a whole as
:18:39. > :18:42.an income of about 40 million per year which is stable but I have been
:18:43. > :18:48.looking at the council accotnts for her own area and it turns ott that
:18:49. > :18:53.the Kirklees Council as ?200 million of usable, and used reserves. The
:18:54. > :19:03.problems to which the reserve - referrers are not real ones. Number
:19:04. > :19:07.six Mr Speaker. Mr David Burrows. Dublin complex needs effecthvely has
:19:08. > :19:19.been something of a holy gr`il out of reach, so could I suggest ?1 5
:19:20. > :19:21.million to tackle this issud? I agree with my honourable frhend who
:19:22. > :19:26.has been a passionate advoc`te of social impact bonds, this is a huge
:19:27. > :19:29.change in the way our country is organised. If we can get to the
:19:30. > :19:34.point where we are actually paying for outcomes and not for inputs
:19:35. > :19:37.through social impact bonds which we leave it up the amount that
:19:38. > :19:40.government putting on behalf of taxpayers with huge other
:19:41. > :19:44.contributions from the priv`te sector and those double bottom line
:19:45. > :19:50.investors we could see a huge transformation in public services.
:19:51. > :19:53.Mr Speaker, thank you. Last week the Minister said that the government
:19:54. > :19:57.was committed to a flourishhng civil society but the recent spending
:19:58. > :20:01.review exposed that the offhce for the civil society is to be hollowed
:20:02. > :20:05.out to just a handful of civil servants and is now describdd by the
:20:06. > :20:09.sector as just a name on thd door. Does the Minister agree with me that
:20:10. > :20:12.this is the last clear admission that the big society agenda is now
:20:13. > :20:16.dead and was never anything but a cover for cuts to public services,
:20:17. > :20:22.has served its purpose and hs now to be wound down? I am sorry that the
:20:23. > :20:26.honourable lady did not takd in what I was seeing in the earlier answer,
:20:27. > :20:30.actually the funding for thd voluntary community sector has
:20:31. > :20:35.increased very significantlx in the Autumn Statement, and I havd to pay
:20:36. > :20:37.tribute to the officials in the office of civil society who answer
:20:38. > :20:41.to my honourable friend the Minister for civil society, in my experience
:20:42. > :20:43.they are amongst the finest in Whitehall and will continue their
:20:44. > :20:55.work with this increased budget they will be able to do mord, not
:20:56. > :20:58.less. Chris White. , one. The Cabinet Office is responsible for
:20:59. > :21:02.increasing the efficiency of government, and for deliverhng the
:21:03. > :21:06.government's agenda and I al happy to say that with the help of the
:21:07. > :21:10.fine civil servants to whom I just referred we are doing just that
:21:11. > :21:17.Cookie Minister outlined thd steps the governor to sticking to promote
:21:18. > :21:20.social enterprise, one of the finest sectors. My honourable friend is
:21:21. > :21:25.right, this government is totally committed to the social entdrprise
:21:26. > :21:30.sector, part of that is a m`tter of leading by example, which is why
:21:31. > :21:37.with many of my honourable friend I sever my own village communhty shop,
:21:38. > :21:40.we all undertake these things, it is about treating the frameworks within
:21:41. > :21:42.which social enterprise can flourish and that comes back to the point
:21:43. > :21:48.that my honourable friend w`s making Elliott that the social imp`ct bonds
:21:49. > :21:56.offer a whole new future for the social enterprise sector. M`ny
:21:57. > :22:02.volunteers on the emergency services, the Fire And Rescte
:22:03. > :22:06.Services are heroically leading rescue efforts in the flooddd North
:22:07. > :22:11.West region this week, the services have been at the receiving dnd of
:22:12. > :22:16.some savage cuts on the front line, resulting in an told pressures. 87
:22:17. > :22:21.jobs in Cumbria have been lost. Is it not time, Mr Speaker, th`t as
:22:22. > :22:27.part of a modern civil conthngency that emergency national str`tegic
:22:28. > :22:31.plans that this government hs agrees that Phil rescue being fullx be
:22:32. > :22:37.sourced, statutory duty of the Fire and Rescue Service and cannx
:22:38. > :22:42.ministers say if this issue of national importance was discussed
:22:43. > :22:46.that the government Cobra mdetings? Mr Speaker 1st of May I welcome the
:22:47. > :22:54.honourable member to his pl`ce, and look forward to speaking with him on
:22:55. > :22:58.this and many other matters. The fact of the matter is that we not
:22:59. > :23:06.only protected the budget for the police in the recent statemdnt but
:23:07. > :23:08.the emergency services have done a fantastic job of reducing the amount
:23:09. > :23:14.of damaging fires that have been over the last Parliament and have
:23:15. > :23:17.been improving the efficiency and been improving the work that they do
:23:18. > :23:24.which is vital to keeping pdople safe. In the last year therd have
:23:25. > :23:28.been no hundred and 22 millhon visits to God .uk website, hs this
:23:29. > :23:33.in mind with the Minister's expectations and how can thd service
:23:34. > :23:37.before the improved? The website is of course one of the first parts of
:23:38. > :23:42.the work that we have done to make sure that this government is
:23:43. > :23:48.digitally enabled and just to make citizens lives easier by making it
:23:49. > :23:51.easier to interact with govdrnment. The number of hits, the amotnt of
:23:52. > :23:56.use is far higher than anyone expected which is a tribute to the
:23:57. > :24:04.work of the people who put ht together. Questions and answers must
:24:05. > :24:09.be heard! Mr Alan Thompson. Regarding the SS and bypass the
:24:10. > :24:13.network, 12% of the UK SMEs still needs to be more than 90 daxs to be
:24:14. > :24:18.paid by suppliers, and the Linister update the house on progress to meet
:24:19. > :24:21.targets for payments to suppliers? We change the rules last ye`r to
:24:22. > :24:26.make sure that when the govdrnment buys from the private sector,
:24:27. > :24:29.payments must be made within 30 days and that cascade all the wax down
:24:30. > :24:34.the supply chain but I can `lso report to the house Mr Speaker that
:24:35. > :24:37.we have hit our target for ` quarter of all government procurement to go
:24:38. > :24:44.to small businesses and we now want to increase at target from one
:24:45. > :24:46.quarter to one third. What plans does the Minister have to ensure
:24:47. > :24:51.that those groups currently underrepresented on the electoral
:24:52. > :24:57.roll do indeed registered to vote? We are fully committed to bringing
:24:58. > :25:01.in more underrepresented groups into electoral participation, th`t is why
:25:02. > :25:07.we are working with various groups to bring people in from the BME
:25:08. > :25:10.communities but I draw my honourable friend's attention to the
:25:11. > :25:15.interesting experiments tridd at Sheffield University to nudge the
:25:16. > :25:19.student population to sign tp for automatic registration systdms and
:25:20. > :25:23.we are looking carefully at that. If it does indeed transpire th`t there
:25:24. > :25:29.are fewer people on the new electoral register, will thd
:25:30. > :25:32.government consider this a success or failure? I think what thd
:25:33. > :25:35.honourable gentleman is missing is that what has happened as a result
:25:36. > :25:39.of the measures that have bden taken is to eliminate people who were not
:25:40. > :25:43.in the address at which thex had previously been registered `t and to
:25:44. > :25:49.get an accurate register his name of democracy, not a defect democracy.
:25:50. > :25:58.The voice of filth and Bradley Stone must be heard! -- the voice of
:25:59. > :26:00.Felton. Can I ask what the government is doing to incrdase
:26:01. > :26:04.social mobility in the civil service?
:26:05. > :26:07.My honourable friend asks an important question because hf the
:26:08. > :26:11.civil service is to work to support the whole country it needs to
:26:12. > :26:14.reflect the old country so we are taking steps across the board to
:26:15. > :26:18.improve social mobility as well as other diversity in the civil service
:26:19. > :26:22.and one of the most exciting part of that is the huge apprenticeship
:26:23. > :26:25.scheme that now allows people and encourages people from all
:26:26. > :26:34.backgrounds to have a successful career in the civil servants.
:26:35. > :26:35.Questions to the Prime Minister Chancellor of the