:00:00. > :00:00.of the day in both Houses of Parliament at 11 tonight, first,
:00:00. > :00:10.questions to the Cabinet Office Minister, Ben, full of second
:00:11. > :00:15.reading. -- Ben Gummer. Wednesday, 22nd of February, thank you.
:00:16. > :00:18.Although, questions to the Minister and... INAUDIBLE
:00:19. > :00:40.Neil Parish... Minor likeness, I beg your pardon!
:00:41. > :00:44.LAUGHTER The government published its review
:00:45. > :00:48.to the response of electoral fraud, on the 27th of December, the
:00:49. > :00:53.response clearly sets out the action that the government intends to take
:00:54. > :00:55.out on each recommendation and proposes a conference programme for
:00:56. > :01:02.reforming the electoral system and making democracy more secure. My
:01:03. > :01:04.apologies to the both of you, I'm not sure who is more offended(!)
:01:05. > :01:10.LAUGHTER In December, 2008, I was an election
:01:11. > :01:13.observer in Bangladesh, because of previous voter fraud, they
:01:14. > :01:19.photographed 80 million people, and it was clearly identifiable when
:01:20. > :01:22.people went to vote map so has the government considered this, because
:01:23. > :01:26.in a democracy we need as many people devote as possible but we
:01:27. > :01:32.don't want theft of identity when people vote? A very good point made
:01:33. > :01:37.around international comparisons, many countries across the world
:01:38. > :01:40.including Canada, Brazil, Austria, that already have photographic ID
:01:41. > :01:44.when it comes to pulling stations including in Northern Ireland,
:01:45. > :01:48.introduced if 2003. The government is taking forward pilots in looking
:01:49. > :01:53.forward at electoral identification, this will take place in local
:01:54. > :01:57.government elections of 2018, we will test various forms of
:01:58. > :02:02.identification, photographic ID, non-photographic ID, to make sure no
:02:03. > :02:06.one is disenfranchised. The government talk of voter fraud is a
:02:07. > :02:14.smoke screen for voter suppression. Macro Barack
:02:15. > :02:20.they are putting obstacles between people and the voting booth, instead
:02:21. > :02:23.of boosting democracy. If it is such a problem, can the Minister report
:02:24. > :02:28.family convictions there have been four voter fraud last year? I'm
:02:29. > :02:31.surprised the honourable gentleman for somehow claiming this was a
:02:32. > :02:35.smoke screen, it was a Labour government which introduced
:02:36. > :02:38.photographic ID in Northern Ireland in 2003, the electoral commission
:02:39. > :02:44.and all other administrators have called for ID in polling stations,
:02:45. > :02:49.when it comes to looking at IDE, we will test this vigorously when it
:02:50. > :02:53.comes to pilots and when it comes to convictions, 481 cases of voter
:02:54. > :02:56.fraud reported to the election commission and 184 additional cases
:02:57. > :03:04.reported to the police. -- when it comes to looking at ID. 30% of the
:03:05. > :03:09.population believe there is an issue with voter fraud when it comes to
:03:10. > :03:13.their local area and it is perception we are looking to tackle.
:03:14. > :03:17.The number of organisations that the Minister has just quoted, plus the
:03:18. > :03:22.organisation for Security and Corporation in Europe warned us that
:03:23. > :03:27.are a voting system is particularly vulnerable to identity theft. Given
:03:28. > :03:31.that all those countries that the Minister said, there is no evidence
:03:32. > :03:37.of any voter suppression, do you think, does the Minister think that
:03:38. > :03:40.those who seek to use these conspiracy theories are in grave
:03:41. > :03:46.risk of becoming apologists for electoral fraud? We are determined
:03:47. > :03:52.to ensure that we have a clear and secure democracy, that voters can
:03:53. > :03:55.have confidence in that system. As a government we have 46.5 million
:03:56. > :04:02.people on the electoral register, Turner increasing to 30.8 million in
:04:03. > :04:05.2015, we are determined to ensure that we have voter participation but
:04:06. > :04:09.it is right that if there is a public perception that fraud is an
:04:10. > :04:15.issue, perceptions can be as damaging as cases of fraud itself.
:04:16. > :04:18.Has the Minister made any equality impact assessment on recommendations
:04:19. > :04:23.which would ban the use of any language other than English or Welsh
:04:24. > :04:28.in pulling stations? When it comes to the package of measures that we
:04:29. > :04:32.reported back on Sir Eric's report, looking at the issue of language is
:04:33. > :04:34.an important one, it is important that when comes to electoral
:04:35. > :04:38.administrators doing their job and being confident that no one is put
:04:39. > :04:41.under it and you pressure when it comes to voting, that we look at the
:04:42. > :04:45.question of language. When it comes to government announcements, they
:04:46. > :04:49.will be thorough and analysed correctly and we will go through due
:04:50. > :04:56.process to make sure impact assessments are correctly cooperated
:04:57. > :05:01.with. Number two, Mr Speaker. With your permission, I shall answer this
:05:02. > :05:04.question, and question three and five together. In response to the
:05:05. > :05:10.review of electoral fraud by my right honourable friend, we outline
:05:11. > :05:15.the intention to run a number of pilot schemes, at a number of local
:05:16. > :05:20.authority areas in 2018, the purpose of this is to test the impact on
:05:21. > :05:25.elections of asking collectors to present identification. Would my
:05:26. > :05:31.friend agree with me that voting is one of the most important duties of
:05:32. > :05:37.a citizen, and introducing proof of ID would bring voting into line with
:05:38. > :05:44.other everyday transactions like buying a mortgage or renting a car?
:05:45. > :05:47.I agree with my honourable friend, when it comes to voting there cannot
:05:48. > :05:51.be a important transaction that you can make over five years the two
:05:52. > :06:01.elected your counsellor or MP, it is right that that process is
:06:02. > :06:04.respected. -- -- than to elect. Turning up and claiming your name as
:06:05. > :06:10.your identity, does not happen anywhere else and it is time to
:06:11. > :06:14.bring democracy up-to-date. Voter fraud is unacceptable and I welcome
:06:15. > :06:19.any measure to secure democracy. Swindon borough council has
:06:20. > :06:23.repeatedly been commended for good election practice, with the Minister
:06:24. > :06:28.consider us for future pilots? I would like to thank my honourable
:06:29. > :06:31.friend for his question, we have a great deal of interest from local
:06:32. > :06:35.authorities in the pilot process, at the moment we are conducting a
:06:36. > :06:39.review to decide exactly what the form most pilots will take, some
:06:40. > :06:42.will be photographic ID, some will be non-photographic ID, at the same
:06:43. > :06:48.time we are determined to ensure that interested local authorities
:06:49. > :06:52.can come forward in due time to participate. I addressed the
:06:53. > :06:57.Association of electoral administrators at their annual
:06:58. > :07:03.conference on Friday in Brighton, and 40% supported introducing ID in
:07:04. > :07:07.polling stations. My honourable friend is absolutely right, this is
:07:08. > :07:11.common practice in many sophisticated democracies around the
:07:12. > :07:17.world, what best practice has the government been taking on those
:07:18. > :07:21.other countries? One double friend is entirely right, by introducing
:07:22. > :07:22.pilot schemes we will provide invaluable learning for
:07:23. > :07:26.strengthening the electoral system but we also want to learn from
:07:27. > :07:29.international comparisons such as canister, Austria and Brazil which
:07:30. > :07:36.require voter identification. Voters in Northern Ireland, as stated, have
:07:37. > :07:42.had to present identification since 1985 and photographic since 2003,
:07:43. > :07:45.further information is available on the report, and we will consider
:07:46. > :07:51.these international comparisons going forward. Thank you Mr Speaker,
:07:52. > :07:54.the government is deluding itself if it thinks that impersonation is the
:07:55. > :07:59.main challenge to the integrity of the democratic system, in fact, a
:08:00. > :08:02.main challenge to its integrity and credibility is the fact that
:08:03. > :08:05.millions of our fellow citizens who are entitled to vote do not do so,
:08:06. > :08:09.would the government not be better to spend time and money on pilot
:08:10. > :08:14.projects designed to increase participation such as a radical
:08:15. > :08:18.overhaul of how we teach democratic rights in schools, pursuing online
:08:19. > :08:24.voting, and most of all, automatic voter registration, so that the
:08:25. > :08:30.ability to vote is not something you have to apply for. I'm grateful for
:08:31. > :08:34.him to raise that point, we have a record 46.5 million people now on
:08:35. > :08:38.the electoral register, Turner at elections is at a record level, what
:08:39. > :08:47.we can and must do more. The idea of a Clare and -- the idea of a clear
:08:48. > :08:51.democracy is important. INAUDIBLE I will be setting out the democratic
:08:52. > :08:56.engagement strategy later in the spring, which will set out further
:08:57. > :09:01.pilots. INAUDIBLE Will the Minister give the assurance
:09:02. > :09:05.that the issue of postal vote applications and proxy vote
:09:06. > :09:09.applications which also can be the subject can be kept under review in
:09:10. > :09:15.terms of identification of the accurate person who is supposed to
:09:16. > :09:18.be applying for the postal vote? I'm very grateful for that point being
:09:19. > :09:23.raised, when we publish the response to Eric Pickles's report, the top
:09:24. > :09:27.line was ID in polling stations but there are an entire package of
:09:28. > :09:30.measures that include looking again at postal vote fraud, and banning
:09:31. > :09:36.harvesting of personal votes by political parties and eliminating
:09:37. > :09:42.the number of postal vote packs that can be handled by family members
:09:43. > :09:48.down to two. The electoral commission tells us 3.5 million
:09:49. > :09:50.genuine legitimate electors do not have valid pieces of photo
:09:51. > :09:57.identification which would be required in the trials and they risk
:09:58. > :10:02.being denied their votes. The motion was recently asked opposing the
:10:03. > :10:07.trial in Kendal, Burnley are considering a similar motion, when
:10:08. > :10:11.will the Minister abandoned his Republican party's playbook on voter
:10:12. > :10:16.suppression and listen to the sensible voice of the good folk of
:10:17. > :10:19.Lancashire? The honourable lady mentions the electoral commission,
:10:20. > :10:22.what she omitted to say was that they have stated the full and
:10:23. > :10:27.considered response from the government and the announcement of
:10:28. > :10:30.the intention to pilot measures, the election commission are in favour of
:10:31. > :10:35.introducing photographic ID when it comes to elections, what we have
:10:36. > :10:38.said, when it comes to the pilots, we want evidence -based policy
:10:39. > :10:42.making, that is why we will have pilots that look at photographic ID,
:10:43. > :10:45.and non-photographic ID, but let me say, when it comes to ensuring
:10:46. > :10:49.people will be able to vote I will not be denying anybody that
:10:50. > :10:53.franchise we are protecting communities that are most vulnerable
:10:54. > :10:56.from actually casting their vote in a secret ballot. We must protect
:10:57. > :11:01.against and you've implements. I'm surprised she does not take this
:11:02. > :11:09.seriously. -- we must protect against undue. INAUDIBLE
:11:10. > :11:25.It is perfectly legal for local authorities to be able to set their
:11:26. > :11:31.own procurement rules, taking into account additional factors such as
:11:32. > :11:35.human rights record and environmental impact? Local
:11:36. > :11:38.authorities must comply with European Union law, they are
:11:39. > :12:06.enshrined in the public contracts. Would my right honourable friend
:12:07. > :12:11.Tommy Hamid a people he has in his departmental staff that run a small
:12:12. > :12:17.businesses and can understand small businesses when they seek to procure
:12:18. > :12:23.public-sector contracts and against bureaucracy? My team of two
:12:24. > :12:29.comprises of one person who has run several small businesses and one who
:12:30. > :12:33.is a sole trader. That is 100% fulfilment on his request. We also
:12:34. > :12:40.have a small enterprise ambassador who worked at the council to make
:12:41. > :12:47.sure we are doing exactly as he wishes. Before he quit a friend of
:12:48. > :12:53.mine empowered Waitrose managers... I'm not blaming him! Empowered
:12:54. > :13:00.Waitrose managers to go out and procure local products. Cover not
:13:01. > :13:05.give similar encouragement to bodies like county and district councils? I
:13:06. > :13:09.commend everything that the honourable gentleman's and has done.
:13:10. > :13:13.I know he will bring that expertise in due course to the people of the
:13:14. > :13:19.West Midlands. What I will say is that although councils and public
:13:20. > :13:22.bodies cannot choose according to geographical criteria, what they can
:13:23. > :13:27.and must do is take into account the social value of the procurement
:13:28. > :13:31.policies and that is why there is latitude for them to have similar
:13:32. > :13:36.approaches to the one that his friend conducted at Waitrose.
:13:37. > :13:41.Ministers have talked a great deal about linking apprenticeships to
:13:42. > :13:52.public procurement contracts, a sensible use of public funds to meet
:13:53. > :13:56.both the schools agenda. The commission confirmed last week that
:13:57. > :14:02.only 10% of new apprenticeships are taken from those from low-income
:14:03. > :14:06.families. Given the Cabinet Office's unique place to promote this agenda,
:14:07. > :14:12.what is the minister doing to tackle this unacceptable situation? The
:14:13. > :14:16.honourable gentleman raises are just point. The whole point behind the
:14:17. > :14:20.apprenticeship programme is to give opportunities to people who would
:14:21. > :14:26.not otherwise have them. That is why the 3 million target we have is
:14:27. > :14:29.important. The public sector will contribute a significant proportion.
:14:30. > :14:36.I'm responsible for the civil service component of that which is
:14:37. > :14:39.successful. We've launched the standards that will surround some of
:14:40. > :14:44.the civil service apprenticeships and a hope in time we will fulfil
:14:45. > :14:55.Philby aspiration we both had that it will help social mobility. The
:14:56. > :14:57.government has identified photographic and non-photographic
:14:58. > :15:03.identification that will test ID on all aspects of election, including
:15:04. > :15:07.turnout. I know the electoral commission on the report in Northern
:15:08. > :15:12.Ireland said that less than 1% of voters were affected by photo ID.
:15:13. > :15:17.That is why we want to look at both to make sure there is no
:15:18. > :15:23.disenfranchisement taking place in our pilot. The Electoral Commission
:15:24. > :15:28.reported in 2016 that 3.5 electors will have no appropriate form of
:15:29. > :15:31.photo IDs. Why is it that the government is ignoring
:15:32. > :15:36.recommendations to have a voluntary voter card which would allow those
:15:37. > :15:40.2.5 million people to vote? The honourable gentleman is a fine
:15:41. > :15:44.historian. Like me he believes in looking at evidence -based policy
:15:45. > :15:49.making, which is why we have constructed the pilots to make sure
:15:50. > :15:53.there is photographic and non-photographic identification. If
:15:54. > :15:57.there is anyone who has no form of identification, we will make
:15:58. > :16:01.provisions for them. When it comes to the electoral ID card rolling out
:16:02. > :16:09.across the country, it will be expensive and we have no plans to do
:16:10. > :16:14.so. Workforce planning is primarily the responsibility of each
:16:15. > :16:23.individual department, but in answer to her specific question, civil
:16:24. > :16:33.service headcount reduced by 303,090 -- 3390. Will he publish the
:16:34. > :16:39.assessment regarding Brexit and the work streams that have been cut. We
:16:40. > :16:43.have worked since July to make sure we have the proper resources in
:16:44. > :16:47.place to make sure our exit from the European Union is done effectively
:16:48. > :16:54.and efficiently. Departmental plans will have the kind of outline she is
:16:55. > :16:59.seeking. As my honourable friend continues to modernise the civil
:17:00. > :17:06.service headcount, will he make sure that apprenticeships will lead
:17:07. > :17:10.towards a more diverse workforce to serve our communities? I will assure
:17:11. > :17:15.my honourable friend precisely that. My predecessor started a programme
:17:16. > :17:20.of understanding better the social and economic make-up of the civil
:17:21. > :17:23.service and we will make sure that there is more social equality and
:17:24. > :17:40.diversity in our civil service. We are seeking to find savings of
:17:41. > :17:49.?15 billion by 2020. We have achieved the 3p in the last year. As
:17:50. > :17:53.a councillor I have seen how the commissioning of services from one
:17:54. > :18:00.provider by different public sector bodies can drive down costs,
:18:01. > :18:04.providing high-quality services at lower costs. Are there lessons to be
:18:05. > :18:10.learnt from all sectors of government and this programme is
:18:11. > :18:20.evidence that the public sector can deliver more for less. He is right
:18:21. > :18:25.to point out the Cabinet programme, but many of the lessons we can learn
:18:26. > :18:37.is from local government and others in terms of sharing services and
:18:38. > :18:41.cutting costs. Will he ensure that the public services can share data
:18:42. > :18:45.because that will provide efficiency? There is a bill passing
:18:46. > :18:56.through the house that will do just that. We are committed to
:18:57. > :19:06.improving public services with advanced technology. We are doing
:19:07. > :19:11.server using tools such as verified. I would liken to reassure the house
:19:12. > :19:16.and the government that he is doing everything he can to make sure that
:19:17. > :19:20.people can access public services online, particularly for those hard
:19:21. > :19:31.to reach groups, like in my rural constituencies.
:19:32. > :19:37.By ensuring we have good broadband connections are my honourable
:19:38. > :19:45.friend's constituency, we will make sure they can access the information
:19:46. > :19:51.online. The Cabinet Office is the centre of government. The department
:19:52. > :19:56.is responsible for delivering a democracy that works for everyone.
:19:57. > :20:00.We are also driving efficiencies to make government work better. Can the
:20:01. > :20:06.Minister provides an update on any progress with the PM's order to
:20:07. > :20:11.tackle racial disparities, given so much is already known about these
:20:12. > :20:19.disparities. Should not then the government be getting on with doing
:20:20. > :20:23.the great -- a great deal more about them now rather than waiting for an
:20:24. > :20:29.audit. I find that a surprising thing from the honourable lady. It
:20:30. > :20:32.was this government and this Prime Minister that commissioned the
:20:33. > :20:40.racial disparity audit. Her party when in power have 13 years to do it
:20:41. > :20:43.and did not. I'm proud of what the Prime Minister has done, we will be
:20:44. > :20:47.publishing the audit within the next three months and she will be excited
:20:48. > :21:02.by the possibilities of making things better in this country. Safe
:21:03. > :21:07.tech engineering offers security for cyber issues. They need to be
:21:08. > :21:23.licensed by another list company of the MoD. Will businesses be able to
:21:24. > :21:28.access the markets they need? I have a responsibility for small and
:21:29. > :21:34.medium enterprises and I will take forward his concern to make sure
:21:35. > :21:46.they are represented. Since 2010 the has been more than 100,000 civil
:21:47. > :21:49.service jobs gone. The 300 new recruits for the Brexit department,
:21:50. > :21:54.is the Minister really, really serious that the UK are properly
:21:55. > :22:01.prepared to enter the most complex negotiations for generations? The
:22:02. > :22:08.reality is it is an absolute shambles. I am fully confident and I
:22:09. > :22:26.am fully confident that the civil service and the marvellous people
:22:27. > :22:31.who... Last week I met with the Sussex Police to discuss issues
:22:32. > :22:38.including electoral fraud. What steps are being taken to make sure
:22:39. > :22:44.that the government are involved with the returning officers. Last
:22:45. > :22:51.Friday I addressed a conference of the National police chiefs and
:22:52. > :22:55.electoral commission setting out why things need to be done. There have
:22:56. > :22:59.been cases in the past were convictions have not been followed
:23:00. > :23:06.through. It is wrong and I hope that changes in the future. One of the
:23:07. > :23:10.government publish departmental performance regarding its commitment
:23:11. > :23:19.to deliver ever higher levels of UK steel content in procurement policy?
:23:20. > :23:23.My honourable friend knows it was this government that established a
:23:24. > :23:26.far more rigorous understanding of how still content was in public
:23:27. > :23:33.procurement policy. I will update him on the progress we are making. I
:23:34. > :23:39.applaud the government's efforts to give more contracts to small and
:23:40. > :23:46.medium-size enterprises and the use of technologies such as their
:23:47. > :23:52.websites. How many businesses are signed up to this website and how
:23:53. > :23:57.can I get more businesses in Wisbech to sign up? As of yesterday there
:23:58. > :24:09.were 15,007 job and 45 businesses signed up. -- 15700 and 45. It is
:24:10. > :24:15.easy to sign up and the best he can do is to tell them to do so. Will
:24:16. > :24:23.the Minister enhance strength in the Northern Powerhouse to make sure it
:24:24. > :24:26.you'll sure SMEs can take advantage of public procurement contracts? In
:24:27. > :24:37.the methods I have been describing today, I shall. Will my right
:24:38. > :24:45.honourable friend accept that when we are told that it's good to talk,
:24:46. > :24:49.government departments are making it infinitely more difficult for
:24:50. > :24:53.members to contact private offices on behalf of their constituents
:24:54. > :24:59.because of the inaccuracies and the withdrawal of the central register
:25:00. > :25:03.of private office numbers? Can the Minister tell us when the practice
:25:04. > :25:08.of putting the communal number in the register will be stopped and the
:25:09. > :25:17.individual numbers of ministers private offices are stored as it was
:25:18. > :25:20.so began a public communication between ministers officers and
:25:21. > :25:27.members on behalf of other constituents? Mr Speaker, I own
:25:28. > :25:31.members an apology for this. If it is true that some of the telephone
:25:32. > :25:35.numbers in the directory were both inaccurate and some were general
:25:36. > :25:39.numbers. The revision is being made quarterly. The next one is in March
:25:40. > :25:42.and I have instructed all departments to provide private
:25:43. > :25:50.office numbers as members rightly expect. Order. Questions to be Prime
:25:51. > :26:08.Minister. Mr Toby Perkins. In addition to my duties I shall
:26:09. > :26:10.have further such meetings today Mr Speaker, the Government chose to