:00:00. > :00:08.round-up of the Cabinet officer's questions, Ben Gummer. Second
:00:09. > :00:19.reading. Wednesday the 29th of March at 4pm. Thank you, orator. Questions
:00:20. > :00:31.to the Minister for the Cabinet office and the Chancellor of the
:00:32. > :00:35.Duchy of Lancaster. Cyber attacks are growing with more frequent,
:00:36. > :00:38.sophisticated and damaging. The Government will ensure that it
:00:39. > :00:42.protects all its services and products from cybercrime and will
:00:43. > :00:47.ensure that all systems are designed with cyber security and appropriate
:00:48. > :00:51.purposes described in place. I am grateful to the Minister for that
:00:52. > :00:55.answer, but I wonder if he can be assured of it further that the
:00:56. > :01:01.strategy puts more and more of our data online, or a tax is on her
:01:02. > :01:08.health and so on, but none of that data will be at risk of ending up in
:01:09. > :01:12.the wrong hands? I am very grateful to the right honourable gentleman
:01:13. > :01:16.for making the point. It is central to what we are doing to ensure that
:01:17. > :01:22.we are protecting not only the information that Government requires
:01:23. > :01:27.to keep confidential, but as importantly, citizens as well. That
:01:28. > :01:31.is partly why the website has been designed so it protects citizens'
:01:32. > :01:37.data in the enquiry is that the make of Government. Thank you, Mr
:01:38. > :01:45.Speaker. Last night, I had a very pleasant evening with Doctor Helen
:01:46. > :01:49.Stokes Lampard who is chairman of the Royal commerce of general
:01:50. > :01:54.practitioners and is my own personal GP from Lichfield. She was telling
:01:55. > :01:59.me that NHS data on patients will now go to be clouds at the system
:02:00. > :02:04.will work, of course, because there will be individual programmes that
:02:05. > :02:10.will access it, but how secure will be quoted be? Look like my
:02:11. > :02:18.honourable friend has doctors in high places. They would say to him
:02:19. > :02:21.is that for a specific enquiries about NHS digital services, his
:02:22. > :02:25.question should be directed to be secretary of state. I will ensure
:02:26. > :02:30.that you receive a proper reply from him. Our purpose is to make sure
:02:31. > :02:33.that we have the most secure Government information systems
:02:34. > :02:36.anywhere in the world and that is what lies behind the Government
:02:37. > :02:43.transformation strategy and the cyber strategy as well. The
:02:44. > :02:47.Government's strategy on big data is the wrong way around. It
:02:48. > :02:53.concentrates on big organisations with a central repository of data
:02:54. > :02:56.over people, when it should be an empowering state where individuals
:02:57. > :03:01.have control over their own data, not helped by big organisations.
:03:02. > :03:04.Concerning the Government, it is the latter that we are seeking to
:03:05. > :03:10.achieve. That is why it has been built as it has. It is important
:03:11. > :03:13.that citizens have complete faith in needed to help that the Government
:03:14. > :03:24.and if you're able to interrogate it in a way that is helpful to them.
:03:25. > :03:28.Could my honourable friend update the house on what action he is
:03:29. > :03:32.seeking to make sure businesses are aware of their responsibilities,
:03:33. > :03:36.particularly those that to trade with Government on cyber security so
:03:37. > :03:40.that businesses and Government are safe. I am grateful to my honourable
:03:41. > :03:44.friend for a reading important matter. I'd direct business is to
:03:45. > :03:47.look at the cyber essentials Pack which is on the national cyber
:03:48. > :03:52.Security Centre 's website. That gives the essentials of what
:03:53. > :03:55.business is candid protect themselves. It is the purpose of
:03:56. > :03:59.this to make sure that businesses who work with Government are dear to
:04:00. > :04:07.the same standards of cyber security that the Government expects of
:04:08. > :04:11.itself. I shall, with your permission, Mr Speaker, answer this
:04:12. > :04:16.question and the next few questions together. I published a policy Simon
:04:17. > :04:21.on the 3rd of March seeking feedback from interested parties by the 26th
:04:22. > :04:24.of May. I want to reflect the experiences of domestic abuse
:04:25. > :04:29.survivors of it are more easily exercise the right of old. This will
:04:30. > :04:38.help ensure we have a democracy that works for everyone. -- right to
:04:39. > :04:43.vote. We want to make it better for men and women who have suffered
:04:44. > :04:49.domestic abuse. Those men and women registering anonymously will not be
:04:50. > :04:51.on the electoral register? Names and addresses do not appear on the
:04:52. > :04:56.electoral register as a result of the application to register
:04:57. > :04:59.anonymously. The Government is opposing to make it easier for an
:05:00. > :05:04.applicant to demonstrate the safety by expanding the type of documentary
:05:05. > :05:07.evidence that is required. As part of the consultation process, we are
:05:08. > :05:10.looking at every point of contact that survivors of domestic abuse,
:05:11. > :05:16.cross to make sure that the exercise their right to vote. I warmly
:05:17. > :05:21.welcome the efforts to make it easier for victims of domestic abuse
:05:22. > :05:26.to register to vote, I have the all-important right to be hard. This
:05:27. > :05:30.has been raised in my surgeries of victims who have survived domestic
:05:31. > :05:35.abuse. One part of the plan is to reduce the number of testers by
:05:36. > :05:38.lowering the scenery team of police and social services and possibly
:05:39. > :05:43.expanding the number, will be Cheney are guidelines provided to help the
:05:44. > :05:49.money are called on to adjudicate in a specific case? I would like to
:05:50. > :05:54.thank the honourable friend for her question. The Cabinet will be
:05:55. > :05:57.working with any relevant bodies to provide the relevant guidance
:05:58. > :06:06.required. I commend the work the Government has done with women's's
:06:07. > :06:13.aid and other organisations. Others continue to ensure all types of
:06:14. > :06:17.abuse are heard at the ballot box? I've worked closely with these
:06:18. > :06:20.organisations over the past few months to explore what can be done
:06:21. > :06:25.to improve the anonymous registration process. To look
:06:26. > :06:29.forward to continuing this work with them and other domestic abuse
:06:30. > :06:33.charities going forward. In a 26 years before I was a Member of
:06:34. > :06:35.Parliament, I worked in the field of domestic abuse and I wanted as the
:06:36. > :06:39.Minister if you would make sure that he considers the scent of which
:06:40. > :06:43.domestic abuse perpetrators will go in their efforts to track down their
:06:44. > :06:47.victims, often for many months and years after the religion offended?
:06:48. > :06:51.Thank you for your contribution and her contribution any field of
:06:52. > :06:58.domestic violence work. Absolutely right, that will mimic at this
:06:59. > :07:01.particular issue of domestic abuse survivors, not just for five years,
:07:02. > :07:04.but for the rest of their life, we must ensure that when they have the
:07:05. > :07:09.right to vote, they are protected. We will carry that work forward as
:07:10. > :07:12.part of the consultation process and I would welcome any contribution,
:07:13. > :07:18.given her expertise, that she would like to make. It is great that the
:07:19. > :07:20.Government is showing bureaucratic flexibility to help domestic abuse
:07:21. > :07:26.victims doubled, but this flexibility should be brought into
:07:27. > :07:36.order. Will the Government build register to vote links into all its
:07:37. > :07:40.online service applications pages? With a of years, we have introduced
:07:41. > :07:44.the ability to ability to register to vote online, that has been highly
:07:45. > :07:48.successful would 24 million people taking that opportunity. As part of
:07:49. > :07:53.our engagement strategy published in the summer, I'm keen to look at the
:07:54. > :07:56.issue of Digital democracy, where it can work, and what to do with other
:07:57. > :08:00.departments to ensure that we have these points of contact and remove
:08:01. > :08:04.the get the user, we based the registration I read the user
:08:05. > :08:07.themselves. I will be going forward doing exactly that. Will the
:08:08. > :08:15.Minister ensure that where victims of the domestic abuse who are
:08:16. > :08:21.severely traumatised and have had difficulty applying for proxy or
:08:22. > :08:26.postal votes, the utmost secrecy is applied in future? The honourable
:08:27. > :08:29.gentleman is absolutely right. We need to ensure that we learn from
:08:30. > :08:32.the experiences of domestic abuse survivors and that that particular
:08:33. > :08:37.journey and ensure that women have the registration process, it works
:08:38. > :08:44.for these women and when we look at the point of contact, we provide the
:08:45. > :08:47.support they need going forwards. Obviously welcome that the
:08:48. > :08:50.Government seeks to protect the voting rights of domestic violence
:08:51. > :08:55.survivors by making anonymity easier. As with the announcement of
:08:56. > :08:59.a one off cash injection for specialist refugees, though much
:09:00. > :09:04.more than that is needed. You cannot usually vote if you have no fixed
:09:05. > :09:10.abode and the truth is, Women's Aid are estimating that one in six of
:09:11. > :09:18.all specialist refugees closed since 2010. And children and 150 women
:09:19. > :09:22.today are unable to find a specialist refugee. With the ensure
:09:23. > :09:25.that the inter-ministerial group no addresses between the central
:09:26. > :09:33.questions of providing sustainable funding for refugees and ensuring
:09:34. > :09:38.it, but is comprehensive plan for every refugee in the country? We
:09:39. > :09:45.have increased funding when it comes to looking at women's refuges. But
:09:46. > :09:47.by Minister has said that she will make women's issues one priority.
:09:48. > :09:51.When it comes to the issue of registration, let me be clear, this
:09:52. > :09:55.issue came to me through Women's Aid, through a Lady who herself was
:09:56. > :10:00.a survivor of domestic abuse. She fought bravely and put her name out
:10:01. > :10:03.there any public domain to campaign for other women. There are
:10:04. > :10:06.potentially 12,000 other women who cannot by virtue of the
:10:07. > :10:09.circumstances take that step to vote and we are determined to make sure
:10:10. > :10:16.we give them their boat and voice to heard. With your permission, Mr
:10:17. > :10:21.Speaker, I would like to answer this question and question of four
:10:22. > :10:25.together. This matter, Weller falls within the response ability of HM
:10:26. > :10:31.RIC, I am pleased to confirm that the Cabinet office and HMR is the
:10:32. > :10:35.officials are working together to deal with the issue of national
:10:36. > :10:39.insurance others, including notification letters. Any steps to
:10:40. > :10:44.improve voter registration have to be welcomed. With the Minister not
:10:45. > :10:50.agree that a cost-effective method of improving border registration
:10:51. > :10:53.would be better with automatic vote registration? The Government has
:10:54. > :10:57.been very clear in its determination to ensure that we have individual
:10:58. > :11:01.electoral registration. Voting is not just the right, it is a
:11:02. > :11:06.responsibility. I am delighted that when it comes looking at
:11:07. > :11:19.16-year-olds registering to vote, it has increased by 17.7%.
:11:20. > :11:31.The national insurance registration process is one way of doing that,
:11:32. > :11:36.but there are other methods. Online voting, as one of them. When I
:11:37. > :11:43.pressed the Cabinet Office on this, I was told there would be a plan by
:11:44. > :11:49.the spring. It is no spring. We've is the plan? Spring is indeed
:11:50. > :11:53.sprung. We will be publishing the plan shortly. We are committed to
:11:54. > :12:06.ensuring we have a democracy that works for everybody. We welcome the
:12:07. > :12:12.government commitment look at voting registration through national
:12:13. > :12:21.insurance numbers. Will the government commit to supporting an
:12:22. > :12:26.amendment from the other place on the higher education will to
:12:27. > :12:31.register all students on campus? Yesterday, I met with the Baroness
:12:32. > :12:38.to discuss this. I have been working with universities for several
:12:39. > :12:44.months. We are looking at other universities beginning to introduce
:12:45. > :12:48.it. It is rate we make it easier for electoral registration to work with
:12:49. > :12:57.universities which is why we are looking closely at this process.
:12:58. > :13:02.Number seven. The government is conducting an efficiency review. The
:13:03. > :13:09.Chief Secretary and I are leading the review. The Cabinet Office
:13:10. > :13:14.function will support and offer expertise to cut waste and
:13:15. > :13:21.inefficiency. What progress has been made with the civil departmental
:13:22. > :13:30.delivery plan across every part of government and how these cost
:13:31. > :13:34.savings and government initiatives can help deliver what we promised in
:13:35. > :13:41.the manifesto? This is only the first time in the history of
:13:42. > :13:46.government plans we have done this. It is exciting. We are a leading the
:13:47. > :13:54.plans for an efficiency review. We are going to play in government with
:13:55. > :14:00.money at the same time, as well. The overspend in Swansea has been ?1.2
:14:01. > :14:07.billion. There are so many and infrastructure projects
:14:08. > :14:13.overspending. What is a government going to do to ensure that these
:14:14. > :14:22.major projects are not going over budget? The rich rigorously look at
:14:23. > :14:30.the spend on these, which is why many of the over budget projects
:14:31. > :14:34.have been reduced. I hope the bigger projects coming all will be better
:14:35. > :14:45.frame than they have been in previous years. The United Kingdom
:14:46. > :14:53.is recognised as a world leader in transparency. We have published an
:14:54. > :14:57.unprecedented amount of data, including about the workings of
:14:58. > :15:05.government. We intend to do a lot more. Would motivate honourable
:15:06. > :15:10.friend outline how the government is supporting best practice to be the
:15:11. > :15:16.best and most transparent government in the world. We must learn from
:15:17. > :15:23.each other. That is why we are part of the open government community. We
:15:24. > :15:32.will continue to learn from each other, including from others within
:15:33. > :15:43.the G20. Should transparency beginner or warm and if so, breeders
:15:44. > :15:47.and their response to my letter in his department from the 19th of
:15:48. > :15:54.December, because I am yet to receive a response? I apologise if
:15:55. > :15:59.we have not responded. It is important to me that we respond
:16:00. > :16:06.quickly and courteously to all members. I will make sure she gets a
:16:07. > :16:12.response. I look forward to the final stages of my own Private
:16:13. > :16:19.members Bill which is pushing for public access to local audit
:16:20. > :16:22.information. But will reappear transparency at all levels of
:16:23. > :16:31.government and do the agree it is a crucial step to increasing trust? It
:16:32. > :16:35.was Margaret Thatcher who made it possible for local councils to
:16:36. > :16:40.conduct their dealings in public, something which we know take for
:16:41. > :16:47.granted. We need to improve if we're going to improve the trust between
:16:48. > :16:51.the people and the public bodies. I asked the Secretary of State for
:16:52. > :16:57.Scotland for how many meetings they have had with the Chancellor of the
:16:58. > :17:02.Exchequer. His answer was that he has lots of meetings. But the
:17:03. > :17:07.details were not disclosed. With the minister agree that the lack of
:17:08. > :17:14.transparency in that answer is a disgrace? The Secretary of State is
:17:15. > :17:18.on the bench. You could discuss it further with them. I know he has
:17:19. > :17:23.almost discussions every day with the Chancellor with regard to
:17:24. > :17:27.Scotland. That is why there was an additional ?350 million for Scotland
:17:28. > :17:31.within the budget, showing the advantages of Scotland's theme
:17:32. > :17:47.within the United Kingdom. Number nine. The Cabinet will help fund the
:17:48. > :18:01.registration of the electoral process. On behalf of the electoral
:18:02. > :18:06.commission, Edwards said that the levels of funding seeing that half
:18:07. > :18:10.of the local authorities say they have insufficient funds to maintain
:18:11. > :18:14.the electoral register. As the Minister not worried by that
:18:15. > :18:18.statistic and, if so, what other government going to do about it? We
:18:19. > :18:27.are committed to helping local authorities covering the cost of
:18:28. > :18:41.upkeep in the electoral register. Newcastle received ?145,000 in
:18:42. > :18:48.funding for that very matter. With an applicant 's identity cannot be
:18:49. > :18:59.identified in the first place, there are a number of ways we would
:19:00. > :19:06.support the application. Last year, it was reported that more than 25%
:19:07. > :19:13.of people knew the national insurance number. What assessment
:19:14. > :19:18.has been made with regard to registration? When it comes to the
:19:19. > :19:24.registration process, the electoral commission reported that we have a
:19:25. > :19:29.record 47.3 million people on the electoral register. 24 million
:19:30. > :19:35.people have used the application online using the national insurance
:19:36. > :19:45.number. There are alternatives. It works very effectively. Topical
:19:46. > :19:54.questions for the Cabinet Office and the Duchy of Lancaster. The Cabinet
:19:55. > :19:57.Office is the centre of government and responsible for the constitution
:19:58. > :20:15.and helping the government deliver public services. The House of Lords
:20:16. > :20:20.as amended the higher education Bill. What is the Minister going to
:20:21. > :20:31.do to assist the process of electoral registration within
:20:32. > :20:35.universities? As I stated earlier, i-mate to discuss the amendment and
:20:36. > :20:41.I'm committed to ensuring that more students can register more easily.
:20:42. > :20:44.The Cabinet Office funded the pilot in Sheffield in the first place and
:20:45. > :20:58.we are determined to carry on the work. What steps are the Cabinet
:20:59. > :21:09.Office taking to eliminate fraud and put in place standards? They were
:21:10. > :21:19.savings of ?730 million in the years 2015-16. The ministerial code
:21:20. > :21:26.clearly states that former ministers should report before any appointment
:21:27. > :21:29.and should not be able to report retrospectively. Can the minister
:21:30. > :21:34.explained why he gave different advice to the house during his
:21:35. > :21:39.response to the urgent question on Monday? Was that a mistake or a
:21:40. > :21:43.convenient change of heart within the space of a week? I think the
:21:44. > :21:50.honourable gentleman has made this point clear. They will consider all
:21:51. > :21:59.the evidence. It is important they do so without me prejudicing the
:22:00. > :22:06.decision by commenting on it. There is excessive noise. It is very
:22:07. > :22:12.discordant. Does my right honourable friend agree that we should strive
:22:13. > :22:25.to be as efficient as possible and, to that end, should we prioritise
:22:26. > :22:32.the interests of the people rather than vanity projects? The Liberal
:22:33. > :22:39.Democrats in Cornwall are not trying to use the money state programme to
:22:40. > :22:49.set up, which is what was set up to save money so it would help front
:22:50. > :22:56.line services. The honourable gentleman is right not responsible
:22:57. > :23:02.for what happens with an Cornwall. The response of a British attitude
:23:03. > :23:08.survey shows that only one quarter of people trust the government use
:23:09. > :23:13.of statistics. I was concerned that he would be by that. We need to make
:23:14. > :23:19.sure the independence of our statistics machine, which other
:23:20. > :23:25.countries look to us for advice, is shown to the public to be the best
:23:26. > :23:29.in the world, which I believe it is. Can my right honourable friend
:23:30. > :23:37.update the house on the progress being made on the race disparity
:23:38. > :23:45.audit? We have made considerable progress. We will be able to release
:23:46. > :23:49.the results later this year. It will be a moment of reckoning for this
:23:50. > :23:53.country as we face up to the very serious challenges we have ahead of
:23:54. > :24:01.us in making sure everyone has an equal opportunity over regardless of
:24:02. > :24:12.the background. ?200,000 of electoral spending was omitted from
:24:13. > :24:16.returns. An unwillingness to cooperate with the electoral
:24:17. > :24:19.commission. But the Conservatives can just shrug this off. Does the
:24:20. > :24:24.Minister agree there should have been a bigger punishment for the
:24:25. > :24:32.Conservatives breaking election spending rules? On this rule, the
:24:33. > :24:39.electoral commission have taken action against all parties across
:24:40. > :24:45.the political divide. Going forward, but it looks party funding, we have
:24:46. > :24:55.to make sure we keep control of them. We have to make sure this is
:24:56. > :25:05.transparent. There's far too much noise taking place. What steps as is
:25:06. > :25:11.a department seeking to maximise opportunities for United Kingdom
:25:12. > :25:19.industry? Does he have any get idea of how procurement guidelines are
:25:20. > :25:22.bidding down? We have brought in new guidelines to make sure we can
:25:23. > :25:29.support the United Kingdom steel industry. I will give the results
:25:30. > :25:45.quite shortly of how we have progressed so far. Thank you. With
:25:46. > :25:48.the Minister say that his views on digital culture should not be
:25:49. > :25:57.listened to, given his close relationship with a new editor of
:25:58. > :26:02.the London standout? My friend will make his own decisions about his
:26:03. > :26:09.ministerial future and I believe it is wrong to use the hose to make
:26:10. > :26:14.that sort of comment. How does he intend to expand the one public
:26:15. > :26:21.state initiative? It is an opportunity to create better
:26:22. > :26:26.services for our residents. This will not only allow us to save costs
:26:27. > :26:30.which can be used on the front line, but it means public services will be
:26:31. > :26:36.simpler for the citizens to be dealt with because they are situated on
:26:37. > :26:55.one place. Questions to the Prime Minister.
:26:56. > :26:58.I would like to express my condolences to the family and
:26:59. > :27:00.colleagues of the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, Martin
:27:01. > :27:07.We do not condone the path he took in the first period of his life.
:27:08. > :27:10.However, he played an indispensable role in bringing the republican
:27:11. > :27:15.movement away from violence to peaceful and democratic means and to
:27:16. > :27:18.building a better Northern Ireland. This morning I had meetings with
:27:19. > :27:21.ministerial colleagues and others and in addition to my duties in this
:27:22. > :27:26.has, I shall have further such meetings later today. The Prime
:27:27. > :27:27.Minister says that