:00:00. > :00:00.First questions to the Cabinet Office minister, Damian Green, and
:00:00. > :00:12.the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Patrick McLoughlin.
:00:13. > :00:17.Order, order. Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office and
:00:18. > :00:24.the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Minister Damian Green.
:00:25. > :00:30.Public sector pay policy has always been to designed to strike the right
:00:31. > :00:34.balance between being fair to public servants and fair to those who pay
:00:35. > :00:39.for them. The government will continue to assess their balance. I
:00:40. > :00:44.would ask the House to know that my wife is a primary school teacher in
:00:45. > :00:46.Scotland. According to an academic report this week of the average
:00:47. > :00:52.public sector earnings have fallen in the last decade by 6% up to ?3
:00:53. > :00:56.per hour for some people. With that in mind, can Minister advise whether
:00:57. > :01:02.he supports and wishes the government to follow follow the
:01:03. > :01:06.Scottish gunmen's lead to ending the 1% cap for public sector workers.
:01:07. > :01:11.Does he support what the former Prime Minister David Cameron said it
:01:12. > :01:15.is selfish to those campaigning for the enter the cap. I'm interested
:01:16. > :01:18.that the honourable gentleman brings up Scottish education, which he
:01:19. > :01:24.knows is the responsibility of the Scottish Government. I would point
:01:25. > :01:28.out that since 2010, in England, which discovered has responsibility,
:01:29. > :01:35.there are 15,500 more teachers than 2010. As he knows, the government
:01:36. > :01:38.asks independent public sector pay review bodies to recommend what
:01:39. > :01:43.should happen in each of the respective professions each year.
:01:44. > :01:46.The House may be interested to know that the government has accepted
:01:47. > :01:55.every recommendation by public sector pay review body since 2014.
:01:56. > :01:59.While we all have every sympathy of course with the public sector pay
:02:00. > :02:03.bodies, we should listen to what they say this with my honourable
:02:04. > :02:07.friend not agree, if we are to accede to every request we would
:02:08. > :02:14.have to pay for it by increasing spending and taxation? Which would
:02:15. > :02:18.you prefer? My honourable friend makes a perfectly valid point.
:02:19. > :02:24.Everybody in this House one 330 public sector workers. On this site
:02:25. > :02:28.we want to be fair to taxpayers. It does seem very important that we
:02:29. > :02:32.need to strike the right balance. If we do not strike the right balance.
:02:33. > :02:36.What we do is wrecked the economy, which is what would happen with the
:02:37. > :02:45.Labour Party's ridiculous un-costed proposal. Whilst cutting the real
:02:46. > :02:52.terms pay of nurses, police, firefighters and others, the PM has
:02:53. > :02:57.broken her round ?72,000 cap which she advocated for the salaries are
:02:58. > :03:02.political appointees. One third of her appointees earn more than that
:03:03. > :03:08.amount. Two due to start earn almost double that amount. How can they
:03:09. > :03:13.urge restraint for nurses, but no restraint at number ten? Change in
:03:14. > :03:18.the guidelines which the government gives to the pay review bodies. Will
:03:19. > :03:22.he reject the former Prime Minister'sdisgraceful slur that
:03:23. > :03:28.wanting to earn a decent X Sophie McKinna: the public sector is
:03:29. > :03:32.somehow selfish? -- a decent income. I hope he would recognise, as I've
:03:33. > :03:36.just said this government has accepted every recommendation by
:03:37. > :03:42.public sector pay review bodies since 2014. Striking the right
:03:43. > :03:47.balance between being fair to public sector workers and fair to taxpayers
:03:48. > :03:50.must be the right way forward. The suggestions they came during the
:03:51. > :03:56.election, and since from the Labour Party would lead to the situation we
:03:57. > :04:02.have seen the Greek people have to suffer, precisely because of
:04:03. > :04:08.irresponsible commitments by a government. What has happened, they
:04:09. > :04:11.have had to slash public services. Public services get worse under the
:04:12. > :04:24.economic policy advised by the Labour Party. With your permission I
:04:25. > :04:30.will take questions two and nine together. Since 2015 we have worked
:04:31. > :04:35.closely with the government's major strategic supplies to sign up to the
:04:36. > :04:40.prompt payment code. All 32 strategic suppliers we targeted in
:04:41. > :04:44.2015 have now signed up. Thank you very much Mr Speaker. Can my right
:04:45. > :04:49.honourable friend explained how we are speeding up the payments to
:04:50. > :04:54.companies, because cash flow is so important from government contracts?
:04:55. > :04:58.Are there ways we can make she contracts are the size that small
:04:59. > :05:03.and medium-size companies can bid more for government contracts than
:05:04. > :05:06.at the moment? I frank my honourable friend for that question. We know
:05:07. > :05:12.how important prompt payment is to small businesses. We are committed
:05:13. > :05:16.to making one primitive prompt paid practice. We have committed to
:05:17. > :05:22.increasing spend with SMEs directly and through the supply chain.
:05:23. > :05:24.Opening up the free to use contract finder website for supplies to
:05:25. > :05:32.advertise subcontracting opportunities. Cash flow is vital to
:05:33. > :05:36.small businesses in Chichester and throughout the country. What is the
:05:37. > :05:42.government ensuring to ensure they pay suppliers properly. I thank my
:05:43. > :05:45.honourable friend for that question. I would like to welcome her to the
:05:46. > :05:56.House. The government is committed to paying suppliers prompted. All
:05:57. > :05:58.public sector buyers must include a 30 day closing contracts. Requiring
:05:59. > :06:02.that this payment term be passed down the supply chain. Our own
:06:03. > :06:05.payment performance is published on a quarterly basis. The government is
:06:06. > :06:12.doing pretty well in meeting our targets. When my party becomes the
:06:13. > :06:19.government of this country very soon we will declare war on late
:06:20. > :06:23.payments. Requiring those bidding in the public sector contract to pay
:06:24. > :06:26.own suppliers with 30 days. Heavy fines for late payers. With the
:06:27. > :06:32.Conservatives be supporting us in opposition? I congratulate the
:06:33. > :06:36.honourable gentleman on his optimism. In fact, what this
:06:37. > :06:42.government has done is make sure that in many cases undisputed
:06:43. > :06:46.payment invoices are paid within five days. 96% of all contracts paid
:06:47. > :06:54.within 30 days when the invoices are not disputed. The prompt payment
:06:55. > :07:00.code has not done enough to address the scourge of late payment. ?26
:07:01. > :07:06.billion owed an average of 72 days taken to pay invoices. Stop paying
:07:07. > :07:12.lip service to the problem, take the action needed by smaller businesses
:07:13. > :07:16.who just want to be paid on time. The honourable gentleman is right to
:07:17. > :07:20.point out what a problem this is for small business in particular. I
:07:21. > :07:24.would like to draw attention to the government's mystery shopper
:07:25. > :07:28.service. Securing positive outcome for the vast majority of companies
:07:29. > :07:32.bringing disputed payments to our attention. To the co-signatories
:07:33. > :07:41.signed up to the independent code on board. The urge all people not being
:07:42. > :07:46.paid on time to go to that. I will take questions three, five and 13
:07:47. > :07:50.together. The government believes electoral fraud unacceptable on any
:07:51. > :07:54.level. We have a clear party building in democracy clear and
:07:55. > :07:59.secure and we will work closely with key partner organisations to deliver
:08:00. > :08:03.a comprehensive of work for our electoral system and strengthening
:08:04. > :08:08.electoral integrity. If the Minister where there is clear evidence that
:08:09. > :08:12.many students posted on social media about voting twice, once at
:08:13. > :08:18.university, once at home? Surely this is straightforward electoral
:08:19. > :08:21.fraud? The offence of double voting, that he raises is completely
:08:22. > :08:35.unacceptable. Nothing less than an abuse of our democracy. I am meeting
:08:36. > :08:37.with Sir John Holmes the chair of the election commission this
:08:38. > :08:40.afternoon, and intend to raise this as a priority. Let us be clear in
:08:41. > :08:43.this House, this is a crime. If anyone has any evidence of people
:08:44. > :08:45.voting twice, return this to your local returning officer. And the
:08:46. > :08:48.police. You must take this seriously. Can my honourable friend
:08:49. > :08:54.provide more information as to how the introduction of individual
:08:55. > :08:58.electoral registration has prevented electoral fraud. What current
:08:59. > :09:02.checksum in place to ensure a person is eligible to vote when they
:09:03. > :09:06.register online? The digital service operated by the Cabinet Office check
:09:07. > :09:09.the details provided by the applicant, including National
:09:10. > :09:12.Insurance number against government data before passing the application
:09:13. > :09:18.on to the relevant local administration teams. It has been
:09:19. > :09:22.highlighted that when someone goes to vote, all they need is a name and
:09:23. > :09:26.address. In theory someone could get hold of a telephone directory and
:09:27. > :09:31.vote all day in different polling stations. Does the Minister agree
:09:32. > :09:36.with me it is time for photo ID to prevent electoral fraud? Might
:09:37. > :09:41.honourable friend is absolutely right. People deserve to have
:09:42. > :09:45.confidence in the security of our democratic system of direction.
:09:46. > :09:48.Voter ID has been placed in Northern Ireland for decades. Photographic ID
:09:49. > :10:00.introduced into -- 2003. The government is
:10:01. > :10:03.conducting voter ID pilots in the local elections in 2018 to ensure we
:10:04. > :10:09.can learn what works best and develop a system that has full
:10:10. > :10:17.public confidence. Thank you Mr Speaker. Aren't we supposed to have
:10:18. > :10:21.policy driven by evidence, in his reply, the minister gave not one
:10:22. > :10:27.shred of evidence? Quite frankly every election there are one or two
:10:28. > :10:31.cases where people are convicted of fraud out of tens of millions
:10:32. > :10:36.voting. This is straight out of the Donald Trump this information line.
:10:37. > :10:42.They are trying to suppress voter participation. Unless even come up
:10:43. > :10:44.with evidence, and anyone take it to the police. He should be ashamed of
:10:45. > :10:54.himself. This has the backing of the
:10:55. > :10:58.Electoral Commission and electoral authorities in delivering a secure
:10:59. > :11:02.democracy that has the confidence of the public. The last report shows
:11:03. > :11:10.that public confidence, 38% of people felt electoral fraud was an
:11:11. > :11:18.issue. When it comes to cases of alleged electoral fraud, reported to
:11:19. > :11:21.the Commission. Electoral fraud whenever it occurs is a serious
:11:22. > :11:26.business and the fact that there were two successful prosecutions in
:11:27. > :11:31.2016 shows the size of the problem. Does the Minister agree with me that
:11:32. > :11:37.the bigger crime is that 7 million people... When it comes to the size
:11:38. > :11:43.of the electoral register I am sure he will share my delight that we
:11:44. > :11:48.have the largest electoral register since records began. A record 3
:11:49. > :11:51.million people registered to vote in this election. This Government
:11:52. > :11:55.believes in a democracy that works for everyone. Making sure people are
:11:56. > :11:59.not disenfranchised by losing their vote and making sure the most
:12:00. > :12:05.vulnerable communities such as those in Tower Hamlets are protected.
:12:06. > :12:11.Surely the time has come for automatic electoral registration.
:12:12. > :12:15.How can it possibly be that that's in Nottingham at less than three
:12:16. > :12:20.quarters of the adults are on the electoral register but in his
:12:21. > :12:25.constituency over 97% of the adult are on the electoral register. Isn't
:12:26. > :12:28.the real electoral fraud those policies that stand in the way of
:12:29. > :12:38.citizens exercising their democratic right? The introduction of the IER
:12:39. > :12:49.website has seen an increase. We must make sure it is easier than
:12:50. > :12:52.ever before to register. We need to make sure that going forward we
:12:53. > :13:00.protect the integrity of the polls and all MPs must encourage
:13:01. > :13:03.registration of our constituents. In my constituency there was clear
:13:04. > :13:08.evidence of double registrations even within the constituency. Does
:13:09. > :13:13.the Minister agree that we should have a central system that flags are
:13:14. > :13:18.people who are double registered where ever they are in the country?
:13:19. > :13:28.When it comes to the electoral register this is helped by 380
:13:29. > :13:31.offices. It is right it is accountable to local communities. It
:13:32. > :13:37.would cost upwards of ?80 million for a wider system. I am meeting the
:13:38. > :13:46.Electoral Commission and look forward to taking it forward in due
:13:47. > :13:52.course. I believe this new ministerial team would pander to the
:13:53. > :13:59.near obsession that the principal problem in our system is fraud. The
:14:00. > :14:03.biggest thing that undermines our parliamentary policy is 14.6 million
:14:04. > :14:13.people who were registered to vote did not vote. We'll proposals be
:14:14. > :14:19.brought forward to increase Democratic participation in
:14:20. > :14:25.elections? A 14 million figure, 7 million figure on the other side of
:14:26. > :14:28.the House. When it comes to the data, there are rancheros and home
:14:29. > :14:36.movers. We want the Government to address that to have better data.
:14:37. > :14:49.Where and why people are registering... The matter of
:14:50. > :14:57.democratic engagement. We have worked closely to make sure we are
:14:58. > :15:02.consulting on a democratic in engagement. With your permission, I
:15:03. > :15:07.would like to thank returning officers and registration officers
:15:08. > :15:12.for their hard work making sure the recent General Election run so
:15:13. > :15:16.smoothly. They are the unsung heroes of our democracy. British citizens
:15:17. > :15:21.living abroad want to engage in the UK democratic process. They could
:15:22. > :15:27.lose that right after 15 years. What are we doing to deliver on the
:15:28. > :15:33.manifesto promise that they have a vote? Participation in a democracy
:15:34. > :15:42.is a fundamental part of being British however far you have
:15:43. > :15:47.travelled. The 15 year rule, we are committed to scrapping that for
:15:48. > :15:57.2022. The manifesto is a programme for the parliament. In terms of
:15:58. > :15:59.democratic engagement, during the General Election in
:16:00. > :16:03.Newcastle-under-Lyme there were missing postal votes and people
:16:04. > :16:09.being turned away from polling votes because of registration issues. I
:16:10. > :16:14.have written to the Member for Ashton over this. I will apply for
:16:15. > :16:19.an adjournment. In the meantime, council chief executives and
:16:20. > :16:26.returning officers, will he reminds them of their responsibilities? I
:16:27. > :16:32.hope he will report back to the Electoral Commission, the Government
:16:33. > :16:38.will look at the report closely. The review. Over the course of a
:16:39. > :16:42.five-year period we are looking at those claims. When it comes to our
:16:43. > :16:52.elections they are a centrepiece for the local democracy. Democratic
:16:53. > :16:56.engagement must be safe. What work is being done to support sufferers
:16:57. > :17:02.of domestic violence to register to vote? We are determined to ensure
:17:03. > :17:07.that come the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote, the
:17:08. > :17:16.equal right to vote, there are still some women's groups in society who
:17:17. > :17:20.are unable to vote. Survivors of domestic violence are unwilling to
:17:21. > :17:26.register because of their security being addressed. We are committed to
:17:27. > :17:30.giving those women a chance to vote in our democratic elections. A
:17:31. > :17:37.university study found that 24% of people with learning disabilities
:17:38. > :17:41.had registered to vote. Only 9% of them use their vote. The survey also
:17:42. > :17:47.found that some voters were turned away from polling stations by
:17:48. > :17:49.clerics who perceive that learning disability as a reason they were not
:17:50. > :17:55.allowed to vote. What is this Government doing that all voters
:17:56. > :18:05.regardless of disability have the right to vote? The access ability to
:18:06. > :18:13.elections working group, RNIB, mencap members are included. Site
:18:14. > :18:16.last is not a barrier to voting, we are hoping to make our elections as
:18:17. > :18:32.accessible as possible and looking at measures. There seems to be...
:18:33. > :18:41.Our work to a leading National cyber Security strategy supported... Sets
:18:42. > :18:50.out to defend businesses and assets, deter our adversaries and give the
:18:51. > :19:03.skills we need. The Security Centre provides guidance to help private
:19:04. > :19:11.and public sector parties... What is the Government doing to make sure
:19:12. > :19:16.women can take part in this sector of the? Only 10% of the global cyber
:19:17. > :19:23.workforce at humour. This represents a huge pool of untapped talent. As
:19:24. > :19:27.part of our ambitious plans, we have launched new initiatives such as the
:19:28. > :19:36.cyber first girls competition to pursue young woman in pursuing a
:19:37. > :19:41.career. We also want to see business encouraging women into this exciting
:19:42. > :19:49.and rewarding sector. What steps can we take now to make sure we are
:19:50. > :19:52.training young people to tackle the fabricant of the future? It is
:19:53. > :19:58.important that the young people have the skills they will need to
:19:59. > :20:03.supports the future prosperity and security. We are working with the
:20:04. > :20:11.cyber security challenge and others to reach out and inspire parents,
:20:12. > :20:14.teachers and children, mixing teaching with real-world challenges
:20:15. > :20:21.and extracurricular activities. Many of my constituents are served by our
:20:22. > :20:27.District Hospital which was affected by the recent cyber attack on the
:20:28. > :20:33.NHS. What is the Government doing to make sure such attacks do not happen
:20:34. > :20:39.again? He has raised a really important issue, the impact of the
:20:40. > :20:43.crime was felt by the NHS and was the result of a legacy of
:20:44. > :20:49.unsupported IT systems and a software patent. We are taking a
:20:50. > :21:00.proactive approach to make sure patches are applied properly. And
:21:01. > :21:06.seeking expert guidance. The Cabinet office rejected the Public Accounts
:21:07. > :21:11.Committee recommendation setting out a detailed plan for how the National
:21:12. > :21:16.cyber Security Centre would enable those under attack to get out. We
:21:17. > :21:21.heard evidence, many people confused at large organisations about where
:21:22. > :21:25.to go for the help. Would she reconsider the rejection of that
:21:26. > :21:33.requirement and look again? Our advice is clear. We have substantial
:21:34. > :21:38.national security programme which is funded alongside the national
:21:39. > :21:45.Security Centre lies expertise. The cyber Security of Government and the
:21:46. > :21:49.wider public sector. Public services and buildings must be kept
:21:50. > :21:55.up-to-date so our information is safe. Cyber security is only as
:21:56. > :22:02.strong as it is policed. What steps are being taken to make sure the
:22:03. > :22:10.police can enforce cyber laws without... He will have heard my
:22:11. > :22:14.comments about the national cyber Security Centre. We need specialist
:22:15. > :22:25.in place for a particular and high-tech crime. Topical questions.
:22:26. > :22:28.The Government committed to sign up its major supplier to the prompt
:22:29. > :22:34.payment card. The voluntary code commits signatories to prompt
:22:35. > :22:37.payment terms and transactions. This can make a real difference to spark
:22:38. > :22:44.businesses, boosting their cash flow and allowing growth. We are
:22:45. > :22:47.encouraging strategic suppliers to sign up and I am pleased to confirm
:22:48. > :22:56.that all these apparently targeted in 2015 have signed up to code. Does
:22:57. > :23:02.he agree that transparency is an effective way of changing the
:23:03. > :23:12.culture of prompt payments? Businesses that regularly pay rates
:23:13. > :23:19.can be identified, Hal? We recently introduced a programme to have
:23:20. > :23:27.businesses report every six months on payment practices. We encourage
:23:28. > :23:32.businesses to report any businesses of transactions to our mystery
:23:33. > :23:38.shopper service. We are currently having the first by-election of the
:23:39. > :23:44.session, in the other place. The hereditary peers election. Would he
:23:45. > :23:52.agree this is a fast in a modern-day democracy? The reform of the House
:23:53. > :23:55.of Lords is not an immediate priority but there is a speakers
:23:56. > :23:58.committee in the other place looking at the size of the House of Lords.
:23:59. > :24:01.We are determined to look at the recommendation. This is legislation
:24:02. > :24:13.passed by the previous Labour Government in 1999, making sure it
:24:14. > :24:16.is an effective revising Chamber. Can the Minister is sure the House
:24:17. > :24:21.that all relevant Government departments will be consulted to
:24:22. > :24:26.make sure that domestic and because -- implications of Brexit are
:24:27. > :24:30.considered? The Cabinet office plays an important role in ensuring
:24:31. > :24:32.Government businesses effectively coordinated including the is
:24:33. > :24:39.important Brexit issues. Government office ministers are working closely
:24:40. > :24:42.with our exiting the European Union colleagues and others across white
:24:43. > :24:51.to make sure we get the best deal for the whole of the United Kingdom.
:24:52. > :24:53.The Coalition of chaos extends as far as cyber security.
:24:54. > :24:58.Responsibility is shared between the Cabinet office, Department for
:24:59. > :25:05.Culture, Media and Sport, Home Office, business offers. Can she
:25:06. > :25:10.tell me how many are the preference of XP machines in the public,
:25:11. > :25:18.private and Government sector and what is being done? We have made
:25:19. > :25:24.good progress in reducing the number of XP machines. The national cyber
:25:25. > :25:30.Security Centre takes the lead on the issue coordinating work across
:25:31. > :25:37.Government. Students fraudulently voting twice, he means the Electoral
:25:38. > :25:43.Commission. Can we make sure police are involved as well? I will make
:25:44. > :25:48.sure the police are involved and all our electoral partners. If this
:25:49. > :25:57.Government is really committed to modernising the electoral register,
:25:58. > :26:02.will be missed -- will he make sure that re-enrolment and
:26:03. > :26:15.registration... And reporting people approaching voting age... A duty is
:26:16. > :26:19.placed on our universities and there will be ministerial guidance in
:26:20. > :28:08.2018. Now that the local government Finance Bill has been suspended...
:28:09. > :28:18.Last week saw the 80th anniversary of the 999 service. I know members
:28:19. > :28:24.will want it join plea paying tribute to the men and women who
:28:25. > :28:27.work tirelessly saving lives, day-in and day-out. Mr Speaker, this
:28:28. > :28:31.morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others n
:28:32. > :28:36.addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings
:28:37. > :28:40.later. Later this week I will attend a meeting of the G20 where I'll
:28:41. > :28:42.discuss the global economy, counter-terrorism and sustainable
:28:43. > :28:48.development with my fellow leaders. THE SPEAKER: Hannah Bardell. Thank
:28:49. > :28:50.you. Her face smashed with an iPad. Her body beaten and