Live Cabinet Office Questions House of Commons

First questions to the Cabinet Office minister, Damian Green, and

the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Patrick McLoughlin.

Order, order. Questions to the Minister for the Cabinet Office and

the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Minister Damian Green.

Public sector pay policy has always been to designed to strike the right

balance between being fair to public servants and fair to those who pay

for them. The government will continue to assess their balance. I

would ask the House to know that my wife is a primary school teacher in

Scotland. According to an academic report this week of the average

public sector earnings have fallen in the last decade by 6% up to ?3

per hour for some people. With that in mind, can Minister advise whether

he supports and wishes the government to follow follow the

Scottish gunmen's lead to ending the 1% cap for public sector workers.

Does he support what the former Prime Minister David Cameron said it

is selfish to those campaigning for the enter the cap. I'm interested

that the honourable gentleman brings up Scottish education, which he

knows is the responsibility of the Scottish Government. I would point

out that since 2010, in England, which discovered has responsibility,

there are 15,500 more teachers than 2010. As he knows, the government

asks independent public sector pay review bodies to recommend what

should happen in each of the respective professions each year.

The House may be interested to know that the government has accepted

every recommendation by public sector pay review body since 2014.

While we all have every sympathy of course with the public sector pay

bodies, we should listen to what they say this with my honourable

friend not agree, if we are to accede to every request we would

have to pay for it by increasing spending and taxation? Which would

you prefer? My honourable friend makes a perfectly valid point.

Everybody in this House one 330 public sector workers. On this site

we want to be fair to taxpayers. It does seem very important that we

need to strike the right balance. If we do not strike the right balance.

What we do is wrecked the economy, which is what would happen with the

Labour Party's ridiculous un-costed proposal. Whilst cutting the real

terms pay of nurses, police, firefighters and others, the PM has

broken her round ?72,000 cap which she advocated for the salaries are

political appointees. One third of her appointees earn more than that

amount. Two due to start earn almost double that amount. How can they

urge restraint for nurses, but no restraint at number ten? Change in

the guidelines which the government gives to the pay review bodies. Will

he reject the former Prime Minister'sdisgraceful slur that

wanting to earn a decent X Sophie McKinna: the public sector is

somehow selfish? -- a decent income. I hope he would recognise, as I've

just said this government has accepted every recommendation by

public sector pay review bodies since 2014. Striking the right

balance between being fair to public sector workers and fair to taxpayers

must be the right way forward. The suggestions they came during the

election, and since from the Labour Party would lead to the situation we

have seen the Greek people have to suffer, precisely because of

irresponsible commitments by a government. What has happened, they

have had to slash public services. Public services get worse under the

economic policy advised by the Labour Party. With your permission I

will take questions two and nine together. Since 2015 we have worked

closely with the government's major strategic supplies to sign up to the

prompt payment code. All 32 strategic suppliers we targeted in

2015 have now signed up. Thank you very much Mr Speaker. Can my right

honourable friend explained how we are speeding up the payments to

companies, because cash flow is so important from government contracts?

Are there ways we can make she contracts are the size that small

and medium-size companies can bid more for government contracts than

at the moment? I frank my honourable friend for that question. We know

how important prompt payment is to small businesses. We are committed

to making one primitive prompt paid practice. We have committed to

increasing spend with SMEs directly and through the supply chain.

Opening up the free to use contract finder website for supplies to

advertise subcontracting opportunities. Cash flow is vital to

small businesses in Chichester and throughout the country. What is the

government ensuring to ensure they pay suppliers properly. I thank my

honourable friend for that question. I would like to welcome her to the

House. The government is committed to paying suppliers prompted. All

public sector buyers must include a 30 day closing contracts. Requiring

that this payment term be passed down the supply chain. Our own

payment performance is published on a quarterly basis. The government is

doing pretty well in meeting our targets. When my party becomes the

government of this country very soon we will declare war on late

payments. Requiring those bidding in the public sector contract to pay

own suppliers with 30 days. Heavy fines for late payers. With the

Conservatives be supporting us in opposition? I congratulate the

honourable gentleman on his optimism. In fact, what this

government has done is make sure that in many cases undisputed

payment invoices are paid within five days. 96% of all contracts paid

within 30 days when the invoices are not disputed. The prompt payment

code has not done enough to address the scourge of late payment. ?26

billion owed an average of 72 days taken to pay invoices. Stop paying

lip service to the problem, take the action needed by smaller businesses

who just want to be paid on time. The honourable gentleman is right to

point out what a problem this is for small business in particular. I

would like to draw attention to the government's mystery shopper

service. Securing positive outcome for the vast majority of companies

bringing disputed payments to our attention. To the co-signatories

signed up to the independent code on board. The urge all people not being

paid on time to go to that. I will take questions three, five and 13

together. The government believes electoral fraud unacceptable on any

level. We have a clear party building in democracy clear and

secure and we will work closely with key partner organisations to deliver

a comprehensive of work for our electoral system and strengthening

electoral integrity. If the Minister where there is clear evidence that

many students posted on social media about voting twice, once at

university, once at home? Surely this is straightforward electoral

fraud? The offence of double voting, that he raises is completely

unacceptable. Nothing less than an abuse of our democracy. I am meeting

with Sir John Holmes the chair of the election commission this

afternoon, and intend to raise this as a priority. Let us be clear in

this House, this is a crime. If anyone has any evidence of people

voting twice, return this to your local returning officer. And the

police. You must take this seriously. Can my honourable friend

provide more information as to how the introduction of individual

electoral registration has prevented electoral fraud. What current

checksum in place to ensure a person is eligible to vote when they

register online? The digital service operated by the Cabinet Office check

the details provided by the applicant, including National

Insurance number against government data before passing the application

on to the relevant local administration teams. It has been

highlighted that when someone goes to vote, all they need is a name and

address. In theory someone could get hold of a telephone directory and

vote all day in different polling stations. Does the Minister agree

with me it is time for photo ID to prevent electoral fraud? Might

honourable friend is absolutely right. People deserve to have

confidence in the security of our democratic system of direction.

Voter ID has been placed in Northern Ireland for decades. Photographic ID

introduced into -- 2003. The government is

conducting voter ID pilots in the local elections in 2018 to ensure we

can learn what works best and develop a system that has full

public confidence. Thank you Mr Speaker. Aren't we supposed to have

policy driven by evidence, in his reply, the minister gave not one

shred of evidence? Quite frankly every election there are one or two

cases where people are convicted of fraud out of tens of millions

voting. This is straight out of the Donald Trump this information line.

They are trying to suppress voter participation. Unless even come up

with evidence, and anyone take it to the police. He should be ashamed of

himself. This has the backing of the

Electoral Commission and electoral authorities in delivering a secure

democracy that has the confidence of the public. The last report shows

that public confidence, 38% of people felt electoral fraud was an

issue. When it comes to cases of alleged electoral fraud, reported to

the Commission. Electoral fraud whenever it occurs is a serious

business and the fact that there were two successful prosecutions in

2016 shows the size of the problem. Does the Minister agree with me that

the bigger crime is that 7 million people... When it comes to the size

of the electoral register I am sure he will share my delight that we

have the largest electoral register since records began. A record 3

million people registered to vote in this election. This Government

believes in a democracy that works for everyone. Making sure people are

not disenfranchised by losing their vote and making sure the most

vulnerable communities such as those in Tower Hamlets are protected.

Surely the time has come for automatic electoral registration.

How can it possibly be that that's in Nottingham at less than three

quarters of the adults are on the electoral register but in his

constituency over 97% of the adult are on the electoral register. Isn't

the real electoral fraud those policies that stand in the way of

citizens exercising their democratic right? The introduction of the IER

website has seen an increase. We must make sure it is easier than

ever before to register. We need to make sure that going forward we

protect the integrity of the polls and all MPs must encourage

registration of our constituents. In my constituency there was clear

evidence of double registrations even within the constituency. Does

the Minister agree that we should have a central system that flags are

people who are double registered where ever they are in the country?

When it comes to the electoral register this is helped by 380

offices. It is right it is accountable to local communities. It

would cost upwards of ?80 million for a wider system. I am meeting the

Electoral Commission and look forward to taking it forward in due

course. I believe this new ministerial team would pander to the

near obsession that the principal problem in our system is fraud. The

biggest thing that undermines our parliamentary policy is 14.6 million

people who were registered to vote did not vote. We'll proposals be

brought forward to increase Democratic participation in

elections? A 14 million figure, 7 million figure on the other side of

the House. When it comes to the data, there are rancheros and home

movers. We want the Government to address that to have better data.

Where and why people are registering... The matter of

democratic engagement. We have worked closely to make sure we are

consulting on a democratic in engagement. With your permission, I

would like to thank returning officers and registration officers

for their hard work making sure the recent General Election run so

smoothly. They are the unsung heroes of our democracy. British citizens

living abroad want to engage in the UK democratic process. They could

lose that right after 15 years. What are we doing to deliver on the

manifesto promise that they have a vote? Participation in a democracy

is a fundamental part of being British however far you have

travelled. The 15 year rule, we are committed to scrapping that for

2022. The manifesto is a programme for the parliament. In terms of

democratic engagement, during the General Election in

Newcastle-under-Lyme there were missing postal votes and people

being turned away from polling votes because of registration issues. I

have written to the Member for Ashton over this. I will apply for

an adjournment. In the meantime, council chief executives and

returning officers, will he reminds them of their responsibilities? I

hope he will report back to the Electoral Commission, the Government

will look at the report closely. The review. Over the course of a

five-year period we are looking at those claims. When it comes to our

elections they are a centrepiece for the local democracy. Democratic

engagement must be safe. What work is being done to support sufferers

of domestic violence to register to vote? We are determined to ensure

that come the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote, the

equal right to vote, there are still some women's groups in society who

are unable to vote. Survivors of domestic violence are unwilling to

register because of their security being addressed. We are committed to

giving those women a chance to vote in our democratic elections. A

university study found that 24% of people with learning disabilities

had registered to vote. Only 9% of them use their vote. The survey also

found that some voters were turned away from polling stations by

clerics who perceive that learning disability as a reason they were not

allowed to vote. What is this Government doing that all voters

regardless of disability have the right to vote? The access ability to

elections working group, RNIB, mencap members are included. Site

last is not a barrier to voting, we are hoping to make our elections as

accessible as possible and looking at measures. There seems to be...

Our work to a leading National cyber Security strategy supported... Sets

out to defend businesses and assets, deter our adversaries and give the

skills we need. The Security Centre provides guidance to help private

and public sector parties... What is the Government doing to make sure

women can take part in this sector of the? Only 10% of the global cyber

workforce at humour. This represents a huge pool of untapped talent. As

part of our ambitious plans, we have launched new initiatives such as the

cyber first girls competition to pursue young woman in pursuing a

career. We also want to see business encouraging women into this exciting

and rewarding sector. What steps can we take now to make sure we are

training young people to tackle the fabricant of the future? It is

important that the young people have the skills they will need to

supports the future prosperity and security. We are working with the

cyber security challenge and others to reach out and inspire parents,

teachers and children, mixing teaching with real-world challenges

and extracurricular activities. Many of my constituents are served by our

District Hospital which was affected by the recent cyber attack on the

NHS. What is the Government doing to make sure such attacks do not happen

again? He has raised a really important issue, the impact of the

crime was felt by the NHS and was the result of a legacy of

unsupported IT systems and a software patent. We are taking a

proactive approach to make sure patches are applied properly. And

seeking expert guidance. The Cabinet office rejected the Public Accounts

Committee recommendation setting out a detailed plan for how the National

cyber Security Centre would enable those under attack to get out. We

heard evidence, many people confused at large organisations about where

to go for the help. Would she reconsider the rejection of that

requirement and look again? Our advice is clear. We have substantial

national security programme which is funded alongside the national

Security Centre lies expertise. The cyber Security of Government and the

wider public sector. Public services and buildings must be kept

up-to-date so our information is safe. Cyber security is only as

strong as it is policed. What steps are being taken to make sure the

police can enforce cyber laws without... He will have heard my

comments about the national cyber Security Centre. We need specialist

in place for a particular and high-tech crime. Topical questions.

The Government committed to sign up its major supplier to the prompt

payment card. The voluntary code commits signatories to prompt

payment terms and transactions. This can make a real difference to spark

businesses, boosting their cash flow and allowing growth. We are

encouraging strategic suppliers to sign up and I am pleased to confirm

that all these apparently targeted in 2015 have signed up to code. Does

he agree that transparency is an effective way of changing the

culture of prompt payments? Businesses that regularly pay rates

can be identified, Hal? We recently introduced a programme to have

businesses report every six months on payment practices. We encourage

businesses to report any businesses of transactions to our mystery

shopper service. We are currently having the first by-election of the

session, in the other place. The hereditary peers election. Would he

agree this is a fast in a modern-day democracy? The reform of the House

of Lords is not an immediate priority but there is a speakers

committee in the other place looking at the size of the House of Lords.

We are determined to look at the recommendation. This is legislation

passed by the previous Labour Government in 1999, making sure it

is an effective revising Chamber. Can the Minister is sure the House

that all relevant Government departments will be consulted to

make sure that domestic and because -- implications of Brexit are

considered? The Cabinet office plays an important role in ensuring

Government businesses effectively coordinated including the is

important Brexit issues. Government office ministers are working closely

with our exiting the European Union colleagues and others across white

to make sure we get the best deal for the whole of the United Kingdom.

The Coalition of chaos extends as far as cyber security.

Responsibility is shared between the Cabinet office, Department for

Culture, Media and Sport, Home Office, business offers. Can she

tell me how many are the preference of XP machines in the public,

private and Government sector and what is being done? We have made

good progress in reducing the number of XP machines. The national cyber

Security Centre takes the lead on the issue coordinating work across

Government. Students fraudulently voting twice, he means the Electoral

Commission. Can we make sure police are involved as well? I will make

sure the police are involved and all our electoral partners. If this

Government is really committed to modernising the electoral register,

will be missed -- will he make sure that re-enrolment and

registration... And reporting people approaching voting age... A duty is

placed on our universities and there will be ministerial guidance in

2018. Now that the local government Finance Bill has been suspended...

Last week saw the 80th anniversary of the 999 service. I know members

will want it join plea paying tribute to the men and women who

work tirelessly saving lives, day-in and day-out. Mr Speaker, this

morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others n

addition to my duties in this House, I shall have further such meetings

later. Later this week I will attend a meeting of the G20 where I'll

discuss the global economy, counter-terrorism and sustainable

development with my fellow leaders. THE SPEAKER: Hannah Bardell. Thank

you. Her face smashed with an iPad. Her body beaten and