Live Cabinet Office Questions House of Commons


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Order. Order. Questions to the

Minister for the Cabinet office and

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the Chancellor of the Duchy of

Lancaster.

Question number one.

Mr

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Damian Green.

Our national cyber

Security strategy supported by £1.9

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billion of transformation investment

sets out measures to defend our

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people, businesses and assets, deter

adversaries and develop cyber

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skills. These include investment

into...

Public services... Cyber

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security requires constant

investment, so has he advocated for

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long-term funding for public

services to defend themselves

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against all forms of cyber attack?

Yes, indeed, that is the point, not

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just of the cyber Security Centre,

but the significant investment I

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have mentioned, £1.9 billion, which

is set to transform the defences

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across the public sector, not just

central government, but local

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government, particularly the health

sector and the defence sector as

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well as giving advice to the private

sector because our defence against

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cyber attack obviously need to be

mutually dependent across both

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sectors.

Would he accept it as a

lack of clarity of who in government

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has responsibility for cyber

security, is it not time we had a

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cyber department to defend the

nation again cyber attacks and think

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about ways it can be used abroad?

We

do obviously need proper

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coordination, and the coordination

role does fall to the Cabinet

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office, but there are important

areas where the Home Office has

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direct responsibility for

operational matters, and the

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ministry depends as well, in

military terms. I am happy to the

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coordination comes from the Cabinet

office.

As we have just come to the

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conclusion that cyber influence that

is entirely invisible and beyond

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mechanisms to control it, as the

Prime Minister has said, there was

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influence in the elections and

probably the referendum elections,

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isn't it time for us to decide that

we should not have faith in those

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two results and we should look for

another referendum because second

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thoughts are always better than

first thoughts?

He raises a serious

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point, I should say that there is no

evidence of any successful attempt

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to interfere with electoral

processes, and indeed cyber attacks

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are particularly difficult to make

against what is undoubtedly an

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old-fashioned system that requires

small pencils and putting crosses on

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pieces of paper, but that

old-fashioned system is a very

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effective defence against cyber

attack.

To defend ourselves against

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cyber attack, it is essential we

recruit or train people with

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necessary skills to take up the

cudgels in a cyber arms race on our

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behalf. What steps is government

taking to bring these people into

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the public sector?

He makes a good

point. The national cyber Security

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Centre along with GCHQ has

established a programme of

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assessment and certification, and 20

degrees have been certified, most of

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them postgraduate Masters in cyber

security, and 14 universities are no

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academic centres of excellence in

this. This will help maintain a

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pipeline of people.

The news of a

hack involving a database involving

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tens of millions of people has to be

investigated, but there were 9000

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data breaches by the government in a

single year, according to the NAO,

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and they only notified 14. This

poses questions about our personal

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privacy and security, and given the

scale of what is happening with the

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Internet, there is clearly need for

further protection to the public,

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but last year the government...

Order, I am sorry to interrupt, we

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are very pressed for time, we need a

sentence of a question.

We have to

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press on.

Last year the government

announced it spent only 2 billion of

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the... Will he get on in spending

the money and protect citizens?

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Guess, we will do, in the ways I

have set out. He will realise that

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the 1.9 billion is to be spent over

five years, so the fact we have

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spent 230 million in the first year

is about what you would expect. This

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is a continuous programme of

continuous improvement.

I would like

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to congratulate Her Majesty the

Queen. The Duke of Lancaster and his

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Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh

on their royal wedding, and for the

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public service they have paid to the

country. Her Majesty pays tax on all

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income received from the Duchy. The

investment strategy is based on

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advice and recommendations from

their investment consultants.

One of

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the revelations we saw in the

Paradise papers was investment from

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the royal estate in the shambolic

company Bright House, which preys

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upon many constituents in my -- upon

many of my constituents.

What is he

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going to do about it? The investment

in Bright House was through a

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third-party, equating to £3208, and

represents 0.0006% of the Duchy's

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value.

Could he confirm that some of

the comments the opposition have

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spoken about regarding investments

started under the last Labour

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government? Bearing in mind what the

Shadow Chancellor said at the time

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the statement was made, perhaps he

should have checked that out because

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I can confirm the last investment

made was in 2005.

Donations to

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political parties should differences

between our party and the

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government's. They are dependent on

the ultra-wealthy few, in light of

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the Paradise paper revelations that

showed that Lord Ashcroft... Will he

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be accepting donations to the party?

This does not pertain to the Queen

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was my private estate, so we will

press on.

All of government is

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preparing for the UK to make an

orderly and successful exit from the

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European Union, and we are equipping

ourselves with the right people and

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skills across government to make it

happen. While workforce planning is

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primarily the responsibility of each

department to determine, we

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constantly review its capabilities

in this respect.

After a decade of

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austerity it seems that £400 million

and 8000 new staff can be found for

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Brexit, including 5000 at HMRC, so

will she tell Treasury -- Treasury

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and HMRC

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bosses, regarding the closure of the

Cumbernauld tax office.

We are

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looking to use won make the best

possible use of resources to provide

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the best service for constituents.

With the additional burdens on civil

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servants from Brexit, with the

Minister agree that the civil

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service people survey is important

to ministers for judging the working

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conditions, training and skills of

civil servants? Would she share my

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-- surprise that are representative

yesterday said that he actively

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encouraged members not to reply to

the survey? Can she reaffirmed that

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the survey is increasingly important

so we can get feedback to have the

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right capacity and capability is in

our civil service?

I thanked her for

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that question, she is absolutely

correct that the survey is of

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crucial importance to ministers. I

greet it with relish when it arrives

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at my desk providing valuable

information about our workforce,

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their attitudes and how they feel

about working for us. I am surprised

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about the comments from the PCS, but

I would like to reassure unions that

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I continue to lead my door open to

them and I am as interested in their

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views as everyone else's the remarks

from the very eminent senior four

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civil servant -- civil servant

Martin Donnelly who set up the new

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Department for commercial trade, and

will she take heed to his warning

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that we are now just 16 months from

Brexit, the biggest shock to the UK

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economy in living memory?

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I'm sure it will come as no surprise

to him that the Cabinet office works

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closely with those departments most

closely affected by the exit from

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the EU, which includes trade, DEFRA

and others. I have seen the comments

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but I would like to reassure him

were making sure we have the right

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people in place to deliver the

successful transition we need.

The

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Cabinet Office is supposedly

coordinating this country's exit

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from the European Union. They really

ought to know this stuff. The

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Minister has not answered a

question. Is that because she

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doesn't think Parliament is entitled

to the information about how many

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staff are working on this? Or is it

because the processes such a

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shambles that she is unable to

provide the information?

I thank him

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for the question. We have already

created 3000 new roles, of which

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2000 have been filled. Further roles

will be created and the Cabinet

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Office is working most closely with

those departments most affected.

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With permission, I will take

questions for six together. The

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government is currently considering

the 256 responses to our call for

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evidence on the accessibility of

water registration. I have recently

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implemented the funding is from an

accessibility review.

2014 survey

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found that 60% of people with a

learning disability find the process

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of registering to vote too

difficult. Registration forms are

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often complicated and not

accompanied by an easy read guide.

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The election commission report

published this month agrees and

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calls on the Minister will he commit

to improving the government's on

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online registration process? And

ensure that there is a good helpline

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is on the one with a learning

disability is disenfranchised?

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Mencap have been working closely

with the Cabinet Office. We are

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member of accessibility to elections

working group and I wouldn't

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disagree with the premise is the

question that we need to do more in

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the 21st century to make sure our

elections are accessible for

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everyone and we remove those

barriers in place for those people

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who are disabled. I'm committed to

doing so. It's right we now consider

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all those responses. We will be

publishing our response next year.

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There are millions of people missing

from electoral registers. And high

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levels of support for reforming our

electoral registration system and in

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particular for automatic vote

registration when a person receives

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their national insurance number.

When is the government going to

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implement necessary reforms to

ensure our democracy works for the

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many and not just a few?

We believe

we need a democracy that works for

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everyone, which is why were

determined to introduce a democratic

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engagement strategy published in

December. When it comes to those in

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the electoral register, we have a

record 46 million people registered

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to vote. We have 30 million people

registered to vote before the system

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was introduced. I believe it is a

remarkable success.

What measures is

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the government taking to ensure that

people do not vote twice in general

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elections?

Any form of electoral

fraud will be taken extremely

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seriously by this government. Intend

to implement a number of

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recommendations made by the report

from Sir Eric Pickles on securing

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the ballot. Double voting is a

crying. Anyone with evidence should

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be reported to the police. I

recently met with the Electoral

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Commission and the police Chiefs

Council and we will meet every six

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months. We hope by introducing

future reforms into postal voting we

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will be able to tackle this issue of

double voting.

40% of people who

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applied late to vote have been

suggested to be duplicates. Can he

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look at ensuring they don't get

unnecessary duplication, so as to

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reduce bureaucracy?

Years right. We

had nearly 3 million applications to

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register at the last minute during

the last general election. There are

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local solutions. In Hackney, they

have a tool for you can look up. It

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is right we explore further what

solutions there may be. When it

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comes to a centralised database, I

believe this might end up being too

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costly.

According to figures

published by the Electoral

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Commission, nearly 11,000 people

tried to vote on a June but they

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found they were not registered at

the polling station. Will the

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government pilot the idea of polling

day voter registration to ensure

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that every eligible voter is

entitled to vote?

The government

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sincerely believes in the principle

of individual electoral

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registration. May want a register

that is complete and accurate. The

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accuracy of the register has risen

from 87% to 91%.

We are committed to

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providing a clear and secure

democracy. Were continuing to work

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with local authorities to deliver

voter identification pilots in areas

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such as walking, Tower Hamlets and

Watford.

Many people believe online

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voting may have some potential for

the future. Can the Minister tell me

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what his assessment is on online

voting, in light of allegations of

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Russian electoral hacking?

I believe

the UK system is one of the most

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robust in the world. We operate a

manual voting system. It ensures our

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system is protected and our

democracy safeguarded.

Will the

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government consider using clever --

credit reference easy data to

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improve electoral register accuracy?

He makes an interesting point. I'd

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be interesting to go away and look

at the matter he raises. Were

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looking at issues when it comes to

tenant security deposits, for

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example. One of the largest groups

are movers and renters. That cause

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is that churn, which is why were

determined to better data, so we can

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identify areas of improvement.

There

was a 300% increase in proxy votes

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in the foil constituency. Many

people said it was a clear case of

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electoral fraud and theft of a

constituency in this House. What

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will he do to ensure it doesn't

happen again?

Electoral fraud, it is

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important we have confidence in our

democratic system going forward. We

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will be looking at absent voting

arrangements, postal vote harvesting

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and will be introducing future

legislation to tackle this.

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Following the Prime Minister's

announcement in July that a public

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enquiry will be held into the

contaminated blood scandal,

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government sought views from the

affected community on how this

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should operate. I announced on third

November the enquiry will be

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statutory and sponsored by the

Cabinet Office. My department has

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now taken receipt of over 800

consultation responses which it is

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thoroughly analysing. I will make a

further statement before the House

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rises for Christmas.

Could he

confirmed what this government is

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doing to open up public sector

contracts to SMEs?

What we are

0:19:400:19:49

developing is a system called

contracts Finder, a free online

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source for current and future

contracts above £10,000 in central

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government and £20,000 in the wider

public sector. We are improving the

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visibility of supply chains via this

site.

When was the ministerial code

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last quality proofed and by whom?

The Prime Minister has committed to

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reviewing the ministerial code, to

ensure it remains fit for purpose

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and she will update the House in due

course.

As we leave the European

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Union, public appointments are going

to become more important than ever.

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Can my right honourable friend tell

me what the government is doing to

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make sure we get a greater diversity

of people appointed to public

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appointment, especially from outside

the south-east?

The government is

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committed to greater diversity on

the boards of public bodies to

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better represent the people they

serve.

The Minister is in charge of

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cyber security. He knows the Prime

Minister is worried about Russian

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interference in our political

system. Can you assure the House

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that the Russian capital has not

seen the budget secrets?

I am as

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confident as I can be that that is

the case. We will all share the

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secrets of the budget in 35 minutes'

time.

There is far too much noise in

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the chamber. Let's hear Mr Lee

Rowley.

With the Minister be able to

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confirm how employers in my

constituency can be helped to win

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government contracts?

I thank him

for that question. Our small

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business panel whom I met on the 1st

of November to celebrate their first

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birthday are working on a number of

key issues to break down barriers.

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It was pleasing to hear from them

that contracts Finder and the

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mystery shopper service are in their

words stonking lay good.

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Private exam boards are not subject

to freedom of information rules. I

0:22:330:22:40

want the government provide

transparency to all providers of

0:22:400:22:43

public services?

The honourable

gentleman has written a letter to me

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and I hope he has received my

response. The government obviously

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updates information regularly. We

will keep this matter in mind.

0:22:550:23:08

Ministers like me are passionate

about making sure people get a

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ballot at Paris, town or district

level. Does he agree with me that it

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is important we have polling cards

at every election, so people can

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play their part in the electoral

process?

The government is insured

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to committing that as many people as

possible are engaged with the voting

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system. We have no plans to change

the current arrangements on polling

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cards.

The gender pay gap is going

in a quarter of government bodies.

0:23:450:23:51

How is this setting the rest of the

country an example?

Departments will

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be publishing the new gender pay gap

figures before the end of the year

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to meet requirements of the

government's new regulations for all

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major employers. It will provide

unprecedented transparency, generate

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wider debate and encourage employers

to take the action required to close

0:24:180:24:23

that gap.

The union needs Scotland's

two governments to get things done.

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One of the proposals is to co-locate

all customer facing public services

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in sterling to a public sector

innovation Hub. Will the Minister

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commit to working with the Scottish

Government to bring this about?

I

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was delighted to be lobbied hard by

my noble friend when I visited

0:24:510:24:57

Stirling on this and other matters.

The Department for Work and Pensions

0:24:570:25:01

is committed to maintaining its

current estate in sterling for at

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least the next five years and

obviously we can discuss future

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options. Heads turn for the Stirling

and Clackmannanshire city deal next

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year.

In his written statement on

the contaminated blood enquiry, the

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Minister said a further announcement

will follow before the end of the

0:25:260:25:29

year on the setting up of the

enquiry. Those affected by this

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tragedy have not been given any

information about what this means.

0:25:330:25:38

Can see clarify, does he intends to

appoint an enquiry cheer by the end

0:25:380:25:43

of the year?

The honourable lady

raises a very serious point. The

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contaminated blood scandal of the

1970s and 80s was an appalling

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tragedy which should not have

happened. She will appreciate that

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not only did we receive 800

responses to the consultation but at

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the request of the all-party group,

the end of that consultation was

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delayed until October. All decisions

on the chair and other things that

0:26:050:26:10

need to be

0:26:100:26:11

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