Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 29 of the Government response to Sir Eric Pickles' review of electoral fraud, published in December 2016, when his Department plans to finalise full details of the pilot schemes.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government’s view is that electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level. In the response, published in December, we have set out on a path to a clear and secure democracy following the commitments in our 2015 manifesto to tackling electoral fraud and protecting our electoral system. In its response to Securing the Ballot, the Government outlined its intention to introduce pilot schemes in a number of Local Authority areas at local elections in 2018, to test the impact of voter identification on the conduct of elections in the UK. The 18 Local Authorities listed in the Government’s response have previously been designated by the Electoral Commission as being the most at risk of allegations of electoral fraud, and it is recognised that these authorities may be interested in operating such schemes, as indeed may be other authorities. Once we have agreed the process and scope of the pilot schemes, we will share this information with Local Authorities and key partner organisations. The response presents a holistic package for reform that will strengthen our electoral system, and the Government is now looking in detail at how and when work on each of the recommendations can be taken forward.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 29 of the Government response to Sir Eric Pickles' review of electoral fraud, published in December 2016, what discussions his Department has had with the 18 local authorities identified with respect to their interest in taking part in the pilot schemes.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government’s view is that electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level. In the response, published in December, we have set out on a path to a clear and secure democracy following the commitments in our 2015 manifesto to tackling electoral fraud and protecting our electoral system. In its response to Securing the Ballot, the Government outlined its intention to introduce pilot schemes in a number of Local Authority areas at local elections in 2018, to test the impact of voter identification on the conduct of elections in the UK. The 18 Local Authorities listed in the Government’s response have previously been designated by the Electoral Commission as being the most at risk of allegations of electoral fraud, and it is recognised that these authorities may be interested in operating such schemes, as indeed may be other authorities. Once we have agreed the process and scope of the pilot schemes, we will share this information with Local Authorities and key partner organisations. The response presents a holistic package for reform that will strengthen our electoral system, and the Government is now looking in detail at how and when work on each of the recommendations can be taken forward.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 29 of the Government response to Sir Eric Pickles' review of electoral fraud, published in December 2016, how many local authorities he expects to take part in the pilot schemes.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government’s view is that electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level. In the response, published in December, we have set out on a path to a clear and secure democracy following the commitments in our 2015 manifesto to tackling electoral fraud and protecting our electoral system. In its response to Securing the Ballot, the Government outlined its intention to introduce pilot schemes in a number of Local Authority areas at local elections in 2018, to test the impact of voter identification on the conduct of elections in the UK. The 18 Local Authorities listed in the Government’s response have previously been designated by the Electoral Commission as being the most at risk of allegations of electoral fraud, and it is recognised that these authorities may be interested in operating such schemes, as indeed may be other authorities. Once we have agreed the process and scope of the pilot schemes, we will share this information with Local Authorities and key partner organisations. The response presents a holistic package for reform that will strengthen our electoral system, and the Government is now looking in detail at how and when work on each of the recommendations can be taken forward.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to monitor copycat websites that offer government services.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Copycat websites undermine trust in online services, and this government is committed to stopping them. We’re taking action on three fronts.
First, we are taking action to shut down such sites and prevent them from appearing in search engines. We are working with search engine providers to ensure they implement their terms and conditions on copycat website advertising, increasing the click-through to Government websites by 30%. Security teams in departments across government are also actively monitoring the internet for bogus sites, and taking action accordingly.
Secondly we improve the consistency and quality of Government websites, so that consumers can recognise and trust official sources of information.
Finally, we are working closely with other bodies such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Which? to raise awareness of this issue and ensure action is taken where appropriate.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of public appointments filled by women.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to increasing the diversity of public appointments and has aspiration that 50% of new public appointees should be women. We are making good progress, with 44% of new appointments made to women in 2014-2015 and a higher proportion of all public appointments (new appointments and reappointments) went to women last year than at any other point since records began.
The Centre for Public Appointments in the Cabinet Office supports departments on all issues relating to the diversity of public appointments. Steps we are taking to increase diversity include streamlining the application process, placing an emphasis on ability over previous experience, and increasing awareness of opportunities by using a central website, social media and engaging with different diversity networks and groups.