Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many drug-related deaths there were in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to encourage more people to vote in elections.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Individual Electoral Registration (IER) and online registration have transformed electoral registration, making it easier than ever before to register to vote. The register for the 2017 General Election was, at 46.8 million, the largest ever.
The Government is working hard to ensure that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have the tools to ensure that electoral registers are complete and accurate. We have developed a range of resources which we have made available to the electoral community and we are convening partners to transfer our knowledge, evidence and resources so they are equipped to tackle barriers to registration for under-registered groups and deliver democratic engagement activities.
The Government also continues to work with the Cabinet Office-chaired Accessibility of Elections Working Group to make elections more accessible to disabled people. We are also starting to bring forward measures that respond to issues raised in the Government’s response to the 2018 Call for Evidence on Access to Elections, with the proposals announced as part of the package around the Queen’s Speech.
It is for candidates and political parties to encourage people to vote in elections.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that disabled people are able to vote in elections (a) confidentially and (b) easily.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government continues to work with the Cabinet Office chaired Accessibility of Elections Working Group to make elections more accessible to disabled people. Work has already been undertaken with Mencap and the Electoral Commission to produce Easy Read guides for registration and voting at recent polls, and we have worked with the Electoral Commission to update its guidance for Returning Officers and polling station staff.
We are also starting to bring forward measures which respond to issues raised in the Government’s response to the 2018 Call for Evidence on Access to Elections, with the proposals announced as part of the package around the Queen’s Speech. These will include increasing the range of support available to voters with disabilities in polling stations and allowing a wider range of people (such as carers) to assist disabled voters in polling stations if needed.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people over the age of 60 experiencing domestic abuse.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to respond.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has plans to implement the Law Commission’s recommendation to consolidate the UK’s electoral laws into a single, consistent legislative framework governing all elections.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government is continuing to work with the Law Commission, as well as other stakeholders such as the Electoral Commission, to consider ways to streamline and clarify our electoral system in order to make elections easier to administer and therefore more resilient to errors or fraud.
We will consider their proposals in full once we receive the Law Commission’s final report.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that procurement processes reduce the use of single-use plastics.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has stated that the commitment in the 25 Year Environment Plan to remove all Consumer Single-Use Plastics (CSUP) from the central government estate offices will be delivered by 2020, with the option for any department to do so earlier if desired.
In advance of this ban on CSUP, Cabinet Office and Crown Commercial Service (CCS) have developed an elimination scheme to be implemented through the facilities management (FM) suppliers on the CCS FM framework. It has established steps that can be taken to remove CSUP from new and existing contracts with departments at neutral cost, in support of this commitment.
The elimination scheme took effect from 1 August 2018, enabling departments and supply chains (including those related to waste management) to phase in alternatives to CSUP in time for the ban coming into force. Government’s FM suppliers report that these steps are helping lead many of their private sector clients to adopt similar plastics elimination measures.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of EU citizens living in the UK unable to register and vote in the 2019 European elections.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Data on the registration and voting rates of EU citizens in the 2019 European elections is not collected centrally. In line with their statutory duty, the Electoral Commission will be publishing a report into the administration of the polls later this year.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in the West Midlands earning less than £9 an hour.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of incidents of domestic abuse in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of Government Departments that plan to set up foodbanks in their offices.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We are not aware that any department has plans to open a foodbank.