Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet office, what steps his Department has taken to make it easier for victims and survivors of domestic violence to register to vote anonymously.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Legislation has come into force this month making it easier to register to vote anonymously.
When registering, survivors can now provide evidence from a broader range of professionals to reflect their experiences. This includes sworn statements from refuge managers that their safety would be at risk if their details appeared on the register.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet office, what steps his Department has taken to make it easier for victims and survivors of domestic violence to register to vote anonymously.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Legislation has come into force this month making it easier to register to vote anonymously.
When registering, survivors can now provide evidence from a broader range of professionals to reflect their experiences. This includes sworn statements from refuge managers that their safety would be at risk if their details appeared on the register.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to extend overseas voting rights for life.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
As outlined in our manifesto, the Government is committed to legislating to scrap the 15-year rule and will do so in time for the next scheduled parliamentary general election in 2022.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to improve transparency in government.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The UK is recognised as a world leader in transparency and this government is committed to being the most transparent in the world. We publish an unprecedented amount of data about the workings of government and we will continue to do so, both to encourage innovation and transform our public services.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department is making on tackling aggressive fundraising activities by charities.
Answered by Rob Wilson
Last year the Government accepted the recommendations made in a sector-led review of fundraising regulation to support the setup of a new independent regulator with stronger sanctions and control of the code of practice.
Since then there have been several positive changes. The Code of Fundraising Practice has already been strengthened in several areas. The law has been changed in the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 to better protect vulnerable individuals and encourage greater accountability. The Charity Commission has published updated fundraising guidance that emphasises trustees’ role in over-seeing fundraising. Many charities and their representative bodies are already taking their own steps to improve fundraising practices.
The new Fundraising Regulator is due to open in July and will proactively ensure that charities fundraise to the high standards the public expect.
Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to identify effective ways to encourage public sector buildings to utilise roof space by installing solar panels.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government set out in its Solar Strategy Part 2, published in April 2014, an ambition to install solar panels on the public sector estate. The Cabinet Office is working with other government departments to identify suitable projects.