Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick de Bois and Greg Clark

Tuesday 8th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Gentleman, for whom I have a great deal of respect, needs to update his brief. Online registration is now live. There is no point in going back to the system that prevailed in Northern Ireland when only paper-based voting was needed. The group most likely to take up the opportunity of electronic registration is young people. In fact, the latest figures show that 43% of those registering are under 30, so online is the way to go with young people.

[Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con)]

2. What recent assessment he has made of the integrity of the electoral register.

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Greg Clark)]

The introduction of individual electoral registration will help enhance the accuracy of the register, with applications being verified against Government records. The Electoral Commission is conducting a study of the accuracy and completeness of the final electoral registers before IER, which were published in February and March. They were compiled entirely under household registration and the commission plans to report its findings in July. It will then conduct a similar study of the electoral registers when the transitional arrangements for IER come to an end.

[Nick de Bois]

Is the Minister aware that if when a voter presents at a polling booth a presiding officer has doubts about their identity, there is no process to substantiate the identity of that member of the public? Is it not time to consider what many other countries have done, including Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, which is to have presentation of voter identification?

[Greg Clark]

I understand the point my hon. Friend makes, but it is important to bear in mind the fact that there is a very low incidence of voting fraud in this country. I do not want that incidence, which is very small, to be used as a pretext to bring in a national form of identity cards, which would be a step backwards.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick de Bois and Greg Clark

Tuesday 7th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con)]

7. What progress he has made on implementing the recommendations of the Heseltine review.

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Greg Clark)]

The Government published its response to Lord Heseltine’s report in March 2013. We accepted its proposition that more funding and powers, currently held centrally, should be available at local level. Some £2 billion a year has been taken from central Government Departments and is available for that purpose. I look forward to assessing proposals during the weeks ahead.

[Greg Clark]

I am delighted to say that there has been very good progress. A city deal for the city of Oxford and the surrounding area is being negotiated and we hope to complete it shortly. I will meet the representatives of Oxfordshire to go further than that by devolving more power and resources to the county to further private sector growth.

[Nick de Bois]

May I press the Minister to confirm that the Government will genuinely look at new ideas that are proposed by local authorities? More importantly, will he confirm that the onus will shift from Whitehall having to approve ideas to it having to disprove their viability?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is precisely the rubric that has been given to local authorities. It is up to Departments to demonstrate why an innovation should not proceed, rather than simply to say, “The computer says no.”