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1142013

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of whether there is a variation in wellbeing (a) within and (b) between regions and nations of the UK.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	282218
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 282219 282220 question first answered 03/09/2019 08:36:45 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster attachment 1 file name PQ282218 282219 282220 - UKSA response.pdf title UKSA response
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1142014

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent guidance he has provided to the office for National Statistics on developing indicators to monitor the well-being and happiness of (a) adults and (b) children.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	282219
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 282218 282220 question first answered 03/09/2019 08:36:45 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster attachment 1 file name PQ282218 282219 282220 - UKSA response.pdf title UKSA response
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1142015

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Health: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the trends in level of childhood happiness and well-being in the last 30 years.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	282220
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 282218 282219 question first answered 03/09/2019 08:36:45 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster attachment 1 file name PQ282218 282219 282220 - UKSA response.pdf title UKSA response
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1142278

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Electoral Register: Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) the University of Sheffield's initiative on voter registration for students and (b) mandating universities to promote students to register to vote.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	282225
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government is encouraged by the University of Sheffield’s experience but has no plans to mandate a single approach across the country.</p><p>The Government is, however, committed to ensuring the electoral registration system is responsive to the needs of students. Ministerial Guidance was issued to the Office for Students (OfS) in February 2018 acting on a commitment made in Parliament during the<br>passage of the Higher Education and Research Act (2017), directing that they require Higher Education providers to comply with Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) requests for data and they be encouraged to work with Local Authorities to promote electoral registration amongst their student populations. The merits of working closely with EROs have been demonstrated by a number of Higher Education providers across the country.</p><p>Yet, the Government does not believe that one size fits all and instead favours an approach which allows innovation.</p><p>The Ministerial Guidance has since been used by the OfS to produce their own guidance to Higher Education providers, which advises them how they might best implement, and abide by, the requirements placed on them. The OfS guidance came into force in August. The Government is committed to ensuring everyone who is eligible to register to vote is able to do so and, in 2014, introduced online registration for the first time. Statistics show young people aged between 14 and 24 are more likely than average to use this as a means of registering to vote.</p><p>The Government believes these measures will drive up the number of applications to register from students – improving both the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register – as well as further improve the relationships between Higher Education provider and Local Authorities.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 03/09/2019 09:00:36 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1142279

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Electoral Register
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of potential merits of introducing block voter registrations in (a) care homes and (b) university halls of residence.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	282226
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>Block registration undermines the principles underpinning Individual Electoral Registration that individuals take ownership of their registration status, deciding when and where they want to be registered. The Government, therefore, has no plans to implement any measures, including introducing block registration that would remove this choice</p><p>The Government has taken a number of steps to improve student registration. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 ensures that student electoral registration is a core condition of the new higher education framework and subsequent regulatory guidance for higher education providers reinforces their obligations to promote registration and provides case studies of good practice.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 03/09/2019 08:55:24 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1142281

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Electoral Register
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including information on voter registration in national insurance number notification letters.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	282227
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government has worked closely with HMRC to identify opportunities to promote voter registration, for example in tax information products, and we are continuing to discuss how this might work in other communications, including National Insurance Number notification<br>letters</p><p>In addition, we publish a message reminding people to register to vote on our high traffic GOV.UK pages, such as HMRC and DVLA, in the run-up to electoral registration deadlines.</p><p>We welcome new opportunities to signpost voter registration, including to young people, and are continuing to explore physical and online spaces to place prompts with partners across government and the electoral community.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 03/09/2019 08:51:24 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1142283

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Electoral Register
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a pilot scheme allowing election-day voter registration in polling stations.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	282228
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government has no plans to introduce election day registration. To work effectively and securely, it would require all polling stations in a constituency to be electronically linked and the register updated in real time to prevent anyone registering and voting in one<br />polling station and moving quickly to another to do the same. This would present considerable technical challenges and carry significant cost.</p><p><ins class="ministerial">Such a change would introduce uncertainties as to the register to be used for the election and undermine confidence in the process if candidates were unable to challenge any unusual trends in registration prior to Polling Day.</ins></p><p>Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are legally responsible for determining who is eligible to vote in polls in their local areas. Coming to a determination can take time and cannot be done instantaneously.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 03/09/2019 09:22:51 question first ministerially corrected 05/09/2019 14:18:34 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 132660 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1142284

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Electoral Register
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of replacing ERO electoral registers with a single national electoral register.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	282229
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government has no plans to introduce a new nation-wide database for the purposes of electoral registration. The introduction of such a database would raise a number of significant technical and practical issues, as well as security and privacy concerns.</p><p>The Cabinet Office is currently considering ways to modernise and streamline the existing registration system to ensure it is responsive to the needs of electoral administrators and citizens alike. This includes making the system of electoral registration even more convenient, accessible and user-friendly, as well as more efficient by developing more cost effective approaches to maintaining the completeness and accuracy of their registers.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 03/09/2019 08:56:40 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141856

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bank Services: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK banks fulfuil their obligations under the EU Payment Accounts Directive; and whether he plans to retain the consumer protections in that directive after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	281633
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Payment Accounts Directive 2014 has three main objectives: (1) to improve the transparency and comparability of fees related to payment accounts that are used for day-to-day payment transactions; (2) to facilitate the switching of those accounts; and (3) to ensure access to payment accounts with basic features (‘basic bank accounts’) for EU residents. The Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 (PARs) transposed this Directive into UK law.</p><p> </p><p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the Payment Accounts Regulations’ requirements on payment service providers. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is responsible for designating and monitoring alternative switching schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Designated UK banks must provide accessible information and assistance about the features and conditions of basic bank accounts under the Payment Accounts Regulations (PARs). The PARs also require the FCA to gather and submit to HM Treasury certain data on basic bank accounts and the switching of payment accounts. This information is reported to HM Treasury every two years. HM Treasury also collects data on basic bank accounts and this is published annually.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has amended the PARs to ensure that they continue to operate effectively in the UK once the UK has left the EU.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 07:03:34 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141857

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bank Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the percentage of adults in the UK who do not have a UK bank account.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	281634
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Treasury does not make assessments of the number of people who do not have a bank account. However, in 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority published the results of the Financial Lives Survey which found that 1.3 million UK adults were unbanked, i.e. have no current account or alternative e-money account.</p><p> </p><p>The Financial Lives Survey report contains further information on the characteristics of the unbanked. The report analyses survey results across the four nations of the UK, the nine regions of England, and by rural and urban areas. The FCA intend to repeat the Financial Lives Survey on a regular basis in future. The report can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/financial-lives-consumers-across-uk.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/financial-lives-consumers-across-uk.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>This government is committed to building an economy where everyone, regardless of their background or income, can access the financial services and products they need, including a bank account. Under the Payment Account Regulations 2015 (PARs) the nine largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account. Accounts have all the standard payment features such as direct debits and standing orders, though no overdraft or cheque book facilities. The Treasury’s December 2018 publication shows that in total there are nearly 7.5 million basic bank accounts open in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>More generally, in November 2017, the Government announced the creation of the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum. The Forum has now met three times and has successfully brought together key leaders from industry, charities and consumer groups, as well as Government ministers and the regulators, to provide leadership in tackling financial exclusion. The Forum has delivered important work already, and made tangible progress. A sub-group of the Forum set up last summer, examined the issue of access to affordable credit, and made a number of recommendations, many of which formed part of a package on affordable credit presented at Budget 2018. The Government also published its first annual financial inclusion report on 25 March which takes stock of the Government’s progress in this area.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 07:03:54 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen attachment 1 file name Financial Lives Survey - page 47.pdf title Page 47 from report as mentioned in the response
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane