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1130590

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	European Parliament: Elections
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Young of Cookham on 5 June (HL Deb, cols 110–14), how many European Parliament Voter Registration (UC1) forms they received from the government of Belgium in respect of UK citizens, resident in Belgium, who had declared their intention to vote in the European Parliament elections in (1) 2014, and (2) 2019, in Belgium under the terms of EU Council Directive 93/109/EC; where those forms were received; how they distributed those forms to the respective UK constituencies; and how many such forms they sent to the government of Belgium in respect of EU citizens, resident in the UK, who had declared their intention to vote in the European Parliament elections in (a) 2014, and (b) 2019, in the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Balfe
	uin	HL16134
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>Under EU law, EU citizens living in another Member State are able to vote in their State of residence in European Parliamentary elections. Member States will, therefore, arrange for EU nationals to register to vote in their State of residence for these elections. Member States in advance of an upcoming European Parliamentary poll will exchange with each other data on EU nationals who have chosen to register to vote in another Member State. This is intended to identify and avoid double voting at European elections.</p><p> </p><p>In the UK, the UC1 form implements this requirement under EU law. EU Council Directive 93/109/EC requires all Member States to send the details of any EU citizens’ declarations to the state they are a citizen of, “sufficiently in advance of polling day” to ensure an EU citizen does not vote twice in the same European Parliamentary election. This is not a new requirement and has been in place for previous European Parliamentary elections. A similar provision applies to UK citizens living in the other EU Member States.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government receives data about UK citizens from the other Member States via a secure online portal managed by the European Commission. Data that can be matched to a local authority is then shared with the relevant local authority via encrypted file transfers. Electoral Registration Officers are responsible for sending the data in respect of EU nationals in the UK to the relevant Member States; the Cabinet Office does not see this data. The requested figures are attached in a deposited paper.</p><p> </p><p>In practice, we have found that the Commission’s voter information exchange process is of poor quality, as Member States record different information in respect of persons registering to vote and this may not be sufficient for other States to identify them.</p><p> </p><p>For the avoidance of doubt, this does not hinder the ability of the citizen to register to vote, nor indeed, to vote legally in elections.</p><p> </p><p>Rather, this is a deficiency in the European Commission’s mechanism to identify double voting. Notwithstanding, it is a criminal offence to vote twice in such elections, and information on voting participation will be recorded in marked registers.</p><p><strong><p><p><br></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The requested figures for the European Parliamentary elections in 2014 and 2019 are as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Belgium</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Usable Records Received</p></td><td><p>Records Sent to Member State</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1,699</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>Not available yet*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Germany</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Usable Records Received</p></td><td><p>Records Sent to Member State</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>13,101</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>Not available yet*</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*The figures for the 2019 European Parliamentary elections are not currently available.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham grouped question UIN HL16135 question first answered 20/06/2019 14:30:34 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	4302 label Biography information for Lord Balfe

1130591

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	European Parliament: Elections
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Young of Cookham on 5 June (HL Deb, cols 110–14), how many European Parliament Voter Registration (UC1) forms they received from the government of Germany in respect of UK citizens, resident in Germany, who had declared their intention to vote in the European Parliament elections in (1) 2014, and (2) 2019, in Germany under the terms of EU Council Directive 93/109/EC; where those forms were received; how they distributed those forms to the respective UK constituencies; and how many such forms they sent to the government of Germany in respect of EU citizens, resident in the UK, who had declared their intention to vote in the European Parliament elections in (a) 2014, and (b) 2019, in the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Balfe
	uin	HL16135
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>Under EU law, EU citizens living in another Member State are able to vote in their State of residence in European Parliamentary elections. Member States will, therefore, arrange for EU nationals to register to vote in their State of residence for these elections. Member States in advance of an upcoming European Parliamentary poll will exchange with each other data on EU nationals who have chosen to register to vote in another Member State. This is intended to identify and avoid double voting at European elections.</p><p> </p><p>In the UK, the UC1 form implements this requirement under EU law. EU Council Directive 93/109/EC requires all Member States to send the details of any EU citizens’ declarations to the state they are a citizen of, “sufficiently in advance of polling day” to ensure an EU citizen does not vote twice in the same European Parliamentary election. This is not a new requirement and has been in place for previous European Parliamentary elections. A similar provision applies to UK citizens living in the other EU Member States.</p><p> </p><p>The UK Government receives data about UK citizens from the other Member States via a secure online portal managed by the European Commission. Data that can be matched to a local authority is then shared with the relevant local authority via encrypted file transfers. Electoral Registration Officers are responsible for sending the data in respect of EU nationals in the UK to the relevant Member States; the Cabinet Office does not see this data. The requested figures are attached in a deposited paper.</p><p> </p><p>In practice, we have found that the Commission’s voter information exchange process is of poor quality, as Member States record different information in respect of persons registering to vote and this may not be sufficient for other States to identify them.</p><p> </p><p>For the avoidance of doubt, this does not hinder the ability of the citizen to register to vote, nor indeed, to vote legally in elections.</p><p> </p><p>Rather, this is a deficiency in the European Commission’s mechanism to identify double voting. Notwithstanding, it is a criminal offence to vote twice in such elections, and information on voting participation will be recorded in marked registers.</p><p><strong><p><p><br></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The requested figures for the European Parliamentary elections in 2014 and 2019 are as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Belgium</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Usable Records Received</p></td><td><p>Records Sent to Member State</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1,699</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>Not available yet*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Germany</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Usable Records Received</p></td><td><p>Records Sent to Member State</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>13,101</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>Not available yet*</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*The figures for the 2019 European Parliamentary elections are not currently available.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham grouped question UIN HL16134 question first answered 20/06/2019 14:30:34 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	4302 label Biography information for Lord Balfe

1130627

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	NHS: Apprentices
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the annual cost to the NHS of the Apprenticeship Levy.
	tabling member printed	Lord Storey
	uin	HL16171
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>In 2016, the then Chancellor, in a letter to the Treasury Select Committee, set out an estimate of the impact of the Apprenticeship Levy on the NHS Hospital and Community Health Service in England. This was estimated to be around £190m.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to determine accurately the total annual levy payments made by all NHS trusts. This is because HMRC administrative data does not enable NHS trusts and their associated PAYE schemes to be easily identified.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 20/06/2019 11:29:02 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

1130631

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Cash Dispensing: Rural Areas
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the decline in the number of free-to-use cash machines on rural communities.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL16175
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains important to the day-to-day lives of many people and businesses in the UK. At Spring Statement 2018, the Treasury launched a Call for Evidence on Cash &amp; Digital Payments. This sought to gather evidence on how changing preferences for cash and digital payments impact on different sectors, regions and demographics. In its response document, the Government reiterated its policy is to safeguard access to cash for those who need it while supporting digital payments.</p><p> </p><p>LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s ATM network, has committed to maintain the broad geographical coverage of the ATM network in the UK. LINK has put in place specific arrangements to protect free-to-use ATMs more than 1 kilometre away from the next nearest free-to-use ATM. Furthermore, LINK recently announced new additional premiums to safeguard the presence of free-to-use ATMs in remote and deprived areas.</p><p> </p><p>The Government-established Payment Systems Regulator, which regulates LINK, is closely monitoring developments within ATM provision and has used its powers to hold LINK to account over its commitments.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 20/06/2019 11:28:32 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1130834

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	By-elections: Peterborough
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 3 July 2017 (HL3), 15 September 2017 (HL1448), and 13 October 2017 (HL1671), and by Lord Duncan of Springbank on 21 December 2017 (HL3975), 16 March 2018 (HL6045), 20 November 2018 (HL11393 and HL11394), and 17 May (HL15556), what assessment they have made of whether there was any abuse of the electoral system in the conduct of the by-election for Peterborough on 6 June; and if there was any such abuse, what assessment they have made of whether this is part of a wider pattern of abuse of the electoral system.
	tabling member printed	Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
	uin	HL16201
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>We take the security and integrity of our democratic processes very seriously.</p><p>The running of polls is a matter for independent returning officers, not the Government. The Electoral Commission engage with the returning officers, electoral staff and registered parties providing assistance in disseminating information and advice to individuals delivering or participating in elections.</p><p>We have processes in place to defend against electoral fraud. There is ongoing work with electoral administrators to ensure our elections remain secure and robust, both now and in the future. Measures like voter ID are the latest in our efforts to respect, protect and promote our democracy.</p><p>Where abuse of the electoral system is alleged, it is for the Electoral Commission or Police to investigate such claims.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 20/06/2019 14:55:39 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	648 label Biography information for Lord Maginnis of Drumglass

1131466

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Opening up Public Appointments to Disabled People Review
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to implement the recommendations of the review conducted by Lord Holmes of Richmond Opening up public appointments to disabled people, published in December 2018.
	tabling member printed	Baroness McGregor-Smith
	uin	HL16260
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to improving diversity in public appointments and has made good progress. Between 2015/16 and 2017/18, the number of appointments (including re-appointments) made to women rose from 45% to 48% and to those with a declared disability from 4% to 7%. In 2017/2018 appointments to candidates from a BAME background (where declared) were at 8.4%.</p><p>But there is still more to do. We have carefully considered the recommendations put forward by Lord Holmes of Richmond in his review. As I set out in my response to my Noble friend’s Oral question in 09 May, we are aiming to publish our response to his review’s recommendations, together with a refreshed Public Appointment Diversity Action Plan, around the end of June.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham grouped question UIN HL16261 question first answered 20/06/2019 11:26:10 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	4554 label Biography information for Baroness McGregor-Smith

1131467

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Public Appointments: Equality
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the diversity of public appointees.
	tabling member printed	Baroness McGregor-Smith
	uin	HL16261
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to improving diversity in public appointments and has made good progress. Between 2015/16 and 2017/18, the number of appointments (including re-appointments) made to women rose from 45% to 48% and to those with a declared disability from 4% to 7%. In 2017/2018 appointments to candidates from a BAME background (where declared) were at 8.4%.</p><p>But there is still more to do. We have carefully considered the recommendations put forward by Lord Holmes of Richmond in his review. As I set out in my response to my Noble friend’s Oral question in 09 May, we are aiming to publish our response to his review’s recommendations, together with a refreshed Public Appointment Diversity Action Plan, around the end of June.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham grouped question UIN HL16260 question first answered 20/06/2019 11:26:10 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	4554 label Biography information for Baroness McGregor-Smith

1131471

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Government Departments: Public Consultation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Government consultations there have been in each of the last five years; and to how many of those they published a formal response within 12 weeks of the consultation closing.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL16265
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>All public government consultations are uploaded onto GOV.UK where they can be filtered by many criteria, including date of publication, official document status and department. Granular information on consultations across all individual departments is not centrally held in the form requested, as individual departments are responsible for their consultations. The Cabinet Office is responsible for the Government Consultation Principles, which provide departments with guidance on conducting consultations. That guidance sets out that consultations and any response to them should be published on GOV.UK.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 20/06/2019 11:27:27 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

1131913

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Electronic Government
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to invest in the digital transformation of government services.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL16331
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>The UK is recognised internationally as a world leader in digital government. The Government Digital Service (GDS) was set up in 2011 with the purpose of digitally transforming government and its services. It leads government’s Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) function, helping departments build and run services that are digital by default and focused on the needs of citizens.</p><p>Departments have built their digital professionalism and capability and there are now approximately 800 digital services, including applying online for a UK passport, applying for your full or provisional driving licence, checking your state pension, and the voter registration digital service. As an example, over 90% of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Association’s (DVLA) transactions (over 1 billion in 2017/18) are now completed online. Government continues to update current and create new digital services to benefit citizens in their interactions with government.</p><p>GDS this month published the Government Technology Innovation Strategy which looks at creating the right foundations to use emerging technologies in government. This will help digitally transform government even more by using innovative technology solutions to make government more efficient and save taxpayers’ money. Alongside this, ‘A guide to using artificial intelligence in the public sector’ was published following a review of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in government by GDS and the Office for Artificial Intelligence (OAI).</p><p>The £20m, 3-year GovTech Catalyst Programme has supported central and local government, devolved administrations, and public sector bodies to find innovative solutions to operational service and policy delivery challenges. It provides public sector organisations a safe space to experiment with innovative technologies by providing them with funding, purely for research and development. The Catalyst also encourages the sharing of digital learning and resources, which allows public sector organisations to identify other groups across the UK working on similar problems. The Programme helps government deliver on a key principle of the UK’s Digital Strategy, to improve the digital business sector in the UK, by providing tech companies of all sizes opportunities with the public sector.</p><p>Over 10,000 civil servants have also now been trained by the GDS Academy; new standards have made services across government consistent, accessible and intuitive; and departments have delivered digital services to make essential transactions with citizens easier and more efficient.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 20/06/2019 14:25:42 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1132303

	registered interest
	date	14/06/2019
	answering body	Cabinet Office
	answering dept id	53
	answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
	answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
	hansard heading	Early Years Ministerial Group on Family Support
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the Inter-Ministerial Group on Family support from Conception to Age Two to report.
	tabling member printed	Lord Farmer
	uin	HL16372
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>The Early Years Family Support Ministerial Group is considering how the Government can improve the coordination and cost-effectiveness of early years (conception to age 2) family support and identify gaps in available provision. The group will make recommendations to Secretaries of State in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 20/06/2019 11:26:41 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
	tabling member	4321 label Biography information for Lord Farmer