The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.
Matthew Hancock
The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues to credit reference firms on handling data on people who are on the closed electoral register.
John Penrose
The Information Commissioner’s Office provides guidance to both private and public sector organisations to help them understand their obligations under the Data Protection Act. Organisations wishing to process personal data in the UK, including credit reference agencies, must register with the ICO and comply with the DPA’s eight data protection principles. Among other things, these principles require personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully; to be accurate and up-to-date; not to be kept for longer than is necessary; and to be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subjects under the DPA.
The ICO’s website provides public information on credit reference agencies’ use of the electoral register at (https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/credit/).
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many complaints his Department has received on the sale of electoral roll data by credit reference firms.
John Penrose
Available records show that in the last calendar year the Cabinet Office received one letter of complaint about access to the electoral register by credit reference agencies, and nine letters of complaint about the sale of the edited electoral register.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what checks his Department has in place to ensure that credit reference firms do not sell-on electoral roll data.
John Penrose
Under the Regulation 115 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2002, anyone who is supplied with the full register is not permitted to sell a copy to any person, disclose any information contained in it, or use it for anything apart from the specified purpose for which the full register has been supplied. In contravening this provision, a person would be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, which currently stands at £5000.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) guidance his Department issues and (b) regulations are in place on the provision of electoral roll data to credit reference agencies.
John Penrose
The Electoral Commission provides detailed guidance to Electoral Registration Officers on access and supply of the full electoral register, including by credit reference agencies.
The regulations on the supply of electoral roll data to credit reference agencies are set out in The Representation of the People (England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2002. Under Regulation 114, credit reference agencies registered under Part III of the Consumer Credit Act and carrying on the business of providing credit reference services may only use the full electoral register for specified purposes; namely for checking a person’s identity if they apply for credit, and for the prevention of money laundering fraud. Electoral Registration Officers are entitled to charge credit reference agencies a small fee for copies of the full register, to cover administration costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for the policies of the Cabinet Office of the recommendations of the Mental Health Taskforce report, published in February 2016.
Alistair Burt
We welcome the recommendations for government in the report and will be considering how best to integrate them into our work programme. There will be an impact on policies across Government in this period and, more importantly, a positive impact on people using mental health services.
The Mental Health Five Year Forward View Taskforce Report proposes, and we accept, investing over £1 billion of additional funding by 2020/21 to reach one million more people. There are a number of recommendations in the report which will have an impact on crisis care services, accident and emergency departments, mothers suffering from mental health problems, suicide prevention, children and young people’s mental health services, access to psychological therapies and the physical health of people with mental health problems. The £1 billion announced with the Taskforce report is the total annual cost for all areas in 2020/21.
Announcements on the development of policies, including those with reference to implementing the Mental Health Taskforce will be made in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department provides to senior civil servants on speaking at public events.
Matthew Hancock
All civil servants are subject to the requirements of the Civil Service Code and Civil Service Management Code. Further guidance on attendance at external events including those organised by political parties can be found in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance (vol 2).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations he has received outlining concerns related to his Department’s new anti-lobbying policy.
Matthew Hancock
The few representations received about implementation of the new clause in Government grants have given us the opportunity to explain that the clause does not stop grant recipients from lobbying, but prevents them from spending government grant funded by taxpayers given for a different purpose on lobbying.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the applicability of that Department’s anti-sock puppet clause pilot scheme to other departments.
Matthew Hancock
Cabinet Office officials undertook several discussions with DCLG on this matter. The discussions were varied, extensive and frequent, and covered both development and implementation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues to senior civil servants attending events organised by hon. Members of the Government party.
Matthew Hancock
All civil servants are subject to the requirements of the Civil Service Code and Civil Service Management Code. Further guidance on attendance at external events including those organised by political parties can be found in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance (vol 2).