Tag: Chris Ruane

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2013-05-08.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the outcome of his Department’s matching of the electoral register with Department for Work and Pensions data in communities with (a) seaside towns and (b) towns with high student populations; and what effect this work will have on the size of electorates in these constituencies.

    Chloe Smith

    As part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER), entries on the electoral register will be matched against data held by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the purposes of confirming existing electors, a process which will simplify the transition for the majority of existing electors. Last year the Cabinet Office undertook pilots to test this process and we published our evaluation of these pilots earlier this year which is available to download from:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplifying-the-transition-to-individual-electoral-registration

    The evaluation report includes an analysis of match rates by population groups and while no specific analysis was undertaken of seaside towns, the results did suggest that match rates were lower in areas with high student populations. However, anyone who cannot be confirmed will still be invited to register individually and will retain their ability to vote in the 2015 general election. By using confirmation to simplify the process for the majority of electors it means resources can be focused on maximising registration among those people who cannot be confirmed, including individuals who are not currently registered. We are also currently running a separate set of pilots exploring whether data matching against DWP and other trusted national data sets can be used to find potential electors who are not currently registered but may be eligible to do so, in order to invite them to register. The results of the pilots, which are specifically targeted at boosting registrations among students, attainers and home-movers, will be published in the summer.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-02-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times (a) the Cabinet Committee on improving the country ability to deal with flooding and (b) the National Resilience Forum has met in the last 12 months; and when each body will next meet.

    Mr Francis Maude

    As was the case under previous administrations, information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is generally not disclosed.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the postal vote matching rates were during the data matching dry run in each (a) local authority area and (b) constituency in the UK.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that the data for local authorities is available on its website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0020/163145/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Local-Authority.xls

    The Commission does not hold the data in a way that is broken down by constituency.

    “

  • Chris Ruane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chris Ruane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the shortest period was between the date on which a post office branch received public funding for improvement and the date on which it closed.

    Jo Swinson

    The Government understands the important role that post offices play in communities across the country and since 2010 has committed nearly £2 billion to maintain, modernise and protect a network of at least 11,500 branches that continues to meet strict access criteria that see, for example, 99% of the population nationally living within three miles of a post office outlet.

    This Government has also committed that there will be no programme of Post Office closures and there are currently around 11,700 post office branches in the UK, with the Post Office network at its most stable for over two decades.

    As the provision of post offices and the investment made under its network transformation programme are the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on these matters. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people died of congenital heart disease below the age of 40 years in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last 15 years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will conduct research into the use of data matching of local and national databases to better identify people who are entitled to register to vote but who are not registered.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that the Cabinet Office has previously conducted several pilots on this topic and the Commission has evaluated them. The full evaluation reports are available on the Commission’s website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/our-work/our-research/electoral-registration-research

    The Cabinet Office plans a further pilot for early 2015 and the Commission intends to evaluate this as well.

    “

  • Chris Ruane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chris Ruane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2015-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he held with the National Federation of SubPostmasters on the abolition of road tax discs.

    Jo Swinson

    The abolition of vehicle tax discs is a matter for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not held any discussions with the National Federation of SubPostmasters specifically on the subject of vehicle tax.

    Ministers meet the National Federation of SubPostmasters regularly to discuss a range of issues relating to the Post Office network. The dates of these meetings are available on the gov.uk website.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether levels of poverty and deprivation in coastal towns are considered by his Department when making grants from the Coastal Communities Fund.

    Brandon Lewis

    Grant applicants submitting bids to the Coastal Communities Fund are expected to demonstrate the need for their project, which can include levels of poverty and deprivation in their area. This information is one of a range of factors that are taken into account in the assessment of grant applications. However, the Fund is not specifically targeted on deprived coastal towns. Its aim is to support jobs and growth in coastal communities across the United Kingdom where projects can best exploit local assets and opportunities to unlock their growth potential. In addition to demonstrating need, applications to the Fund must be clearly linked to an economic opportunity to create and safeguard jobs within the coastal community. Coastal flooding and erosion risk management and repair are also priorities for grant aid where proposed works support economic development.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, on what date the discussions between the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office on sanctions against electoral registration officers (EROs) who refuse to conduct door-to-door canvassing as per Standard Three began; when those discussions will conclude; whether the conclusions of those discussions will be made available to (a) hon. Members with EROs who failed Standard Three, (b) the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and (c) councillors within failed local authorities; and if he will place in the Library the conclusions of those discussions.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Commission informs me that it has reported on ERO performance against Standard 3 for each year since 2008.

    To support EROs in preparing for and delivering the transition to individual electoral registration (IER) the Commission has developed a new performance standards framework, which it will use to monitor the performance of EROs against throughout the transition to individual electoral registration. The Commission will continue to carefully monitor and work closely with EROs and will consider a range of options to ensure EROs are carrying out their duties in full.

    Discussions between the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office take place regularly on a range of subjects.

    The Commission made clear in its June report that it would use its statutory powers to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State to require specific EROs to do door-to-door canvassing if this didn’t happen during the introduction of IER, which began on 10 June in England and Wales.

    No specific date for conclusion has been set as it will depend on the circumstances in each area, but the Commission will continue to keep this under active review. Should the Commission make a recommendation for such a direction, it will write to the relevant honourable members and local council leaders. We will also write to the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and ask for this correspondence to be placed in the House Library.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-07-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people out of work suffer from (a) mental health disorder and (b) depression; and what proportion of them have been treated with (i) anti depressants, (ii) talking therapies and (iii) mindfulness.

    Mr Mark Harper

    The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information on the proportion of people out of work with a mental health disorder or depression, nor the proportion treated with anti depressants, talking therapies and/or mindfulness.

    However, 11% of out-of-work adults report having “Depression, bad nerves or anxiety” or “Mental illness, phobia, panics and other nervous disorders”. This is against a reported 3% of those in-work (Annual Population Survey, April 2013 – March 2014, GB residents aged 16+).