Tag: Chris Ruane

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.

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+).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what grants have been given by the Coastal Communities Fund to date; which town, county and parliamentary constituency received each such grant; and what the size and purpose of each grant was.

Kris Hopkins

The Coastal Communities Fund supports economic growth and jobs in coastal communities across the United Kingdom. We have awarded a total of 104 grants under the Fund to date in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland at a total value of £53.6 million. A table has been placed in the Library of the House giving the details requested for all 104 grants.

Decisions on grant awards in England are taken by Government Ministers. In Wales and Northern Ireland grant awards are taken by panels involving officials from the BIG Lottery Fund and Devolved Administrations, and in Scotland by independently appointed panels.

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 publish the names of the 10 local authorities with the (a) smallest and (b) biggest percentage increase in registration after the implementation of the Standard Three door-to-door canvassing for 2013 canvass; and which parliamentary constituencies each such local authority covers.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission informs me that the table below shows the ten local authorities with the biggest increases and decreases in electorate between the start and end of the 2013 canvass.

Local authority	Change (November 2013 – Feb/March 2014
Edinburgh, City of	20,241
Cheshire West and Chester	14,676
Tower Hamlets	10,566
Newcastle upon Tyne	9,550
Taunton Deane	9,023
North Lanarkshire	9,001
South Lanarkshire	8,926
Glasgow City	8,710
Huntingdonshire	8,023
Mole Valley	7,866
Northampton	-10,309
Barnet	-12,743
Newham	-16,617
Maidstone	-10,121
Cornwall	-13,195
East Devon	-6,424
Birmingham	-20,572
Shropshire	-14,350
Leeds	-24,119
Renfrewshire	-7693

These local authorities cover the following parliamentary constituencies:

Local authority	Constituencies covered
Edinburgh, City of	Edinburgh East Edinburgh North and Leith Edinburgh South Edinburgh South West Edinburgh West
Cheshire West and Chester	City of Chester Eddisbury Ellesmere Port and Neston Tatton Weaver Vale
Tower Hamlets	Bethnal Green and Bow Poplar and Limehouse
Newcastle upon Tyne	Newcastle upon Tyne Central Newcastle upon Tyne East Newcastle upon Tyne North
Taunton Deane	Taunton Deane
North Lanarkshire	Airdrie and Shotts Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East Motherwell and Wishaw
South Lanarkshire	Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow Lanark and Hamilton East Rutherglen and Hamilton West

Glasgow City	East Dunbartonshire Glasgow Central Glasgow East Glasgow North Glasgow North East Glasgow North West Glasgow South Glasgow South West
Huntingdonshire	Huntingdon North West Cambridgeshire
Mole Valley	Epsom and Ewell Mole Valley
Northampton	Northampton North Northampton South South Northamptonshire
Barnet	Chipping Barnet Finchley and Golders Green Hendon
Newham	East Ham West Ham
Maidstone	Faversham and Mid Kent Maidstone and The Weald
Cornwall	Camborne and Redruth North Cornwall South East Cornwall St Austell and Newquay St Ives Truro and Falmouth
East Devon	Central Devon East Devon Tiverton and Honiton

Birmingham	Birmingham, Edgbaston Birmingham, Erdington Birmingham, Hall Green Birmingham, Hodge Hill Birmingham, Ladywood Birmingham, Northfield Birmingham, Perry Barr Birmingham, Selly Oak Birmingham, Yardley Sutton Coldfield
Shropshire	Ludlow North Shropshire Shrewsbury and Atcham The Wrekin
Leeds	Elmet and Rothwell Leeds Central Leeds East Leeds North East Leeds North West Leeds West Morley and Outwood Pudsey
Renfrewshire	Paisley and Renfrewshire North Paisley and Renfrewshire South

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

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, with reference to the Answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, columns 555-6W, on electoral register, Northern Ireland, what actions resulted from his discussions with the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office concerning the schools programme for electoral registration.

Greg Clark

The Government has made the Rock Enrol learning resource freely available on the Gov.UK and Times Education Supplement website amongst others.

Additionally, the recent introduction of online registration in England and Wales will make it more convenient for young people to register to vote.

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 number and percentage of electors were added to the electoral register as a result of the implementation of standard three door to door canvassing in each constituent part and region of the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission informs me that they do not hold the data requested. The data collected annually from EROs is household-level data rather than elector level data, reflecting the household nature of the annual canvass.

The data collected includes the number of household canvass returns made via different response methods – including personal canvasser, and this is available for each year from 2008 on their website.

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

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, with reference to the Answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 510W, on electoral register: young people, how much funding his Department has made available to (a) Rock Enroll and (b) Bite the Ballot in each year for which data is available; and how many people each such organisation has directly registered in each year for which data is available.

Greg Clark

The Government is supportive of organisations that promote democratic engagement such as Bite the Ballot.

Cabinet Office and Bite the Ballot co-developed the Rock Enrol learning resource in 2012/2013. The value of the contract was £25,700. The Government has made Rock Enrol freely available freely available on the gov.uk and Times Education Supplement websites.

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 make it their policy to gather information on registration levels on an annual basis.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission informs me that they collect from every ERO, and publish, annual electoral registration statistics covering a range of topics including the number of electors on the registers, response rates to the annual canvass, numbers of additions and deletions on the registers and levels of carry forward.

This data collection will be more frequent during the transition to individual electoral registration (IER).

The Commission further informs me that they report periodically on the overall levels of accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers. Such studies are costly to conduct and it is not therefore feasible to conduct them annually. There are two such studies planned as part of the Commission’s approach to monitoring the implementation of IER.

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

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what additional central government funding is available to electoral registration officers for the purpose of electoral registration in each of the last 10 years; and which local authorities were successful in bidding for such funding.

Greg Clark

The following additional amounts were available for the purpose of electoral registration in the last 10 years:

2007/2008 – £934,741

2008/2009 – £544,391

2009/2010 – £427,190

2010/2011 – £54,708

2011/12 – no additional funding

2012/13 – no additional funding

2013/14 – £4,857,018

2014/15 – £29,992,993

In the financial years 2007/2008 to 2010/2011, local authorities were able to bid for funding from the Participation Fund, which was abolished due to lack of demand. A table listing those local authorities which received money from this fund has been placed in the Library of the House.

The Government has provided funding in 2013/14 and 2014/15, in addition to the Revenue Support Grant, for every local authority and Valuation Joint Board in England, Wales and Scotland for the net additional cost of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER).

In addition, in 2013/14 every local authority and Valuation Joint Board in England, Wales and Scotland received a share of £3,984,068funding to support the costs of activities to maximise electoral registration.

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 which dates the Electoral Commission will report to (a) Parliament and (b) individual hon. Members on the progress on the implementation of individual electoral registration.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Commission informs me that it will report to both Parliament and individual Members at appropriate points, and in line with its statutory duties throughout the implementation of Individual Electoral Registration.

The Commission intends to publish updates on progress at three key points in the transition, as laid out in its March report. This is available on the Commission’s website here:

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/166511/Readiness-for-the-transition-to-IER-Progress-Report-March-2014.pdf

“