Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment the Government has made of the UK’s compliance with Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on the right to vote in the recent EU parliamentary elections.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Legislation has been in place since 1994 which ensures that the UK is in compliance with
its European Union obligations regarding EU citizens’ right to vote in European
Parliamentary elections whilst resident in the UK
The Government took all the legal steps necessary to prepare for the European
Parliamentary elections and put in place all the legislative and funding elements to enable
Returning Officers to make their preparations required for the polls.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance was issued to the Government by the Electoral Commission on the time required to ensure (a) EU citizens living in the UK and (b) UK citizens living in the EU would be able to vote in the EU parliamentary elections; and on what date his Department received that advice.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Government officials worked closely with Returning Officers and the Electoral Commission and other agencies such as the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) to support the smooth running of the polls on 23 May.
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are under a statutory duty to ensure people who are eligible to vote in elections have the opportunity to do so. For the recent European Parliamentary elections that included making sure relevant citizens of the EU who are resident in the UK and registered to vote in local elections were made aware they needed to complete a voter registration and declaration form (commonly referred to as a UC1 or EC6 form) in order to enable them to vote.
On 5 April, the Electoral Commission published guidance for local returning officers and EROs on the upcoming European parliamentary elections. This guidance reminded EROs to prepare and issue UC1 forms to EU citizens on the electoral register. It also encouraged EROs to agree plans and timings for postal vote despatch, including plans on how to prioritise the despatch of overseas votes. Overseas voters include UK eligible citizens living in the EU.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department made of the capacity of local authorities to ensure EU citizens living in the UK were able to vote in the UK at the recent EU parliamentary elections.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Registration for elections is a matter for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). The
Electoral Commission provides guidance and advice to EROs and is responsible for
monitoring their performance.
The Electoral Commission supported EROs in the discharge of this function. It issued guidance on
the 4th April which recommended that EROs should identify EU citizens who are on the local
government register and send them a declaration form and supporting information explaining how
they can declare their intent to vote in these elections in the UK should they wish to.
The Government worked with local authority elections staff
including EROs and Returning Officers and with the Electoral Commission and other
agencies such as the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and the
Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) to support the smooth running of the polls.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has plans to close the office of the (a) Boundary Commission for Wales in Fitzalan Court, Cardiff, (b) Company Names Tribunal on Cardiff Road, Newport, (c) Estyn office on Keen Road, Cardiff, (d) Forest Research on Cefn Gethiniog, Powys, (d) Office for National Statistics on Cardiff Road, Newport, (e) Public Health Wales on Tyndall Street, Cardiff, (f) Wales Audit Office at 24 Cathedral Road, Cardiff (g) Wales Audit Office at North Wales Business Park, Conwy and (h) Wales Audit Office on Penllergaer, Swansea.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Following consultation with the Government Property Agency who now manage the Cabinet Office estate, I can confirm that none of the locations referred to in the above question are owned or managed by Cabinet Office.
The civil service is going through a fundamental transformation in the way that we work and deliver services, not least through advances in technology. The future civil service will be more efficient, more highly skilled and agile.
We are working with departments to deliver our commitments within the Government Estates Strategy and to ensure that we make the best use of our Government Estate assets, including the office estates. We have a particular commitment to consider locations outside of London as identified through our Places for Growth programme.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with which organisations he plans to hold consultations on civil service pay following the pay remit guidance published on 25 June 2018.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and I met with the General Secretaries of the FDA, Prospect and PCS trade unions on 27 June to discuss the Civil Service pay guidance, which was published on 25 June.
In my capacity as the Minister with responsibility for Civil Service HR, including trade unions, I previously met with the General Secretaries of the FDA and Prospect on the 22 February 2018, and with the PCS General Secretary, on the 27th February 2018.
Cabinet office officials regularly meet with trade union representatives to discuss a range of workforce issues, including pay.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Civil Service unions on the pay remit guidance published on 25 June 2018.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and I met with the General Secretaries of the FDA, Prospect and PCS trade unions on 27 June to discuss the Civil Service pay guidance, which was published on 25 June.
In my capacity as the Minister with responsibility for Civil Service HR, including trade unions, I previously met with the General Secretaries of the FDA and Prospect on the 22 February 2018, and with the PCS General Secretary, on the 27th February 2018.
Cabinet office officials regularly meet with trade union representatives to discuss a range of workforce issues, including pay.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's implementation plan is for banning the box on job applications.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Civil Service chose to adopt the Ban the Box initiative in February 2016. The Cabinet Office issued guidance for departmental recruitment and HR teams to support departments to ensure their recruitment practices were in line with the Ban the Box initiative. For many organisations, the guidance formalised the good practice which already operated across the Civil Service. Departments have processes in place to approve exceptions. The Cabinet Office have not asked Departments to report on exceptions to the Ban the Box Scheme in the last 12 months.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 45 of the Government response to the First Report of the Justice Committee, Session 2017-19, HC 416, which Departments have reported on exemptions to the Ban the Box scheme in the last 12 months.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Civil Service chose to adopt the Ban the Box initiative in February 2016. The Cabinet Office issued guidance for departmental recruitment and HR teams to support departments to ensure their recruitment practices were in line with the Ban the Box initiative. For many organisations, the guidance formalised the good practice which already operated across the Civil Service. Departments have processes in place to approve exceptions. The Cabinet Office have not asked Departments to report on exceptions to the Ban the Box Scheme in the last 12 months.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his Department's implementation plan is for banning the box on job applications.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
No job roles advertised by the Cabinet Office during 2016 and 2017 were excluded from the ‘Ban the Box’ initiative.
The Cabinet Office embraces and encourages diversity across its workforce; therefore none of our job application forms either digitally or physically requires disclosure of criminal convictions, and therefore meets the requirements of ‘Ban the Box’.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of job roles advertised within his Department in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 excluded the box under the Ban the Box initiative.
Answered by Oliver Dowden - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
No job roles advertised by the Cabinet Office during 2016 and 2017 were excluded from the ‘Ban the Box’ initiative.
The Cabinet Office embraces and encourages diversity across its workforce; therefore none of our job application forms either digitally or physically requires disclosure of criminal convictions, and therefore meets the requirements of ‘Ban the Box’.