Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 1 July 2021 to Question 23232 on Elections: Proof of Identity, if he will make an estimate of the cost of training polling station staff to administer the voter ID requirements in the Elections Act 2022.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Government remains fully committed to addressing the serious issue of fraud in elections. Building on the introduction by the then Labour Government in 2001 of a requirement for photographic identification for elections in Northern Ireland, the 2022 Elections Act introduces a similar requirement for elections across Great Britain.
The Elections Act 2022 lists accepted forms of identification, including student identity cards covered by the PASS scheme.
The Government has published a Voter Identification Impact Assessment which includes details on training, and privacy screens and other equipment. It is anticipated that a privacy screen will only be required when there is no private room or area in the polling place to carry out identification checks. However, as the proportion of polling places with private areas is unknown, cost estimates assumed one privacy screen per polling station and are therefore over estimates.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether photographic student ID will accepted as valid ID to vote under the Elections Bill 2022.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Government remains fully committed to addressing the serious issue of fraud in elections. Building on the introduction by the then Labour Government in 2001 of a requirement for photographic identification for elections in Northern Ireland, the 2022 Elections Act introduces a similar requirement for elections across Great Britain.
The Elections Act 2022 lists accepted forms of identification, including student identity cards covered by the PASS scheme.
The Government has published a Voter Identification Impact Assessment which includes details on training, and privacy screens and other equipment. It is anticipated that a privacy screen will only be required when there is no private room or area in the polling place to carry out identification checks. However, as the proportion of polling places with private areas is unknown, cost estimates assumed one privacy screen per polling station and are therefore over estimates.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish a breakdown of the total payments made to civil servants in his Department for relocation costs to government offices outside London in 2021.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Government is committed to Places for Growth. This policy is intended to help address the imbalance of public sector roles throughout the UK and to boost local economic growth, outside of London and the South East. The intention is to build more sustainable career paths for civil servants, including senior officials, outside of London. To achieve these ends some relocations are required. A total of £37,429 was paid for costs incurred in relocating outside London.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether any (a) ministerial responsibilities and (b) civil service units have been transferred to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since the appointment of the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations on 25 October 2022.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the oral answer given by my Hon Friend, the Member for Bassetlaw (Official Report, 27 October 2022, Vol 721, c.383 ).
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2022 to Question 20339, how much his Department spent on external recruitment consultants in 2021.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The Department’s total spend on external recruitment consultants in 2021 was £59,820.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is responsible for the provisions of the Elections Act 2022.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities holds responsibility for provisions of the Elections Act 2022.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which teams within his Department work on (a) elections and (b) constitutional policy.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Elections and Registration and Franchise teams advise on elections. They will move into the new Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from the Cabinet Office as part of the machinery of government change. Constitutional Policy remains a matter for the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to pages 51-2 of the Committee on Standards in Public Life July 2018 report, MPs' Outside Interests, what recent discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on guidance on the registration of outside interests by candidates at parliamentary elections; and whether he plans to update that guidance.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The recommendations in that Committee on Standards in Public Life report are primarily a matter for the House of Commons, and are currently being considered by the House.
In relation to the single recommendation on future outside interests of elected representatives, I would note that it is already the case that the press and public may ask questions of candidates on their intended outside interests if elected. And, indeed, such scrutiny is taking place in the current Parliamentary by-elections.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many civil servants have been transferred to his Department since 15 September 2021; and what units have been transferred to his Department from other government Departments since he became Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department is ensuring that the number of civil servants matches the demands and responsibilities the new Department has. The total numbers of staff can be found in our workforce management reports which are published monthly and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dluhc-workforce-management-information.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to improve the Troubled Families programme.
Answered by Luke Hall
The national evaluation of the Troubled Families Programme has shown that the programme has helped reform public services and improved outcomes for families. This Government has announced funding of up to £165 million to extend the programme for an extra year. This will mean more people in need get access to the programme's early, practical and coordinated support to transform their lives for the better. This Government wants to build on the success of the programme in the coming year, delivering on our manifesto commitment to ensure we reach all those who could benefit from the programme – from the early years and throughout their lives – and we will set out the steps we plan to take in due course.