Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings he has had with the RNIB since the 3 May 2019 decision of the High Court on electoral accessibility.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government continues to work with the Accessibility of Elections Working Group to make an informed assessment of the most suitable options to take forward. Officials are due to hold a meeting on this topic with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) very soon
Work has been undertaken to revise guidance to electoral administrators and, with input from RNIB, to research technical solutions which will be further discussed at a dedicated sub-group.
We are also starting to bring forward measures following the Government’s response to the 2018 Call for Evidence on Access to Elections. Proposals were announced during the Queen’s Speech. This will include increasing the range of support available to voters with disabilities in polling stations and allowing a wider range of people (such as carers) to assist disabled voters in polling stations if needed.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 7 October 2019 to Question 293726, how many meetings there have been between officials in his Department and officials in the Cabinet Office on the National Data Strategy over the last 12 months.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
There have been no specific meetings between ministers or officials in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Office on the National Data Strategy as this is led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
We have identified at least 12 meetings attended by officials from both the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the National Data Strategy since the strategy was announced in June 2018.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 5 September 2019 to Question 284390 on Public Sector: Computer Software, whether (a) his Department and (b) the GDS is monitoring the number and proportion of public sector computers transitioning from Windows 7 prior to the end of the support date.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
Individual technology choices and volumes purchased rest with individual departments
The Cabinet Office will soon start work on an audit to allow for a more comprehensive and consistent approach to reviewing legacy IT in government and will support departments to understand their legacy systems and any risks associated with those systems.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) local authorities or (b) Government will bear the cost of producing a local electoral identity document.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government will bring forward measures to introduce voter ID when parliamentary time allows.
As was the case in the 2018 and 2019 voter ID pilots, electors who do not have any of the required types of ID will be able to apply for a locally issued electoral identity document, free of charge.
Funding for the additional cost of producing locally issued electoral identity documents will be provided by the Government.
We will continue working with the pilot authorities who have tested voter ID, the Electoral Commission, and the Cabinet Office pilot and reference group to develop a secure and accessible process for national implementation.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 7 October to Question 293726, how many meetings Ministers or officials in his Department have held with Ministers or officials in the Cabinet Office on the National Data Strategy since that strategy was announced.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
There have been no specific meetings between ministers or officials in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Office on the National Data Strategy as this is led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
We have identified at least 12 meetings attended by officials from both the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the National Data Strategy since the strategy was announced in June 2018.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 8 October to Question 293725 on Government Chief Data Officer, until what date the objective of appointing a Chief Data Officer by 2020 applies.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
No specific date has been set for the appointment, however the government remains committed to appointing within the timeframe set out in the Government Transformation Strategy.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many known cases of incorrect identity verification on Gov.UK Verify there have been since 2014.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
We are not aware of any cases where an individual has been verified as being someone they are not, or as an identity that is fake or synthetic through GOV.UK Verify.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which 46 Government services were originally intended to be accessible through GOV.UK Verify by March 2018.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
Not all the services originally considering using GOV.UK Verify are still in service, completed their digital transformation, or had well-evidenced need for digital identity. 21 services currently use GOV.UK Verify.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent correspondence he has received from each Gov.UK Verify provider on their continued participation in that scheme.
Answered by Simon Hart - Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
The Cabinet Office, including ministers, is in regular contact with all GOV.UK Verify identity providers. For example, we held a roundtable in July 2019. Details of ministerial meetings are published as part of routine government transparency on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people access their state pension online.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On-line take up figures are published on the Gov.uk internet site.
The links to the Gov.uk pages are updated regularly:
Check your State Pension
https://www.gov.uk/performance/state-pension-statement
Get your State Pension
https://www.gov.uk/performance/state-pension-new-claims