Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Lindsay Roy

Tuesday 15th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I have this old-fashioned view that in all our constituencies candidates from our democratic political parties should be slugging it out on a level playing field and that we should not have people pulling the strings in the background in an untransparent way. That is all the Bill is trying to do. Anyone who believes in the integrity and transparency of democratic, open contest in our constituencies should support the Bill.

[Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes) (Lab)]

2. What steps his Office is taking to improve the completeness and accuracy of the Electoral Register.

[The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg)]

The Government will shortly publish the results of our confirmation dry run exercise, which matched almost 47 million electors against Department for Work and Pensions data. The results were much better than we anticipated and, using a combination of national and local data, could lead to an overall average match rate of 85%. In addition, we are making registration simpler by enabling online registration, and in June we announced £4.2 million-worth of measures to maximise voter registration ahead of the transition to individual electoral registration.

[Lindsay Roy]

I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for his answer, but will he explain what he is doing to promote voter registration among our armed services personnel, whose percentage registration has been highlighted as a cause for concern?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I know that the Cabinet Office has been working with the Ministry of Defence to ensure that efforts are undertaken. Considerable efforts have been made in the past, but where we can do more, we should do more, in order to encourage anyone who is eligible to vote to do so and to enter into the new individual voter registration system, as I explained earlier.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Lindsay Roy

Tuesday 9th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is getting active support from the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Miss Smith), who is sitting to my left. As he knows, Norwich is one of the 20 cities and towns that are in the process of securing a second wave of so-called city deals, following the first wave for the eight largest cities outside the south-east. I met representatives from Norwich and the other 19 places recently, and I am optimistic that we will be able to make an announcement in the autumn or winter.

[Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes) (Lab)]

According to a recent Hansard Society survey, only 12% of 18 to 24-year-olds are committed to voting in the next general election. Why does the Deputy Prime Minister think that is the case, and what steps does he intend to take to improve participation?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office explained earlier, a number of steps are being taken to ensure that young voters understand how individual voter registration will work and that they take the opportunity to register themselves individually so that they can participate fully in future elections.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Lindsay Roy

Tuesday 20th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

That is not something that we have considered, but I am more than happy to ask officials to provide information about whether there is something erratic or illogical about the levels of deposit in different electoral contests.

[Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes) (Lab)]

T7. What reaction has the Deputy Prime Minister had from the Secretary of State for Scotland on his reported plans to evict the Scotland Office from Dover house, and why would the Deputy Prime Minister’s small Department apparently want to move there?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I am not aware of any plans to evict the Secretary of State from his office.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Lindsay Roy

Tuesday 15th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As my hon. Friend will know, we are looking at all the measures that we think hinder growth and job creation. We have already announced a significant change in the tribunal system such that the qualifying period is extended from one year to two years. We have also announced that we will explore the establishment of what are called “protected conversations” so that employers and employees can talk, as the name implies, in a protected way about the performance of those employees, which employers have demanded for a long time. They have welcomed it because they think it will help them create more jobs.

[Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes) (Lab)]

The Deputy Prime Minister is appointing seven new special advisers. Some of his Conservative colleagues have described them as “spies”. Will the right hon. Gentleman tell us how those appointments match the coalition agreement’s proposal to limit the number of special advisers?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

As with any new Government, both parties in the coalition Government—we have not had a coalition Government in a long time—have had to adjust the way in which they are supported in government to make sure that we deliver in full on the coalition agreement to which I referred.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Clegg and Lindsay Roy

Tuesday 11th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I strongly agree. The relationship between our banks and small and medium-sized businesses is possibly the most important issue for the country’s long-term prosperity, and one of the many virtues of the Vickers report, which, we have been very clear, in principle we are going to implement, is precisely that it will create a firewall in the banking system, so that there is a real vocation in the banking industry to support traditional customers, such as small and medium-sized businesses, in a way that has slightly withered on the vine in recent years.

[Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes) (Lab)]

Does the Deputy Prime Minister believe that the Supreme Court should continue to have a UK-wide role, even at a time when there are stronger devolved Administrations?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

Yes. I think that, in keeping with all judicial systems in all countries that have a high degree of devolution, as we do, it is right that at the apex of the judicial system there should be a highest court, a supreme court, which is able to oversee the jurisdiction of all nations of the United Kingdom.