Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an automatic voter registration system for elections.
Answered by Simon Hoare
Individual Electoral Registration (IER), introduced in 2014, brought registering to vote into the 21st century by making it possible to register to vote online in as little as three minutes. It also ensured that every individual had control and ownership over the process.
The UK Government has no plans to reassess its policy with regards to automatic voter registration, as to do so would risk undermining the principle of individuals taking ownership of registering to vote.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to support the provision of nutritionally balanced plant-based meals on menus for staff in public sector bodies under his Department's responsibility.
Answered by Simon Hoare
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 1515 on 20 November 2023.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which (a) cities, (b) towns and (c) other communities have been named in adverts promoting the What Does Levelling Up Mean to You consultation.
Answered by Neil O'Brien - Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development)
To ensure different types of communities from across the UK engage in the consultation a campaign has run in a number of locations. Cities, towns or communities named in advertisements include:
Aberdeen, Belfast, Blackpool, Chesterfield, Penzance and Newlyn, Derry/Londonderry, Darlington, Teesside, Derby, East Midlands, Lancashire, Burley, Glasgow, Grimsby, Great Yarmouth, Lincoln, Liverpool, Birkenhead, Loughborough, Leicestershire, Mid-Wales, Dulais and Tawe, Blyth, Newcastle, South Yorkshire, Rotherham, Stoke-on-Trent, Hanley, Southend, Haverfordwest, Swansea, Walsall, Wolverhampton.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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) the total promotional budget and (b) details of how that budget is allocated by geographical area for the What Does Levelling Up Mean to You consultation.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Spend on campaigns is published regularly on the Gov.uk website as part of the department’s transparency data made publicly available.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what expenditure his Department has incurred for advertising the What Does Levelling Up Mean to You consultation on (a) social media, (b) billboards, (c) newspaper adverts and (d) other advertising media in Glasgow.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Spend on campaigns is published regularly on the Gov.uk website as part of the department’s transparency data made publicly available.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
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 carry out an assessment of how the (a) Elections Bill and (b) the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill align with the themes and goals of the Summit for Democracy being hosted by the President of the United States on 9-10 December 2021.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Elections Bill delivers against the Government’s manifesto commitment to protect our democracy and ensure that it remains secure, fair, modern, and transparent.
The Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Bill seeks to return to tried-and-tested constitutional arrangements, which affirm the central role of the electorate. By repealing the Fixed-term Parliaments Act we will increase legal, constitutional and political certainty around the process for the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of a new Parliament, and reinforce public confidence in our democratic system.
The measures in these Bills, alongside wider work across government, support the core Summit for Democracy themes of strengthening democracy and defending against authoritarianism; fighting corruption; and promoting respect for human rights.