PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1455 Oral Answers
26 MARCH 2013
Oral Answers
1456
Miss Smith: I certainly can confirm that the national
insurance number will be used in registration. It is an
important part of the process and one of the primary
identifiers that we will be using. There will be others, as
part of the exceptions process, which will perhaps be
important to the people the hon. Lady may be concerned
about. I would be happy to provide her with more detail
as she requires.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con): It seems to
me that every time someone comes into contact with
their local council, makes a benefit application, buys a
house or rents a property, someone should ask them,
“Are you on the electoral register?”What can the Minister
do to encourage Government agencies, local government
agencies and private companies to ask that question?
Miss Smith: My hon. Friend underlines the point I
was making earlier, which is that there is a responsibility
across society to encourage people to take part in
politics by registering to vote. I am sure he will be
working with a range of groups in his constituency to
do that. I can also confirm that the programme is using
extensive data matching to ensure that records can be
shared where appropriate, certainly between public sector
bodies, to do the best job we can.
Topical Questions
T1. [149769] Stephen Gilbert (St Austell and Newquay)
(LD): If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg) rose—
Hon. Members: Hurray!
The Deputy Prime Minister: I am grateful for the
welcome from the Opposition Benches.
As Deputy Prime Minister, I support the Prime Minister
on a full range of Government policy and initiatives.
Within Government I take special responsibility for this
Government’s programme of political and constitutional
reform.
Stephen Gilbert: Does the Deputy Prime Minister
agree that we need to rebuild confidence in our failing
immigration system by tackling abuses and also bearing
down on the legacy of incompetence?
The Deputy Prime Minister: I strongly agree with my
hon. Friend that, having not only crashed the economy,
Labour also left an immigration system in chaos, in
which the public had absolutely no confidence whatever.
Just as we are repairing, reforming and rebuilding our
economy, we are having to do the same to the immigration
system, which Labour left in such a lamentable mess. I
agree with him that unless the public have confidence
that the immigration system is competently administered,
it is difficult to persuade people that we should remain
the open, generous-hearted country that we are.
Ms Harriet Harman (Camberwell and Peckham) (Lab):
In last week’s Budget it was announced that there would
be a Government-backed mortgage scheme for homes
up to a value of £600,000. Will the Deputy Prime
Minister make it absolutely clear that it will not be
available for people buying a second home?
The Deputy Prime Minister: As the Chancellor made
very clear, that is absolutely not the intention of the
scheme. The intention of the scheme is to allow people
to buy new homes, but as the right hon. and learned
Lady very well knows, this is a complex area. There are
anomalies that we need to address. For instance, we
would need to ensure that the rules allow divorced
couples to access the system just as much as anybody
else. The Treasury is working on the details of the
scheme to ensure that it does exactly what it is intended
to do.
Ms Harman: It is not a question of complexity or
detail: the Treasury is very familiar with the notion of
sole or main residence. The Deputy Prime Minister has
not answered the question. It is not about the intention;
it is a question of whether the Government are ruling
that out. Let me ask him about something else—not a
detail, but something fundamental—and see whether
he can be clearer about that. Will he make it clear that
the Government have ruled out making this Governmentbacked
mortgage help available to people who are not
domiciled in this country?
The Deputy Prime Minister: As the right hon. and
learned Lady knows, the reason we have developed
Help to Buy—which has two components: Government
equity in new build construction and mortgage assistance
—is of course not to subsidise people who have no stake
in this country, nor is its intention to provide subsidies
for people buying second homes. It is there to restore
confidence in the housing market as a whole and ensure
that the construction industry is given a significant
boost, so that we employ more people and give people
the opportunity to own their own homes.
Mr Speaker: Bob Blackman. Not here. It looks as if
the hon. Gentleman is quickly getting to his seat without
further delay. Hurry up. Mr Bob Blackman.
T2. [149770] Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con): Thank
you, Mr Speaker. My apologies; I was held up on
London transport. With the local elections coming in
May, will my right hon. Friend comment on the initiatives
he is taking to combat postal vote fraud and impersonation
at polling stations?
The Deputy Prime Minister: As I hope my hon. Friend
will know, the principal intention of the Electoral
Registration and Administration Act 2013, which we
are seeking to implement as quickly as we can, is
precisely to deal with the high levels of fraud in certain
parts of the country, which most people of all parties
felt was unacceptable.
T3. [149771] Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab):
What consideration has the Deputy Prime Minister
given to lowering the voting age to 16?
The Deputy Prime Minister: That is not something
that the coalition is going to deliver. I am personally
persuaded of the case for lowering the voting age, but it
was not included in the coalition agreement, so it is not
something that the coalition Government will deliver
during this Parliament.