Cabinet Office written question – answered am ar 22 Hydref 2019.
Jim Cunningham
Llafur, Coventry South
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that disabled people are able to vote in elections (a) confidentially and (b) easily.
Kevin Foster
Assistant Whip, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office
The Government continues to work with the Cabinet Office chaired Accessibility of Elections Working Group to make elections more accessible to disabled people. Work has already been undertaken with Mencap and the Electoral Commission to produce Easy Read guides for registration and voting at recent polls, and we have worked with the Electoral Commission to update its guidance for Returning Officers and polling station staff.
We are also starting to bring forward measures which respond to issues raised in the Government’s response to the 2018 Call for Evidence on Access to Elections, with the proposals announced as part of the package around the Queen’s Speech. These 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.
Yes2 people think so
No0 people think not
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The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
