Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in the NHS database hack by Qilin in June, (1) how many individual patients' data were hacked, (2) whether data were hacked that could be used to identify any individual, (3) whether, and what, medical information was hacked, and (4) whether any results were hacked and, if so, what type of results.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The data leaked following the cyber-attack on Synnovis is still being investigated by Synnovis. This involves interrogation to identify the personal data that has been affected. The complexity of the investigation means it will take time for Synnovis to clarify and identify which individuals and organisations have been impacted and the nature of the data.

We understand that the data leaked in the Synnovis cyber-attack was not taken from a single database but was a partial copy of content from Synnovis’s administrative working drives.

When any databases which contain personal data are established by an organisation, the organisation has its own legal responsibilities as a controller of the data to ensure data protection by design and default in the design and development of a database, and to carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) under UK General Data Protection Regulation. A DPIA includes an assessment of any risks to individuals, and how these risks are mitigated.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the database hack by Qilin in June, what assessment they have made of the use of single databases for storage of information in the NHS; and what risks they have identified.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The data leaked following the cyber-attack on Synnovis is still being investigated by Synnovis. This involves interrogation to identify the personal data that has been affected. The complexity of the investigation means it will take time for Synnovis to clarify and identify which individuals and organisations have been impacted and the nature of the data.

We understand that the data leaked in the Synnovis cyber-attack was not taken from a single database but was a partial copy of content from Synnovis’s administrative working drives.

When any databases which contain personal data are established by an organisation, the organisation has its own legal responsibilities as a controller of the data to ensure data protection by design and default in the design and development of a database, and to carry out a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) under UK General Data Protection Regulation. A DPIA includes an assessment of any risks to individuals, and how these risks are mitigated.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, concerning the case of Dominic Miles, a British national imprisoned in Bahrain since 2022, in light of an alleged failure of due process and the Government's statement in August 2023 that the ombudsman suspects torture; what assessment they have made of his case; what representations have been made on his behalf and to which Bahraini authorities over the past two years; and when the last such representation was made.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Supporting the welfare of British nationals detained overseas is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and we take all allegations of torture and mistreatment extremely seriously. When such concerns are raised, with the individual's consent, we will raise these with the relevant authorities. We are unable to provide comment on the detail of individual consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation, which can be found on the attached PDF.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in notifying individuals that they may be eligible to Winter Fuel Payments, whether they took steps to ensure that letters were not sent to deceased people whose relatives had used the Tell Us Once service, and in how many instances they are aware of such letters being sent despite this.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department each year routinely takes steps to ensure letters issued to those eligible to Winter Fuel payments are accurate based on their circumstances at the time of writing. Naturally, there is a short timeframe where in very rare occasions these circumstances may change whilst the letters are already in production or in the delivery network. We continually review our processes to ensure these instances are kept to an absolute minimum to avoid unnecessary impacts on our customers or their relatives.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made a decision on continuing the Gulf Strategy Fund; if not, when the decision will be made; and what criteria were or will be considered during the policy review.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Gulf Strategy Fund has an allocation of £6m for the Financial Year 2024/25. Funding for future years will be decided once we know the outcome of the Spending Review.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will review the Gulf Strategy Fund to increase transparency of how the funds are used, including by publishing details of the implementers and beneficiaries of the fund.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The FCDO is committed to Transparency. We are currently reviewing the transparency of the Gulf Strategy Fund, to build on the Thematic Summaries already published annually on GOV.UK. Publication of the summary for 2023/24 will follow this review.

Found: Apologies were received from Lord Scriven. DELIBERATION IN PRIVATE 1.

Found: usual rules of the 1878 Act to resume. 40 In their contributions, Lord Birt (a cross bencher) and Lord

Found: usual rules of the 1878 Act to resume. 40 In their contributions, Lord Birt (a cross bencher) and Lord