Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to issue updated guidance to contracting authorities on the assessment of national security risks in procurement decisions.
Answered by Chris Ward
This Government believes that it matters where things are made and who makes them.
The Government has recently published new guidance on using national security exemptions within the Procurement Act 2023 for four initial pathfinder sectors: steel, shipbuilding, artificial intelligence, and energy infrastructure. The four pathfinder sectors were selected based on their status as critical industries where disruptions in international markets have exposed vulnerabilities that threaten national security interests and overall stability.
Separately, the Procurement Act 2023 introduced new powers to exclude a supplier from a specific procurement, terminate a public contract with a supplier, or debar a supplier from all or a range of public contracts, on national security grounds. We are prepared to take robust action to protect the UK from any suppliers in the public sector that may pose a threat to our national security.
Contracting authorities are advised to undertake a detailed national security assessment only where they identify certain sensitivities specified in the new guidance, rather than for every single tender.
The targeted nature of the exclusion and debarment regime means that suppliers will be informed when there is an investigation where there is evidence to suggest that they pose a national security risk. We have not seen evidence to suggest this has impacted negatively on the ability of SMEs to win Government contracts or increased the administrative burden on those businesses.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of procurement policy in reducing dependency on high-risk foreign suppliers in critical sectors.
Answered by Chris Ward
This Government believes that it matters where things are made and who makes them.
The Government has recently published new guidance on using national security exemptions within the Procurement Act 2023 for four initial pathfinder sectors: steel, shipbuilding, artificial intelligence, and energy infrastructure. The four pathfinder sectors were selected based on their status as critical industries where disruptions in international markets have exposed vulnerabilities that threaten national security interests and overall stability.
Separately, the Procurement Act 2023 introduced new powers to exclude a supplier from a specific procurement, terminate a public contract with a supplier, or debar a supplier from all or a range of public contracts, on national security grounds. We are prepared to take robust action to protect the UK from any suppliers in the public sector that may pose a threat to our national security.
Contracting authorities are advised to undertake a detailed national security assessment only where they identify certain sensitivities specified in the new guidance, rather than for every single tender.
The targeted nature of the exclusion and debarment regime means that suppliers will be informed when there is an investigation where there is evidence to suggest that they pose a national security risk. We have not seen evidence to suggest this has impacted negatively on the ability of SMEs to win Government contracts or increased the administrative burden on those businesses.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the administrative impact of enhanced national security screening requirements on small and medium-sized enterprises bidding for public contracts.
Answered by Chris Ward
This Government believes that it matters where things are made and who makes them.
The Government has recently published new guidance on using national security exemptions within the Procurement Act 2023 for four initial pathfinder sectors: steel, shipbuilding, artificial intelligence, and energy infrastructure. The four pathfinder sectors were selected based on their status as critical industries where disruptions in international markets have exposed vulnerabilities that threaten national security interests and overall stability.
Separately, the Procurement Act 2023 introduced new powers to exclude a supplier from a specific procurement, terminate a public contract with a supplier, or debar a supplier from all or a range of public contracts, on national security grounds. We are prepared to take robust action to protect the UK from any suppliers in the public sector that may pose a threat to our national security.
Contracting authorities are advised to undertake a detailed national security assessment only where they identify certain sensitivities specified in the new guidance, rather than for every single tender.
The targeted nature of the exclusion and debarment regime means that suppliers will be informed when there is an investigation where there is evidence to suggest that they pose a national security risk. We have not seen evidence to suggest this has impacted negatively on the ability of SMEs to win Government contracts or increased the administrative burden on those businesses.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps is he taking through the Office for the Impact Economy to increase the the size of the co-operative sector.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This Government recognises the enormous value of the co-operative sector.
The Office of Impact Economy, working with departments including the Department for Business and Trade, mobilises and scales partnerships between the impact economy, places and government around core shared objectives in support of national renewal.
Co-operatives and mutuals play an important part in helping to create jobs, retain employment and build wealth locally, and the Department for Business and Trade is supporting the government’s manifesto commitment to double the size of the sector. In addition to this, the Office for the Impact Economy unlocks the impact economy’s potential, making partnerships between the government and this sector easier to start and deliver.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data his Department holds on the unemployment rate of spouses of uniformed personnel in the armed forces.
Answered by Josh Simons
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 2nd of January is attached.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria are used by his Department to determine which public systems require mandatory zero-trust security measures.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Department applies a risk-based assessment framework, underpinned by secure by design methodology including structured threat modelling, to determine which public systems require mandatory zero-trust security measures. Systems handling sensitive data, supporting critical services, or presenting elevated threat exposure are prioritised. This approach ensures that zero-trust controls are applied proportionately, focusing effort on the environments with the highest risk profile.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of local strategic delivery plans for early childhood outcomes under the Test, Learn and Grow programme in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.
Answered by Josh Simons
The Test, Learn & Grow programme is modelling and scaling an approach to public service reform and mission delivery that closes gaps between policy, delivery and service users, and speeds up learning and improvement.
In July, the Programme announced the 10 places that it will be working with in England. These are: Barnsley, Wakefield, Manchester, Liverpool, Sandwell, Northumberland, Essex, Plymouth, Nottingham, and within London. Challenges the teams will look at will include increasing the uptake of Best Start Family Hubs to support parents and young children - and this is currently being scoped with input from the Department for Education, Cabinet Office and local partners.
The Programme is committed to spreading practice and insights to local authorities across the country and will ensure that this opportunity is available to Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to set statutory targets for levels of SME participation in public sector procurement.
Answered by Chris Ward
The Government is determined to ensure the £385 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually, delivers economic growth and supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The Government previously announced that all departments would set SME spend targets, and now plans to expand that requirement to the wider public sector - further prioritising and boosting spending with SMEs.
The Government is analysing responses to our recent public consultation on further reforms to public procurement processes. These proposals aim to drive economic growth, support small businesses, and better support innovation. We will publish our conclusions and further actions to improve public procurement in due course.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, over what timeframe his Department plans to evaluate the outcomes of the Summer Internship Programme for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Our first cohort of interns will be joining in Summer 2026 so we anticipate impacts will begin to be visible on the Autumn 2027 Fast Stream intake as participating students graduate from university and seek to join the programme. We will continue to publish Fast Stream recruitment data on an annual basis.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria his Department plans to use to assess eligibility for the Summer Internship Programme for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The refocused Fast Stream Summer Internship scheme will give talented undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds the opportunity to see what a career in the Civil Service is like. We will assess eligibility for the summer internship scheme based on parental occupation at the age of 14. The Social Mobility Commission (SMC) identifies this as the most accurate measure of socio-economic background.