Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking with (a) local authorities and (b) community organisations to strengthen national resilience.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government is currently undertaking a review of UK national resilience which is expected to conclude in Spring 2025. It is being informed by the voices of local leaders, the devolved governments, businesses, voluntary and community sector representatives and academics. It is also considering the recommendations from public inquiries into Covid-19 and the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
We are also working closely with MHCLG who are developing Stronger Local Resilience Forum Trailblazers and taking forward the Devolution Bill which will help to strengthen local leadership, increase democratic accountability, and integrate resilience into place based policy decisions.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on strengthening national resilience.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Working with international partners is a core strand of the UK’s efforts to strengthen our national resilience. My officials regularly discuss national resilience with their international counterparts - multilaterally within the auspices of NATO and our longstanding FiveEyes partnerships, and bilaterally with other key partners. In November, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster addressed the NATO Cyber Defence Conference - hosted in London - where he underlined the importance of continuing to work together as NATO Allies against the growing cyber threat to our collective resilience.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress has been made on establishing the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In August, we laid regulations that give the Infected Blood Compensation Authority the powers necessary to pay compensation through the core route to the infected, both living and deceased. On 17 October, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority began to reach out to the first claimants under these Regulations and the Government expects the Authority to begin making payments by the end of the year. On 24 October, the Government opened the process under which estates can apply for interim compensation payments of £100,000 for deaths not yet recognised. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Government is aiming for the second set of Regulations to be in place by 31 March 2025. This will support our aim of payments to people who are affected to begin in 2025.