Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to protect UK infrastructure from cyber attacks.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Ensuring our infrastructure is secure and resilient against cyber attack, in the context of rapidly changing threat and technology, is at the heart of our national approach to cyber security.
Our National Cyber Strategy sets out how we will build a resilient and prosperous digital UK. We are setting clear expectations for operators of critical infrastructures, including ambitious targets for improvement. We have strengthened regulatory frameworks through the Telecoms Security Act, consulted on amendments to the Network and Information Systems Regulations and are considering options to go further.
Through the National Cyber Security Centre we support infrastructure operators with tailored technical advice, guidance, and threat intelligence to build resilience in the national interest. This includes the recent alert on the threat from state-aligned groups following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what financial support the Government has made available to veterans to help with the cost of living.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Government is committed to supporting all households with the current cost of living, through the Help for Households initiative. This includes serving personnel and veterans. Veterans are able to access all the support that the rest of the UK is eligible for, including the Energy Price Guarantee, Cost of Living Payment and the Disability Cost of Living Payment.
Through its Veterans’ Welfare Service, Veterans UK provides one-to-one welfare support and advice to veterans or anyone supporting a veteran, their families and dependants. We are also working with the charitable sector to continue to signpost dedicated support available to veterans.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve and clarify the customs process for companies moving products from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK Government has provided comprehensive guidance on the processes that apply for moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is available on gov.uk. This includes the various means that are in place - whether through the UK Trader Scheme, the de minimis waiver arrangements, or the preferential arrangements available under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement - to ensure goods are able to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland tariff-free. We have also established the Trader Support Service, to which more than 27,000 companies are signed up, to support traders engaging in those processes. It is complemented by the Movement Assistance Scheme which provides assistance for traders moving food or agricultural products for which specific SPS controls apply.
As my Rt Hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out in the Commons on 13 January, the UK has operated arrangements since 1 January to ensure relevant UK-origin steel products do not incur tariffs when moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain. EU origin steel will also not be subject to tariffs when moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. On 21 January the Government also set out to stakeholders how relevant quotas can be accessed when businesses in Northern Ireland import steel from the rest of the world, and we remain in intensive contact with industry as these arrangements are put in place.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made in negotiations to raise UK quotas within the EU safeguards to account for the additional steel moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The UK Government has provided comprehensive guidance on the processes that apply for moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is available on gov.uk. This includes the various means that are in place - whether through the UK Trader Scheme, the de minimis waiver arrangements, or the preferential arrangements available under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement - to ensure goods are able to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland tariff-free. We have also established the Trader Support Service, to which more than 27,000 companies are signed up, to support traders engaging in those processes. It is complemented by the Movement Assistance Scheme which provides assistance for traders moving food or agricultural products for which specific SPS controls apply.
As my Rt Hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster set out in the Commons on 13 January, the UK has operated arrangements since 1 January to ensure relevant UK-origin steel products do not incur tariffs when moving to Northern Ireland from Great Britain. EU origin steel will also not be subject to tariffs when moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. On 21 January the Government also set out to stakeholders how relevant quotas can be accessed when businesses in Northern Ireland import steel from the rest of the world, and we remain in intensive contact with industry as these arrangements are put in place.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of Government procurement policy and (b) the potential merits of including (i) environmental and (ii) social factors as future Government procurement priorities.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has been clear that we want to do all we can to support our steel industry. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement does not affect the Government's ability to procure more UK-made steel. The Agreement incorporates our existing commitments on non-discrimination under the World Trade Organization’s Government Procurement Agreement that does not allow preferential treatment of UK steel producers in public procurement.
Our international obligations do still allow the UK to develop an independent procurement policy to save taxpayers money, drive wider social benefits and strengthen the resilience of domestic supply chains. The publication of indicative pipelines of government steel requirements alongside steel procurement guidance, ensures that UK steel producers have the best possible chances of competing for public sector projects.
We have recently published a Green Paper consultation on radical reform of the UK’s public procurement regulations. Our proposals aim to create a simpler regime that reduces costs for business and the public sector alike whilst complying with our international obligations. New rules will meet national needs, drive improved commercial outcomes, increase innovation and remove complex and unnecessary bureaucracy - all leading to improved value for money.
Alongside the Green Paper, our new social value approach, which came into effect for Government departments on 1 January, will help streamline and standardise the procurement process. It rightly aligns with government’s priorities on:
tackling regional inequality with new jobs and skills, including retraining the unemployed in clean growth sectors, and helping communities recover;
promoting economic growth and prosperity by supporting SMEs, VCSEs and start-ups to lead or be part of government supply chains; and
tackling climate change and supporting our net zero goals.
Asked by: Holly Mumby-Croft (Conservative - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment has he made of the effect of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the Government's ability to procure more UK-made steel.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has been clear that we want to do all we can to support our steel industry. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement does not affect the Government's ability to procure more UK-made steel. The Agreement incorporates our existing commitments on non-discrimination under the World Trade Organization’s Government Procurement Agreement that does not allow preferential treatment of UK steel producers in public procurement.
Our international obligations do still allow the UK to develop an independent procurement policy to save taxpayers money, drive wider social benefits and strengthen the resilience of domestic supply chains. The publication of indicative pipelines of government steel requirements alongside steel procurement guidance, ensures that UK steel producers have the best possible chances of competing for public sector projects.
We have recently published a Green Paper consultation on radical reform of the UK’s public procurement regulations. Our proposals aim to create a simpler regime that reduces costs for business and the public sector alike whilst complying with our international obligations. New rules will meet national needs, drive improved commercial outcomes, increase innovation and remove complex and unnecessary bureaucracy - all leading to improved value for money.
Alongside the Green Paper, our new social value approach, which came into effect for Government departments on 1 January, will help streamline and standardise the procurement process. It rightly aligns with government’s priorities on:
tackling regional inequality with new jobs and skills, including retraining the unemployed in clean growth sectors, and helping communities recover;
promoting economic growth and prosperity by supporting SMEs, VCSEs and start-ups to lead or be part of government supply chains; and
tackling climate change and supporting our net zero goals.