Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen cyber security.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The National Cyber Strategy 2022 sets out how the UK will continue to be a leading responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in and through cyberspace. It is supported by more than £2.6 billion of investment over three years with a particular emphasis on improving the government’s own cyber security.
The Strategy is delivering a step-change in the UK’s cyber resilience with the government leading the way, adopting a more proactive and sustained campaign approach to deter our adversaries, putting cyber power at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy agenda, whilst protecting and pursuing a competitive advantage in the underpinning technologies that are critical to cyberspace. It also emphasises a whole-of-society approach calling on all parts of society to play their part in reinforcing the UK’s economic and strategic strengths in cyberspace.
In August 2023 the Government published its first annual report on progress implementing the Strategy. The report highlighted the success in the last twelve months in improving cyber resilience through the NCSC Cyber Action Plan and Cyber Essentials as well as disruptions such as the first tranche of cyber sanctions and the takedown of the GENESIS marketplace, a go-to service for cyber-criminals.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen national security.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office leads and coordinates the UK’s national security crisis response through the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR), and national security policy through the National Security Council structures. This includes the National Cyber Strategy, National Security and Investment Programme, and the Biological Security Strategy, all of which the department is taking essential steps to deliver.
Key successes in 2023 included publishing the Integrated Review Refresh, passing the National Security Act, launching the Emergency Alerting service, and delivering the Atlantic Declaration and risk elements of the AI Summit. So far in 2024, we have launched a new Strategic Dialogue on Biological Security with the US and continued to coordinate the response to the conflict in Gaza and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on strengthening national resilience.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Strengthening national resilience is a key priority for the Government.
In December 2023, the Deputy Prime Minister delivered the first Annual Statement to Parliament on risk and resilience and published the 2023 Implementation Update, which is available on GOV.UK. The update sets out the progress we have made to strengthen the UK’s national resilience since the publication of the Resilience Framework with context of the current risk landscape we face.
On 6 February 2024, we convened the UK Resilience Forum to garner insight from key stakeholders from across the resilience system and drive a whole of society approach. Details from the meeting are available on GOV.UK.
Later this year, the Deputy Prime Minister will report to Parliament on the progress made implementing the UK Biological Security Strategy which was published in June 2023.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to increase apprenticeship opportunities within the Civil Service.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the House on the 27 October:
“As announced in the civil service apprenticeships strategy, we are committed to 5% of total civil service headcount being apprentices by 2025. Some 47,490 apprentices have been recruited since April 2016, with 78% of those being outside London. We will provide entry and progression routes within a range of careers and professions for new and existing staff.”
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 through the GREAT campaign to promote the UK overseas.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The GREAT campaign promotes the best of the UK worldwide and has been used in over 145 countries to drive employment, growth and influence. GREAT delivers via five primary campaigns:
Overall UK Perceptions, led by the Cabinet Office and delivered with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (GREAT Challenge Fund). This campaign uses our soft power assets to grow UK influence and promote UK values by positioning the UK as a place of opportunity. It promotes UK culture, the UK’s science and sustainability credentials, creativity and design, LGBTQ+ rights and much more. It also supports events including the Queen’s Jubilee, the Commonwealth Games and Unboxed.
Tourism, delivered by VisitBritain. This campaign attracts international visitors to the UK, helping to support 3.2 million jobs and grow the UK’s position as one of the most visited countries on earth.
Trade and Investment, delivered by the Department for International Trade. This campaign drives investment and export promotion. It also promotes UK food and drink such as Welsh lamb, Scotch whisky, Northern Irish gin, and Scottish salmon through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Study, delivered by the British Council. The Study UK campaign promotes UK universities to the world and encourages international students to study in the UK.
Live/work, this campaign attracts the best and brightest in science, research and technology to live and work in the UK. It supports the UK government's ambition to secure the UK’s status as a science and tech superpower by 2030 including the Government commitment to increase R&D expenditure to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to protect public services from the risk of hostile cyber threats.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Our new National Cyber Strategy, launched in December 2021(by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, HCWS484), sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes our approach to making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks and countering cyber threats. The strategy is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cyber-strategy-2022/national-cyber-security-strategy-2022
A core component of our National Cyber Strategy is to further strengthen the cyber security of government and public services. The Government Cyber Security Strategy, launched in January 2022, will ensure that core government functions are resilient to cyber attack. This will be supported by an enhanced assurance regime to raise standards and a new Government Cyber Coordination Centre enabling departments to defend as one.The Government Cyber Security Strategy is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1049825/government-cyber-security-strategy.pdf
The delivery of both the National and Government strategies is supported by £2.6 billion of investment over three years.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to strengthen the UK’s cyber resilience.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Our new National Cyber Strategy, launched in December 2021(by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, HCWS484), sets out how we will ensure that the UK continues to be a leading, responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in the rapidly evolving online world. This includes our approach to making the UK more resilient to cyber attacks and countering cyber threats. The strategy is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cyber-strategy-2022/national-cyber-security-strategy-2022
A core component of our National Cyber Strategy is to further strengthen the cyber security of government and public services. The Government Cyber Security Strategy, launched in January 2022, will ensure that core government functions are resilient to cyber attack. This will be supported by an enhanced assurance regime to raise standards and a new Government Cyber Coordination Centre enabling departments to defend as one.The Government Cyber Security Strategy is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1049825/government-cyber-security-strategy.pdf
The delivery of both the National and Government strategies is supported by £2.6 billion of investment over three years.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to increase opportunities for small businesses to bid for Government contracts.
Answered by Michael Ellis
Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the UK economy. That is why we are making sure Government spending supports this vital sector, both as part of our economic recovery from COVID-19 and as part of our levelling up agenda. We are increasing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a variety of ways - from transparently publishing contract pipelines, to simplifying bidding processes.
These measures are working. The latest procurement figures for 2019/20 show that £15.5bn was paid to small and medium sized businesses to help deliver vital public services. This figure is an increase of £1.3bn on the previous year and the highest since records began in 2013.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the Veterans' Strategy Action Plan: 2022 to 2024.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The development of the Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022-24 was launched at a Cabinet meeting in Summer 2021, and Ministers have engaged with Cabinet colleagues over the course of the process. Ministers regularly discuss veterans issues including through the Ministerial Covenant and Veterans Board, which is co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan 2022-2024 contains over 60 commitments worth over £70m from a range of government departments, all contributing to the Government’s mission to make the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran by 2028. We continue to monitor progress against delivering the Action Plan commitments and will do so until the end of the Action Plan period in 2024.