Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Lord Harris of Haringey, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
A bill to provide for a consultation on the introduction of a Duty to Plan requiring Category 1 responders to plan for terrorist threats and requiring those responsible for places to which the public have access to consider the vulnerability of those places to attack and take measures to mitigate any such vulnerability
Lord Harris of Haringey has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The Department of Health and Social Care has received 6240 written Parliamentary Questions between 1 January and 8 July, of which 4496 have been answered up to 8 July. My office regularly speaks with departments about late responses and I have raised lateness of written questions with my counterparts in the Department of Health and Social Care. This has resulted in Ministers asking teams to redouble their efforts in making sure that written parliamentary questions are answered as quickly as possible.
Since I gave my answer to HL4609 all Ministers have been reminded of their obligations to the House in respect of written questions. Individual Ministers are responsible to the House for the answers they provide.
The National Cyber Strategy 2022 set outcomes for critical national infrastructure (CNI) (in the private and public sector) to better understand & manage cyber risk and minimise the impact of cyber incidents when they occur. In addition, at CyberUK 2023, the Deputy Prime Minister announced specific and ambitious cyber resilience targets for all CNI sectors (public and private sector) to meet by 2025.
Over the past year, the Cabinet Office has been progressing foundational work to support the creation of common but flexible resilience standards across CNI and do more on the assurance of CNI, including cyber assurance preparedness, by 2030. This includes work to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of all regulation that applies to CNI, including (but not limited to) NIS regulations, and to bring more private sector businesses working in CNI within the scope of cyber resilience regulations.
The Government is also committed to ensuring cyber security in the public sector, which is why GovAssure was launched in April 2023. Under GovAssure, government organisations regularly review the effectiveness of their cyber defences against common cyber vulnerabilities and attack methods. We are currently evaluating the first year’s assessments. GovAssure will enable government organisations to accurately assess their levels of cyber resilience across their critical services, highlight priority areas for improvement and provide the Government with a strategic view of cyber capability, risk and resilience across the sector.
The Government publishes details of all Ministers' overseas travel on a quarterly basis.
The other information requested is not centrally held and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
It has also been the practice of successive administrations not to publish granular information relating to the official movements of protected individuals and those accompanying them within the United Kingdom.
The Government publishes details of all Ministers' overseas travel on a quarterly basis.
The other information requested is not centrally held and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
It has also been the practice of successive administrations not to publish granular information relating to the official movements of protected individuals and those accompanying them within the United Kingdom.
The total cost to date of developing the technical architecture and systems which underpin the emergency alert programme, in addition to the first three years of operational delivery, will be a maximum of £25.3 million.
The contracts which are publicly available on contracts finder include:
The Government Digital Service have a contract with Fujitsu for £1.6 million per year for a three year period, a potential total of £5 million assuming that the contract runs to completion;
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (as was) issued contracts totalling £18.6 million to mobile network operators, as well as further spending on security testing and legal work.
The remaining costs were spent on security testing and legal fees. The specific figures are commercially sensitive and can therefore not be released to the public.
There are no current plans for a further UK-wide, or public, test of the system, though it is likely that there will be further public tests in the coming years to ensure the system is operational to help keep the British people safe.
The National Cyber Strategy 2022 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. We plan to publish the first of our annual progress reports this summer.
The Government Cyber Security Strategy, published in January 2022, sets out how we will build and maintain our cyber defences; by building greater cyber resilience across all government organisations, and working together to ‘defend as one’ - exerting a defensive force greater than the sum of our parts.
The strategy sets a clear target for government’s most critical functions to be appropriately resilient by 2025, with all government organisations being resilient to known vulnerabilities and common attack methods by 2030.
The strategy will see us roll out GovAssure in April as the foundation of a new, more robust independent assurance regime for the whole of government. With its foundations in the National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Assessment Framework, it will help us to understand our risk at scale and put us on the pathway to reducing it, as well as aligning Government with the best practice in management of wider UK Critical National Infrastructure sectors. Results of these reviews will not be published publicly for reasons of security. The progress on adopting the Cyber Assessment Framework across HMG is that pilots have been conducted with 3 government departments, and the wider scheme will launch in April.
The trial in the Thames Valley area on 9 March 2021 successfully tested Cell Broadcast technology on mobile networks using phones pre-prepared to receive alerts. Having proven the technology to be effective, the Government conducted a live public trial of the Emergency Alert system in East Suffolk on 25 May and plans to conduct another public trial in Reading City Centre on 15 June. Should these prove successful, the Government plans to send out a National Welcome Message across the UK later this year.
The position remains, as outlined on gov.uk, that everyone who can work from home should do so.
Where that is not possible, people should go into work where it is safe and they are not symptomatic, isolating or shielding. Relevant guidance including from PHE should be followed.
In terms of the provision of education for certain workers, it is already the case that in certain cases the staff listed above could be eligible as long as "their specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service". This is set out on gov.uk.
The Government has placed restrictions on the operations of certain businesses as part of the strategy of enhanced social distancing. Separate guidance has been published on this and is also available on gov.uk.
The Minimum Cyber Security Standard for Government was introduced in 2018, drawing on the expert technical advice of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
The Government Security Group is working with departments, including NCSC and Government Digital Service, to understand what changes, if any, need to be made to the Minimum Cyber Security Standard. This review is already underway and is intended to be an annual activity with updated standards published on GOV.UK accordingly. Over time, the measures will be incremented to continually ‘raise the bar’ to keep pace with a changing threat and ensure appropriate management of risk.
The Minimum Cyber Security Standard for Government was introduced in 2018, drawing on the expert technical advice of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
The Government Security Group is working with departments, including NCSC and Government Digital Service, to understand what changes, if any, need to be made to the Minimum Cyber Security Standard. This review is already underway and is intended to be an annual activity with updated standards published on GOV.UK accordingly. Over time, the measures will be incremented to continually ‘raise the bar’ to keep pace with a changing threat and ensure appropriate management of risk.
The Minimum Cyber Security Standard for Government was introduced in 2018, drawing on the expert technical advice of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
The Government Security Group is working with departments, including NCSC and Government Digital Service, to understand what changes, if any, need to be made to the Minimum Cyber Security Standard. This review is already underway and is intended to be an annual activity with updated standards published on GOV.UK accordingly. Over time, the measures will be incremented to continually ‘raise the bar’ to keep pace with a changing threat and ensure appropriate management of risk.
The length of time that a contractor has to prepare for service delivery following the award of a contract is dependent on the terms of the specific contract.
The Government has not set a date for publication of a draft Audit Reform Bill. The Government is committed to legislating when Parliamentary time allows.
The government remains committed to updating the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018 (“NIS Regulations”) as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Whilst we wait for parliamentary time, the government is developing improvements which can be delivered without legislative changes, including:
These actions build on the government’s existing plans, as set out in the £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy, to improve cyber resilience across the economy.
The National Cyber Strategy sets out the importance of reducing cyber risks to businesses. To do this, the Government is supporting the UK Cyber Security Council to define the skills and knowledge needed for cyber roles. The Government is also funding numerous targeted training initiatives such as Cyber Ready and Upskill in Cyber to upskill and retrain those in the workforce, as well as the government-funded Skills Bootcamp opportunities highlighted through our recent Advanced Digital Skills campaign. This is alongside our Cyber Essentials scheme which supports businesses to implement essential technical controls on cyber security.
Reporting of cyber and digital risks and incidents is critical to the UK’s cyber resilience, supporting our ability to monitor, mitigate, and respond to threats to our economy and society. Reporting is also important in helping businesses and organisations adequately understand the broader threat and assess the risks to their own operations.
Statutory incident reporting requirements vary across sectors, depending on the applicable legislation. For example, organisations which process personal data for general purposes must comply with the breach reporting requirements in the UK GDPR. In the telecoms sector, the Telecommunications (Security) Act introduced a new telecoms security framework, and includes detailed requirements for public telecoms providers to identify and reduce the risks of security compromises, including cyber attacks.
Organisations which provide services that are critical for the provision of essential services (such as transport, energy, water, health, and digital infrastructure services) must comply with the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations 2018. In November 2022 the government also announced its intention to strengthen the NIS Regulations, including requiring essential and digital services to report a wider range of cyber incidents to regulators.
The government takes the security and resilience of subsea cables very seriously, including their operation, supply chain and repair arrangements.
We regard subsea cables as critical to our national and international infrastructure and monitor a variety of risks they face. Subsea internet cables are specifically considered in the National Risk Assessment which is kept under review.
The government takes the security and resilience of subsea cables very seriously, including their operation, supply chain and repair arrangements.
We regard subsea cables as critical to our national and international infrastructure and monitor a variety of risks they face. Subsea internet cables are specifically considered in the National Risk Assessment which is kept under review.
The department is in the process of tendering for "an information and advice service for families including kinship carers of children at risk or involved in the care system”.
Our intention remains to award this contract in March 2020 for the service to start on 1 April 2020. It is not the responsibility of the department to determine whether Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) applies. However, it is the responsibility of the department to ensure that, where TUPE may apply, relevant information is made available to all suppliers.
Following a request by a potential bidder, the tendering deadline was extended to allow bidders time to factor TUPE information into their bids. The department will work with any winning bidder and the existing provider to ensure the service is not interrupted.
The department is in the process of tendering for "an information and advice service for families including kinship carers of children at risk or involved in the care system”.
Our intention remains to award this contract in March 2020 for the service to start on 1 April 2020. It is not the responsibility of the department to determine whether Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) applies. However, it is the responsibility of the department to ensure that, where TUPE may apply, relevant information is made available to all suppliers.
Following a request by a potential bidder, the tendering deadline was extended to allow bidders time to factor TUPE information into their bids. The department will work with any winning bidder and the existing provider to ensure the service is not interrupted.
The department is in the process of tendering for "an information and advice service for families including kinship carers of children at risk or involved in the care system”.
Our intention remains to award this contract in March 2020 for the service to start on 1 April 2020. It is not the responsibility of the department to determine whether Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) applies. However, it is the responsibility of the department to ensure that, where TUPE may apply, relevant information is made available to all suppliers.
Following a request by a potential bidder, the tendering deadline was extended to allow bidders time to factor TUPE information into their bids. The department will work with any winning bidder and the existing provider to ensure the service is not interrupted.
Whilst food labelling is a devolved matter, the same labelling rules currently apply across the UK. Under Article 30 of our Food Information to Consumers Regulations it is a requirement to provide a nutritional declaration on the label of pre-packed foods placed on the UK market. This declaration must include a range of information including details of sugar, fat and salt content. These regulations and requirements will continue to apply across the UK when the Transition Period ends on 31 December 2020. After the Transition Period we will work with the devolved administrations to ensure consumers remain well informed about their food.
We have been clear that in all of our trade negotiations we will not compromise on our high environmental, animal welfare and food safety standards. In trade negotiations we will ensure our right to regulate in this area is preserved, including the ability to set our own mandatory labelling requirements to be met for both food produced domestically and food which is imported. Of course, our rules will also continue to be in line with our international obligations. The Government has committed to a rapid review and consultation on the role of labelling to promote high standards and animal welfare, and remains committed to delivering informative food and drink labelling and marketing standards to protect consumer interests, ensuring that consumers can have confidence in the food and drink they buy.
The Government is committed to upholding our manifesto commitment that in all of our trade negotiations we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety standards. We remain firmly committed to upholding our standards outside the EU, and at the end of the Transition Period the EU Withdrawal Act will transfer all existing EU provisions on environmental protection, animal welfare, and food safety, including existing import requirements, onto the UK statute book.
We have also been clear in our approach to negotiating new trade deals that the UK will decide how we set and maintain our own standards and regulations and operate our own autonomous sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regime. Any future trade deal must work for consumers, farmers, and businesses in the UK, and as with all negotiations, we will be prepared to walk away if that is in the national interest.
HM Government has made it clear that any future trade deals must work for British consumers, farmers and companies. We are proud of our high standards in food safety and these will not be weakened.?High standards and high quality are what our domestic and global customers demand, and that is what we?will?provide.
It is vital that we explore new trading opportunities, but these should not mean a dilution of the standards for which British food is world-renowned. The EU Withdrawal Act transfers all existing EU food safety provisions on to the statute book and we remain firmly committed to upholding our high food safety standards.
Whilst the condition of the masts is not believed to have deteriorated seriously over time, the decision to explore reducing the height of the masts was informed by the regular surveys conducted by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.
There is a dedicated page on Gov.uk for the SS Richard Montgomery where these surveys can be found.
The procurement process to appoint a contractor to remove the masts is still live and while commercial information on the tender cannot therefore be released, further updates on its progress will be given at the appropriate time. The work to remove these masts has not previously been put out to tender. Further details can be found online in the Official Journal of the EU.
The SS Richard Montgomery is not on the National Risk Register. The National Risk Register is managed by the Cabinet Office, who are currently updating this document.
The relevant local authorities and local resilience forums are aware of the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery and routinely factor it into their regular planning work. We are in contact with these organisations regularly to ensure they have the information they need on risks to inform their planning.
Whilst the condition of the masts is not believed to have deteriorated seriously over time, the decision to explore reducing the height of the masts was informed by the regular surveys conducted by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.
There is a dedicated page on Gov.uk for the SS Richard Montgomery where these surveys can be found.
The procurement process to appoint a contractor to remove the masts is still live and while commercial information on the tender cannot therefore be released, further updates on its progress will be given at the appropriate time. The work to remove these masts has not previously been put out to tender. Further details can be found online in the Official Journal of the EU.
The SS Richard Montgomery is not on the National Risk Register. The National Risk Register is managed by the Cabinet Office, who are currently updating this document.
The relevant local authorities and local resilience forums are aware of the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery and routinely factor it into their regular planning work. We are in contact with these organisations regularly to ensure they have the information they need on risks to inform their planning.
Whilst the condition of the masts is not believed to have deteriorated seriously over time, the decision to explore reducing the height of the masts was informed by the regular surveys conducted by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.
There is a dedicated page on Gov.uk for the SS Richard Montgomery where these surveys can be found.
The procurement process to appoint a contractor to remove the masts is still live and while commercial information on the tender cannot therefore be released, further updates on its progress will be given at the appropriate time. The work to remove these masts has not previously been put out to tender. Further details can be found online in the Official Journal of the EU.
The SS Richard Montgomery is not on the National Risk Register. The National Risk Register is managed by the Cabinet Office, who are currently updating this document.
The relevant local authorities and local resilience forums are aware of the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery and routinely factor it into their regular planning work. We are in contact with these organisations regularly to ensure they have the information they need on risks to inform their planning.
I can only reiterate that Written Answers are drafted by teams who are experienced in their area of work and provide the best available information.
The Government published Coronavirus (COVID-19): personal protective equipment (PPE) plan on 10 April. It incorporates guidance on who needs PPE and when they need it, routes to ensure those who need it can get it at the right time and sets out actions to secure enough PPE to last through the crisis. A copy is attached.
We have built models which forecast demand. These models cover a range of possible scenarios and have developed over time as additional information on the prevalence and impact of COVID-19 became available and as guidance on PPE has been updated. We work closely with the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies to ensure they are underpinned by the latest science.
We are working around the clock to give the social care sector and wider National Health Service the equipment and support they need to tackle this outbreak.
Written Parliamentary Questions are drafted by policy teams specialised in the subject and cleared at Senior Civil Servant level. As per Departmental guidance, answers must aim to be clear, relevant and informative; answer all aspects of the question; be accurate and not misleading; and phrased in a simple and logical way.
At a time of unprecedented pressure on the Department and a marked increase in the number of Written Questions, I am proud of my officials’ efforts to keep Parliament informed while tackling this immense national challenge.
To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions, this has been answered by an information factsheet Testing – note for House of Lords which is attached, due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library
Demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) is currently exceptionally high across these sectors, and the Government is working hard to source new supply to meet that need. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, we have delivered over one billion items of PPE to ensure our frontline is protected. We have also extended our PPE supply route to local resilience forums to help local government distribute stock to social care providers and other vital services where they have been unable to obtain PPE through their usual routes and have an urgent need.
We are not reliant on Turkey for gowns and many more orders are lined up and expected from suppliers in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Testing is a crucial part of the United Kingdom’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government is working on multiple fronts to deliver additional testing capacity to the system.
The Government’s Chief Medical Officer has previously said that there is huge global demand for testing supplies. The Government is working with industry to obtain maximum possible supplies for the UK and with the scientific community to explore innovative new options for test kits, working within existing safety standards and regulations.
The data requested is not straightforward to provide as HMRC do not report this data internally in the form requested. As such, the information cannot be provided within the timeframe without incurring disproportionate cost.
In July 2022 HMRC came under a significant attack from VAT registration fraudsters and we saw the number of registrations being sent to HMRC increase to unprecedented levels.
To deal with this issue a number of measures were urgently put in place to protect genuine customers and to stop the increase in fraudulent activity. These measures entailed additional security checks that meant that some genuine customers were caught in the new processes to ensure the authenticity of the registration being made. HMRC does understand the frustrations from agents and businesses, and are working to ensure all genuine registrations are processed as quickly as possible.
HMRC aims to turnaround most VAT registrations within 40 working days and is currently meeting that service level agreement, although some cases do take longer due to additional compliance checks or complexity.
Due to the high numbers of new registrations being submitted to HMRC during the summer, HMRC did not always meet the service standard over that time period.
In July 2022 HMRC came under a significant attack from VAT registration fraudsters and we saw the number of registrations being sent to HMRC increase to unprecedented levels. To deal with this issue a number of measures were urgently put in place to protect genuine customers and to stop the increase in fraudulent activity. These measures entailed additional security checks that meant that some genuine customers were caught in the new processes to ensure the authenticity of the registration being made. HMRC understands the frustrations from agents and businesses and are working to ensure all genuine registrations are processed as quickly as possible.
Due to the high numbers of new registrations being submitted to HMRC during the summer, HMRC did not always meet their service standard over that time.
HMRC has received representations from individuals and organisations regarding timescales for registering customers for VAT. Where representations are made, HMRC has and will continue to work with individuals and businesses to overcome any challenges they are facing where possible.
HMRC works hard to be open and transparent, particularly with business and agent representative bodies who HMRC meet regularly. HMRC have also, this year, stepped up their transparency by explaining processing times to agents through the HMRC Service Dashboard on GOV.UK.
HMRC aims to reply to 80% of VAT registration applications within 40 working days and are currently meeting that aim. However, for more complex applications or those that require additional checks, for example to identify fraudulent applications, this may take longer.
HMRC expects to have significantly reduced the already small proportion of cases that are older than 40 working days by the end of 2022.
HMRC has made no estimate of the cost to business or to the Exchequer of delays in VAT registration processing.
The Places of Worship Protective Security Funding Scheme is available in England and Wales. For the 2021/2022 round, £3.5 million was announced. Applications closed on 16th July, and applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application in due course.
For the first three years of the scheme £2.4 million was announced over three years; with £800,000 available each year.
For the 2016/2017 round we received 286 eligible applications for funding, of which 53 were successful, and we allocated £435,466.
For the 2017/2018 round we received 57 eligible applications for funding, of which 36 were successful, and we allocated £440,203.
For the 2018/2019 round we received 88 eligible applications for funding, of which 45 were successful, and we allocated £806,281.
For the 2019/2020 round, £1.6 million was announced. We received 376 eligible applications, of which 49 were successful, and we allocated £1,718,763.
For the 2020/2021 round, £3.2 million was announced. We received 243 eligible applications, of which 58 were successful, and we allocated £1,704,237.
All successful applicants to the scheme are deemed as successful in full.
The Government recognises the importance of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all of those on the frontline, including police.
The Home Secretary and Minister for Policing have regular conversations with police forces about a range of matters including supply of PPE, ensuring a sufficient daily supply is available. The National Police Co-ordination Centre is co-ordinating police PPE procurement and distribution across the whole country and confirm that police currently have a good supply of PPE.
The amount of PPE in stock and used by each force is not held centrally. That is an operational matter for forces.
The Government is working closely with its partners including the emergency services on a range of issues including the availability of suitable PPE. The National Police Chiefs’ Council have confirmed that police currently have a good supply of PPE and they are working to oversee its distribution to forces. We will continue to work with them to ensure this continues.
The Prevent Oversight Board is currently in existence. The Board membership includes Ministerial and Director-level representatives and their equivalents across the following Whitehall departments:
Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defence, Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care, Counter Terrorism Police Headquarters (CTPHQ), Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), Welsh Government, Scottish Government, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Security Services, Cabinet Office, and Charity Commission.
Departments and agencies which are not listed as standing members can be invited as required.
The Board last convened in November 2018.
Individual Ministers are responsible to the House for the answers they provide. As Leader of the House I regularly remind Ministers of the importance of their obligations to the House and will continue to do so.
The supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required by the prison service is kept under regular review by the department. These requirements will fluctuate according to the changing situation in individual prisons and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Typical PPE items for tasks involving a confirmed or suspected case of Covid-19 include fluid resistant surgical masks; aprons; gloves; hand sanitisers; and eye protection.