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 Mott, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord Mott has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord Mott has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") employs 35 staff in its Communications Team. The team was restructured, and its remit redefined, several times over the last six years, including in 2024. Therefore, the CMA does not have a readily available comparison for the previous six years. The Communications Team budget for the current financial year (2024/24) is £3.2m.
The CMA employs 131 staff in its Competition Enforcement Directorate.
The CMA employs 118 staff in its Consumer Protection and Markets Team.
Expenditure for each year from 2019-20 to 2023-24 is shown in the table below for the Competition Enforcement Directorate and Consumer Protection function. Since 2024, the latter has sat in a newly formed Consumer Protection and Markets Directorate. It would not be possible to provide directly comparable expenditure figures for 2018-19 because these were not separate reporting areas at that time.
2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | ||
Competition Enforcement | £m | 16.6 | 15.2 | 13.4 | 12.2 | 13.0 |
Consumer Protection | £m | 6.3 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 7.2 | 8.8 |
The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) currently employs five full time equivalent staff in its advocacy team with a total annual budget of £0.6m.
The CMA employs 11 full time equivalent staff in its strategy team with a total annual budget of £1.1m
Full time equivalent staff numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
The Competition and Markets Authority employs approximately 1,120 staff. Full Time Equivalent staff numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number. These figures include individuals with a CMA contract of employment, irrespective of the length of contract, whether being paid or not and so includes those on parental leave, a career break or those loaned or seconded out of the CMA. It excludes agency workers and CMA Board and Panel members.
The breakdown for each Directorate is as follows:
Senior Executive Team - 11
Competition Enforcement - 131
Consumer Protection and Markets - 118
Digital Markets Unit - 70
Mergers - 76
Office for the Internal Market and Subsidy Advice Unit - 33
Office of the Chief Economic Adviser - 160
Legal Service - 176
Corporate Services - 121
Data, Technology and Insight - 133
Strategy, Communications and Advocacy - 91
The CMA currently employs 35 people in its Communications Team, which includes stakeholder and business engagement, compliance communications, digital communications, media relations and strategic communications. It has a total annual budget of £3.2m in the current financial year (2024-25). Like other organisations, the CMA is in the process of reviewing its future budgets, and expects to reduce the budget for the Communications Team by at least 10%.
This Government is determined to address concerns about the complexity and structure of the regulatory system by providing clear and consistent strategic direction, enabling regulators to plan effectively and deliver long-term objectives in line with the Government’s priorities. This is why the Prime Minister, in conjunction with the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, wrote to key regulators asking them to provide concrete proposals to prioritise growth with the support of Government. Our overall regulatory vision, which will address these will issues, will be set out in due course.
The ability to challenge regulatory decisions where necessary is critical to an effective regulatory system that drives economic growth. Most regulatory decisions are subject to internal appeal within regulators. This Government is committed to ensuring regulators are effective and fully accountable, as demonstrated by the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Business and Trade’s recent meeting with regulators where they scrutinised the pro-growth measures that regulators had identified to support the growth mission. The Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury are leading the regulatory reform agenda across Government and we will set out our overall regulatory vision shortly.
In 2022 the UK government commissioned an independent deep sea mining evidence review conducted by the British Geological Survey, National Oceanography Centre and Heriot Watt University and it was published in October 2022.
The government, through UK Research and Innovation and National Environment Research Council, (UKRI-NERC) is also funding the 5-year SMARTEX (Seabed Mining and Resilience to Experimental Impact) project which aims to build a better understanding of the ecosystem in the Pacific abyss and add to the scientific evidence base for informed decision-making by understanding the long-term environmental impacts of mining and whether this will have serious consequences for the ecosystem.
The programme will continue. Ministers are considering carefully its scope and structure to ensure that it is set up for success. The House will of course be notified of any appointments in due course.
The UK recognises the potential impacts of deep sea mining are not fully understood and supports a moratorium on the granting of mining licences by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) until sufficient scientific evidence is available to assess the impact on marine ecosystems, and strong, enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines are adopted by the ISA.
Through the UK's sponsorship of academic research and existing exploration licences, over 70 peer-reviewed publications supporting a greater understanding of environmental issues associated with deep sea mining have already been produced, with more to come.
The UK Government is committed to transparency in all aspects of its deep sea mining policy and strongly advocate for it as a core aspect of the UK's negotiating position at the International Seabed Authority.
The UK commissions independent reviews, sponsors academic research, and funds projects like the Seabed Mining and Resilience to Experimental Impact project. These initiatives aim to understand and publicly share the long-term environmental impacts, supporting informed decision-making and responsible policy development.
Current planning policies guide developments away from using Best and Most Versatile agricultural land where possible. Developers will submit information on land use and classification when seeking planning consent, and this information will be taken into account by decision makers. However, Government does not set a prescriptive approach and as such does not hold this information.
This information is set out in Ofcom's Annual Reports and Accounts 2023-24.
Ofcom employs 1,483 employees (full time equivalents). Non-Executive Members of the Ofcom Board, Content Board, Advisory Committees and employees seconded to Ofcom are excluded from employee numbers.
The breakdown for each Directorate is as follows:
Broadcasting and Media Group - 118
Networks and Communications Group - 146
Spectrum Group - 242
Online Safety Group - 189
Economics and Analytics Group - 117
Legal Group - 119
Strategy and Research Group - 157
Corporate Group - 363
Central – 31
The Corporate Group includes Finance, HR, the Contact Centre, ICT, Public Policy and Nations teams, Communications, Governance and Accountability, and Data and Information.
Copyright law is territorial. Other jurisdictions vary in how they handle text and data mining, and the impact on AI sector growth is challenging to assess.
The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024. This seeks views on stakeholders’ experience of approaches internationally. The consultation closes on 25 February
Government will continue to talk to our international partners, as AI is an area of shared interest and activity.
The Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Digital Technologies Review published by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser set out 11 recommendations to support the UK’s regulatory approach to AI, facilitate the Government’s public services transformation programme through data access, and focus regulator efforts on innovation in transport, cyber security and space. The Government has already made progress, launching the AI and Digital Hub in April 2024 and gaining Royal Assent for the Automated Vehicles Bill in May 2024.
The AI Opportunities Action Plan will set out recommended actions for Government to grow the UK’s domestic AI sector and drive adoption of AI across the economy to boost growth and improve products and services. The action plan will be published soon.
The government is committed to harnessing AI and other technologies to deliver the government’s five missions and improve citizens’ lives. Public sector adoption is a key part of the forthcoming AI Opportunities Action Plan. The plan will detail how we can reimagine our public services by ensuring the public sector takes advantage of the best emerging use-cases and tools.
The report contains testimonies that are deeply concerning. I have heard first-hand from students about their experiences of antisemitism at an event in this House held on 11 March.
Universities must take reasonably practicable steps to protect freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law. Unlawful harassment or violence, hate speech against staff and students on campus or inciting others to violence or terrorism are not protected.
Encouraging terrorism and supporting proscribed terrorist organisations are criminal offences, and higher education providers must not provide a platform for these activities. The department expects university leaders to take robust action, particularly where there are concerns that a criminal act may have been committed, including reporting crimes to the police.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education will shortly host a round table to which she has invited several Vice Chancellors, many of whose students and universities are featured in StandWithUs UK’s testimonials. This will be an opportunity to discuss what more can be done collectively, and at all levels, to make our universities a safe and inclusive environment for all.
We have confirmed £7 million in funding to address antisemitism in education.
The report contains testimonies that are deeply concerning. I have heard first-hand from students about their experiences of antisemitism at an event in this House held on 11 March.
Universities must take reasonably practicable steps to protect freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law. Unlawful harassment or violence, hate speech against staff and students on campus or inciting others to violence or terrorism are not protected.
Encouraging terrorism and supporting proscribed terrorist organisations are criminal offences, and higher education providers must not provide a platform for these activities. The department expects university leaders to take robust action, particularly where there are concerns that a criminal act may have been committed, including reporting crimes to the police.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education will shortly host a round table to which she has invited several Vice Chancellors, many of whose students and universities are featured in StandWithUs UK’s testimonials. This will be an opportunity to discuss what more can be done collectively, and at all levels, to make our universities a safe and inclusive environment for all.
We have confirmed £7 million in funding to address antisemitism in education.
All children, from whatever background and no matter what challenges they face, deserve a safe environment in which they can learn. The department recognises the impact that a parent going to prison can have on a child’s learning, behaviour, mental health and wellbeing.
The government’s ‘Keeping children safe in education 2024’ statutory guidance for schools and colleges outlines specific guidance concerning children with a family member in prison or who are affected by parental offending. The guidance asks schools to consider the additional needs of these children and highlights the risk of poor outcomes including poverty, stigma, isolation and poor mental health. It also signposts staff to the National Information Centre on Children of Offenders (NICCO) website, which provides specialist advice and resources to support professionals working with offenders’ children and their families to help mitigate negative consequences for those children. The NICCO website can be accessed here: https://www.nicco.org.uk/.
The government is committed to identifying and better supporting children of prisoners. The department will be working closely with the Ministry of Justice to deliver on this commitment.
Defra announced on 24 February that the Environmental Land Management standalone Capital Grants scheme will re-open in summer 2025. We will confirm the date that it will re-open in due course.
The Government recognises the importance of innovative approaches and novel technologies to boosting productivity sustainably.
In August 2024, the Government’s UK Research and Innovation body (UKRI) invested £15 million in the new National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC). This National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre will drive research and innovation bolstering the alternative proteins sector in the UK, fostering innovation across a variety of protein sources, including plant-based proteins, cultivated meat and protein-rich algae.
Innovate UK and BBSRC have also invested £15.6 million to support innovation funding (32 projects) as part of the Novel Low Emission Food Production Systems competition to address sustainable agriculture. These industry-led, collaborative projects include development of alternative proteins such as plant-based and cultivated meat.
The Land Use Consultation and its analytical annex clarify the land use change implied by the Environment Act Targets and Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector contributions to Net Zero.
The Land Use Framework will not prescribe changes in agricultural management. There are opportunities for grazing on grassland to contribute to target delivery, such as peat restoration in the uplands and restoration of species-rich grassland in other parts of the country. The Framework will provide guiding principles and tools for land managers to make informed decisions about their land and businesses.
The UK is a world leader on tackling climate change and an international advocate for the highest possible environmental standards. We recognise the growing pressure to extract deep-sea resources and are concerned about the potential impacts of mining activities on the fragile marine environment.
This is why the UK supports a moratorium on the granting of exploitation licenses for deep sea mining projects by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). We will not sponsor or support the issuing of any such exploitation licences for deep sea mining by the ISA until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep sea ecosystems. This is why the UK has been driving the need for strong enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines to be developed by the ISA and put in place before any mining commences.
To support this, the UK successfully launched a new multi-disciplinary UK deep sea mining environmental expert network to champion UK expertise in environmental sciences, leading on filling gaps in knowledge in order to provide sufficient scientific evidence to fully understand the potential environmental impacts of deep sea mining. The Network has gained 75 members who are multidisciplinary across environmental sciences, and plans are underway for the Networks inaugural meeting to take place early in 2025.
We recognise the need to take action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation, and we will set out our approach to addressing this in due course.
We are acutely aware of the challenges farmers have been facing following the winter storms and the wet weather in late 2023 and early 2024. All eligible farmers that were identified in the original fund from April 2024 have been offered payment. This represents 679 farmers who were paid a total of £2.19 million. We are committed to maintaining food production and supporting thriving farm businesses as well as protecting communities from flooding. More information on the expanded Farming Recovery Fund will be made available soon (following the previous Government’s announcement on this scheme in May).
Agriculture is a devolved area, and Wales’s Sustainable Farming Scheme is therefore a matter for the Welsh Government.
Defra and devolved administration officials meet routinely to share experiences and insight regarding our respective agricultural policies.
Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government, and that is why we have launched a Flood Resilience Taskforce. It will provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season. It met for the first time on 12 September to discuss preparation for the winter ahead.
The Internal Drainage Board (IDB) Fund, announced in February 2024, will support our farmers and rural communities from the impacts of flooding by providing grants to IDBs. The Environment Agency has confirmed Tranche 1 allocations, which provides financial support for storm recovery following the wet weather and flooding during winder 2023/24. They are in the process of making payments to the successful IDBs. We will update the IDBs on Tranche 2 in due course.
The Government is looking at options to strengthen food security reporting, including the possibility of enhanced annual reporting.
The Government’s UK Food Security Report (UKFSR) sets out an analysis of statistics relating to food security. The next edition of the UKFSR will be published later this year, as required by the 2020 Agriculture Act.
The Secretary of State attended the Great Yorkshire Agriculture Show on 10 July 2024 and visited a farm and met with local farmers in Essex on 25 September 2024.
The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero assessed the solar farms’ impact on agricultural land in each of his relevant Decision Letters. These Decision Letters are publicly available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.
In 2023, at the request of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a forum for the four nations of the United Kingdom on inequalities and declining coverage across the routine immunisation programmes was set up. This time-limited group brought together relevant stakeholders from across the UK nations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Ten deep dives took place in total, ending in June 2025.
These forums facilitated sharing experiences and learning within and across each nation. They explored possible contributing factors to declining coverage across the UK routine immunisation programmes. Areas for further activity included data collection systems, attitudinal work, delivery models, system leadership and coordination, commonalities and difference with other public health programmes.
Immediate actions have included expanding annual attitudinal surveys of parents of infants from England to UK wide, to further strengthen understanding of barriers and facilitators to vaccination uptake. Updating and strengthening training and quality standards for healthcare professionals providing clear expectations and guidance. Sharing expertise to improve data systems and data collection as well as strengthening collaboration with the Department of Education to improve uptake in educational settings.
A final report from the outputs of the UK Forum will be compiled and presented to a future JCVI meeting.
In 2023, at the request of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a forum for the four nations of the United Kingdom on inequalities and declining coverage across the routine immunisation programmes was set up. This time-limited group brought together relevant stakeholders from across the UK nations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Ten deep dives took place in total, ending in June 2025.
These forums facilitated sharing experiences and learning within and across each nation. They explored possible contributing factors to declining coverage across the UK routine immunisation programmes. Areas for further activity included data collection systems, attitudinal work, delivery models, system leadership and coordination, commonalities and difference with other public health programmes.
Immediate actions have included expanding annual attitudinal surveys of parents of infants from England to UK wide, to further strengthen understanding of barriers and facilitators to vaccination uptake. Updating and strengthening training and quality standards for healthcare professionals providing clear expectations and guidance. Sharing expertise to improve data systems and data collection as well as strengthening collaboration with the Department of Education to improve uptake in educational settings.
A final report from the outputs of the UK Forum will be compiled and presented to a future JCVI meeting.
School based vaccination is provided by School Age Immunisation Services (SAISs). In January 2025, some SAIS providers trialled expanding their flu vaccination offer by running catch up clinics in nurseries located in primary schools. This was to encourage flu vaccine uptake for two to three year-olds who had not already been vaccinated via their general practices (GPs). As these were local pilots, delivered by some providers in Yorkshire and the East of England, NHS England does not hold this data nationally.
Ahead of the flu 2025/26 season, the SAIS Service Specification 2025/26 is currently being improved. This will enable SAIS providers to support flu vaccination for two to three year olds, in a variety of different settings, and any plans, supplementary to the core GP offer, will be based on if there is a need locally. Evaluations will be undertaken at a local level by NHS England’s regional commissioning teams as part of their contract and performance management.
This initiative aligns with broader efforts to strengthen the childhood vaccination offer and improve vaccine uptake, including exploring the role of community pharmacies, as outlined in the NHS Vaccination Strategy, and trialling the use of health visitors to administer childhood immunisations, thereby increasing access for underserved families across selected areas.
The Government is committed to ensuring that all patients with cancer, including prostate cancer, are diagnosed faster and with the best diagnostic approaches. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance on best practice for health and social care professionals in England.
Current NICE guidance does not recommend digital rectal examination for diagnosing prostate cancer. NICE does recommend digital rectal examination as part of the physical examination that should be offered to all men with lower urinary tract symptoms as part of their initial assessment. If their prostate is assessed as likely malignant, they should be referred using a suspected cancer pathway referral for prostate cancer. To date, NICE has found no evidence that affects these recommendations or the need to review the current guidelines.
NICE is monitoring studies relating to the identification of prostate cancer in primary care and will consider the findings, when available, to assess if its recommendations need to be reviewed.
To further improve how we diagnose prostate cancer, the Government has invested £16 million in the United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, aimed at helping to find the best ways of detecting prostate cancer in men, even if they are not displaying any symptoms.
Furthermore, NHS England has introduced a best-practice timed pathway for prostate cancer so that those suspected of prostate cancer receive a multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging scan first, which ensures that only those men most at risk of having cancer undergo an invasive biopsy. The AI in Health and Care Award has also been established, which aims to accelerate the testing and development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that align with the NHS Long Term Plan. £113 million has already allocated to support 86 AI technologies, and three of these projects specifically relate to prostate cancer, one of which is the Paige prostate cancer detection tool, developed by the University of Oxford.
We will also publish a new National Cancer Plan later this year, which will include further details on how we will improve diagnostics, access to treatments, and outcomes for all tumour types, including prostate cancer.
Recent data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England indicates a decline in coverage for childhood vaccination programmes. The extent of these changes varies depending on the specific vaccination programme and the age group being considered.
Public concerns about the level of preschool vaccination uptake prompted the National Audit Office to investigate the reasons behind the decline. The report identified several structural issues, including fragmented program delivery, difficult access for parents, and inconsistencies in professional communication. The copy of the full report is attached.
The Government is committed to having high uptake in all our vaccination programmes, and has an established independent scientific advisory group, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which is responsible for advising United Kingdom health departments on immunisations for the prevention of infections and/or disease.
The UKHSA has also established a forum bringing together the four UK nations to review factors impacting the decline in uptake, and to identify actions and shared learning to improve access to services and to address other potential barriers.
The UKHSA conducts research to assess public confidence in national vaccination programmes. Annual surveys consistently show that confidence in vaccination remains high.
NHS England publishes monthly data on accident and emergency performance. This includes information on those accident and emergency attendances that are 12 hours or longer for type one and two accident and emergency providers. The latest provisional data shows that in January 2025, there were a total of 172,515 such accident and emergency attendances.
The Department does not hold the information requested. NHS England publishes monthly official statistics for ambulance response times. This includes data on the 90th centile response time performance for category 2 incidents.
The following table shows the total count of category 2 incidents in England for November 2024, December 2024 and January 2025 and the 90th centile response time data for category 2 incidents in England:
Month | Count of category 2 incidents | Category 2 incidents 90th centile response time in hours, minutes and seconds |
November 2024 | 395,741 | 1:30:47 |
December 2024 | 422,373 | 1:41:40 |
January 2025 | 401,225 | 1:16:26 |
Source: NHS England https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/
There are currently 80,935 patients waiting for cataract surgery. The average National Health Service waiting time for this procedure is 15.6 weeks.
The Government is committed to putting patients first. We will ensure 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015.
We are proceeding with our commitment to cutting NHS waiting lists and ensuring people have the best possible experience during their care. We have delivered a reduction in the list of 160,000 pathways as well as provided over two million extra appointments, including for ophthalmology.
NHS England is also testing how improved IT connectivity between primary care optometry and secondary eye care services could improve the referral process and allow for the virtual triage of patients. This also includes looking at whether patients can be managed in the community, freeing up hospital eye clinic capacity for patients that need face to face specialist input.
There are currently 31,323 patients waiting for a hip replacement. The average mean National Health Service waiting time for hip replacement surgery is 27.4 weeks.
The Government is working to reduce the number of patients awaiting treatment across the country. The Elective Reform Plan, launched as part of the Government’s Plan for Change, sets out how we will get back to the NHS Constitutional Standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment RTT by the end of this Parliament and also ensure patients have the best possible experience of care.
We have set an ambition for 2025/26 that we reach 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks nationally, and for all trusts to deliver a minimum five percentage point improvement by March 2026.
The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025, so more operations can be carried out.
Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are transforming the way the NHS providers elective care by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries. There are currently 113 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England as of February 2025. These surgical hubs help separate elective care facilities from urgent and emergency care, improving outcomes for patients and reducing pressures on hospitals.
There are currently 49,509 patients waiting for a knee replacement. The mean average National Health Service waiting time for this procedure is 28.7 weeks.
The Government is working to reduce the number of patients awaiting treatment across the country. The Elective Reform Plan, launched as part of the Government’s Plan for Change, sets out how we will get back to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by the end of this Parliament, and will also ensure that patients have the best possible experience of care.
We have set an ambition for 2025/26 that we reach 65% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks nationally, and for all trusts to deliver a minimum 5% improvement by March 2026.
The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025, so more operations can be carried out. Dedicated and protected surgical hubs are transforming the way the NHS provides elective care by focusing on high volume low complexity surgeries.
There are currently 113 elective surgical hubs that are operational across England as of February 2025. These surgical hubs help separate elective care facilities from urgent and emergency care, improving outcomes for patients and reducing pressures on hospitals.
In the financial year 2023/24, there were 120,172 hip procedures performed at a total cost of £1,241,784,028.35, with an average unit cost of £10,333.39. There were 86,781 knee procedures performed at a total cost of £737,241,451.39, with an average unit cost of £8,495.42. There were an additional 13,811 complex cases for hip or knee procedures performed at a total cost of £220,792,075.13, with an average unit cost of £15,986.68. The total cost for 246,995 cataract procedures was £363,849,348.97, with an average unit cost of £1,473.10.
This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government. The FCA will respond to the Noble Lord by letter, and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House of Lords.
Earlier this year, the Office for Budget Responsibility conducted a review of the previous government’s 2020 costing of removing tax-free shopping for tourists.
The Chancellor has commissioned HM Treasury officials to provide an assessment of the state of the government’s spending inheritance, to be presented to Parliament before the summer recess. Any required support for small to medium enterprises will be assessed as part of wider fiscal considerations.
Earlier this year, the Office for Budget Responsibility conducted a review of the previous government’s 2020 costing of removing tax-free shopping for tourists.
The Chancellor has commissioned HM Treasury officials to provide an assessment of the state of the government’s spending inheritance, to be presented to Parliament before the summer recess. Any required support for small to medium enterprises will be assessed as part of wider fiscal considerations.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce is an enduring Government function which seeks to reduce the risk to the UK's democratic processes, institutions and society. This includes supporting political parties and others participating in our political processes.
This work includes:
· Ahead of the last General Election, the Joint Election Preparedness Unit provided political parties with security advice and guidance, including on protective and information security which was made available on gov.uk. This guidance was jointly developed drawing on expertise from across the Government security community including the National Protective Security Authority and the National Cyber Security Centre.
· More broadly, the National Cyber Security Centre invests a significant amount of resources into defending the UK's democratic processes and improving the UK's cyber resilience, from attributing malicious cyber activity conducted by nation states through to providing bespoke advice and guidance to political parties and elected representatives.
· Protective Security advice and guidance have been provided to all MPs by the House, the police, and the Parliamentary Security Department.
The Taskforce will take every possible step to safeguard the people, processes, and institutions - including political parties - upon which our democracy relies.
The Defending Democracy Taskforce has met 19 times since it was convened in November 2022 (inclusive).
Since the Taskforce was established in November 2022 it has driven forward work to ensure the UK's democratic institutions and processes are safe and secure from threats to democracy. Supporting political parties is a key part of this.
This work includes: