Parliament and Central Government: Relocation

Lord West of Spithead Excerpts

Tuesday 29th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord West of Spithead (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister think there might be merit in building a purpose-built ship, which would help British shipbuilders and British steel, could visit various parts of England when needed—and would be quite useful during recesses as well?

[Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen]

I think this is an excellent idea. The only problem is that I only have to step on a ship and I feel very seasick, so I might not be able to take part. As long as it was full of admirals, I am sure we would be in agreement.

Cyberattack: UK Defences

Lord West of Spithead Excerpts

Monday 7th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

I can confirm that and draw the noble Lord’s attention to paragraph 7.7 on page 82 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review, which sets out a very nice organogram for who is responsible for what.

[Lord West of Spithead (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the firing chain for Trident is air-gapped in its entirety, as it certainly was until 2006, and is therefore invulnerable to cyberattack? Will he also confirm that any upgrades that may be planned for that firing chain will remain air-gapped? If not, there will clearly be a vulnerability.

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

The noble Lord speaks with immense experience in this area and I will write to him on the specific point. I cannot comment on the detail of the security arrangements for our nuclear deterrent but we can, and do, safeguard it from threats, including cyber.

Government Digital Service

Lord West of Spithead Excerpts

Tuesday 13th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

Absolutely, my Lords, and we need to continue to use our data better. It surprises me that we still have silos of data that we do not use and do not mine, and we need to continue to make the data more open and more available.

[Lord West of Spithead (Lab)]

My Lords, one of the greatest challenges with digitisation is protecting personal data, and the ability to access government services is much easier when you can do that. Is any consideration being given to a card that will allow people to prove exactly who they are when they try to get this data?

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

As the noble Lord will know, there is a project underway led by GDS on Verify, but that is a very good point and I will draw it to the attention of GDS.

Security: State Procession

Lord West of Spithead Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

My Lords, let me take that concept away with me. I have looked into this matter over the last few days and I am assured that the relevant security matters have been addressed, and that we have balanced those matters with the need to deliver savings in government.

[Lord West of Spithead (Lab)]

My Lords, on a slightly less serious point, are the new owners responsible for ensuring that all the various flag-staffs, with flags and all the things that are flown on state occasions, will be dealt with correctly? There is a strict format for this and a cost involved. Is that their liability?

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

The flags for ceremonial events will remain on Admiralty Arch. This is a provision in the lease arrangements. Should the hotel wish to use its own flags, a proposal will have to be made to government to consider how that will be done.