Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including timber supply metrics in the National Security Risk Assessment.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) is the government’s principal tool for identifying and assessing the most serious malicious and non-malicious risks facing the United Kingdom and its interests overseas.
Whilst timber supply is not currently included as a discrete risk, both threat to domestic timber and critical supply chain disruption are considered from a range of causes across the NSRA. Malicious risks impacting imports and a plant pest affecting UK forestry, for example, currently assess this topic.
Furthermore, all risks are assessed for their economic and macroeconomic impacts, and a disruption to construction materials sufficient to disrupt the UK economy (regardless of cause) may be identified here.
Both the NSRA and the publicly available version, the National Risk Register (NRR), are kept under continual review to reflect the changing risk landscape. During every update, policy makers are encouraged to consider the potential implications of their risk across a range of sectors.
The Lead Government Department (LGD) model ensures departments with the day-to-day responsibility for an issue or sector are responsible for leading work to identify serious risks and ensuring that the right planning, response and recovery arrangements are in place.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assurance mechanisms will be introduced as part of the transition from MyCSP to Capita to ensure that delays experienced under the current contract are not repeated.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office has enforced strict commercial governance and, unlike the legacy arrangement, the new contract incorporates sharp, automatic financial penalties for failure to meet Key Performance Indicators. This will ensure that the supplier is held financially accountable for service delivery standards from the outset.
These measures include a rigorous period of parallel running and system testing to validate operational readiness, alongside extensive data integrity checks and migration audits prior to service commencement.
This process is underpinned by a strengthened governance structure with active Cabinet Office oversight to monitor progress against key milestones, whilst applying lessons learned from previous transitions to mitigate risks regarding payment timeliness. Ensuring scheme members receive their pensions accurately and on time remains the Government’s priority throughout this process.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority in dealing with (a) calls and (b) correspondence from potential claimants.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I am informed that in January, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority handled 709 calls and responded to 832 emails. The Authority is taking the approach of having single points of contact for claimants, and I was pleased to learn how this has fostered positive relationships with many of those in the infected blood community.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the performance of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority in dealing with cases which involve the Scottish legal system.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I understand that the first group of claims included victims from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Claimants who live in Scotland can receive legal support from firms with particular expertise in Scots law, if they wish, and I have been assured that as the scheme expands, the Authority will increase legal capability across all the UK.