Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen McPartland Excerpts

Monday 9th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Williamson]

May I take this opportunity to pay tribute to my hon. Friend and his Conservative and Unionist colleagues from Scotland? If they had not been campaigning on this issue, a solution would not be being provided, because SNP Members were silent on it. We are going to deliver. Hopefully, if everything is agreed in terms of a write around and laying a written ministerial statement next week, we can inform service personnel about how we will help to protect them from the Nat tax before the end of this month.

[Stephen McPartland (Stevenage) (Con)]

17. What plans he has to strengthen the resilience of the UK’s critical infrastructure against cyber-attacks.

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mark Lancaster)]

Defence takes cyber-threats very seriously, and we regularly assess our ability to defend against them. We are strengthening our defences against increasingly sophisticated attacks through a wide range of technical, operational and administrative measures, including close co-operation with the National Cyber Security Centre.

[Stephen McPartland]

Can the Minister provide an update on whether the recruitment plan for reservists with cyber-specialisms is working?

[Mark Lancaster]

I am delighted to say that it is. My hon. Friend hits on a key issue. We have recognised that many of the skillsets we need sit in the private sector, which is why we have actively recruited reserves into this area, and I am delighted to say that the joint cyber reserve unit is now at 90% strength.