First elected: 7th May 2015
Left House: 3rd May 2017 (Defeated)
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 Steven Paterson, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Steven Paterson has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Steven Paterson has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Steven Paterson has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The Commission is currently collecting information to inform its statutory report on the Scottish Parliament elections. The report will include information about turnout and participation among 16- and 17-year-olds.
The report will also identify any conclusions which can be drawn from comparison with turnout and participation at previous polls, particularly the 2014 referendum.
The following Departments will be involved in National Security checking: Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Agencies.
National Security checking will ensure that the Government meets its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights so that on publication the lives or safety of individuals are not put at risk. It will also ensure that publication of the report will not compromise national security.
The following Departments will be involved in National Security checking: Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Agencies.
National Security checking will ensure that the Government meets its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights so that on publication the lives or safety of individuals are not put at risk. It will also ensure that publication of the report will not compromise national security.
The following Departments will be involved in National Security checking: Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Agencies.
National Security checking will ensure that the Government meets its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights so that on publication the lives or safety of individuals are not put at risk. It will also ensure that publication of the report will not compromise national security.
The following Departments will be involved in National Security checking: Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Agencies.
National Security checking will ensure that the Government meets its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights so that on publication the lives or safety of individuals are not put at risk. It will also ensure that publication of the report will not compromise national security.
Since the UK’s first Cyber Security Strategy was published in 2011, we have invested £860m in a National Cyber Security Programme to support the UK’s economic prosperity, protect our national security and safeguard the public’s way of life by building a more trusted and resilient digital environment. The National Cyber Security Programme’s budget breaks down annually as follows: 2011/12 – £105m 2012/13 – £155m 2013/14 – £180m 2014/15 – £210m 2015/16 – £210m We are investing £1.9bn in the next Cyber Security Programme, from financial years 2016/17 until 2020/21, which will give the UK the next generation of cyber security and make our country one of the safest places to do business online.
CERT-UK is the UK National Computer Emergency Response Team. CERT-UK advises organisations on what actions to take in the event of a cyber incident and offers advice and guidance on how to mitigate threats pre and post incident through one to one meetings and through its online sharing platform, the Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP). CERT-UK has dealt with 1170 incidents since its launch in March 2014.
The Cyber Streetwise campaign has been supported by fifty-six private sector businesses in a variety of ways. This figure includes membership associations, but excludes public sector organisations such as the police, universities and Neighbourhood Watch.
Cyber security skills and talent are vital to protecting the UK. The Cyber Security Challenge UK competition aims to bring more talented people into the cyber security profession and address a critical skills shortage that affects government bodies, businesses and citizens alike. The number of people who have taken part in the Cyber Security Challenge Competition each year since its inception is as follows:
• 2011 – 4,000;
• 2012 – 2,785;
• 2013 – 2,910;
• 2014 – 2,104;
• 2015 – 7,018
CERT-UK is the UK National Computer Emergency Response Team. CERT-UK advises organisations on what actions to take in the event of a cyber incident and offers advice and guidance on how to mitigate threats pre and post incident through one to one meetings and through its online sharing platform, the Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP). CERT-UK has dealt with 1170 incidents since its launch in March 2014.
An explanatory memorandum initiating the UK’s domestic approval of the Agreement was laid on 7th October 2016 with a view to completing the domestic procedures that will enable ratification before the end of the year.
At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's position, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.
The Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October last year, set out government's response to the threat posed by extremism. As part of that response, the Department is supporting the Home Office led communications strategy. This includes work with broadcasters and technology companies to counter extremist ideologies, and to disrupt those sharing extremist content in the media and online.
The Government’s National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) aims to tackle cyber crime and make the UK the safest place in the world to do business in the world. This includes the Cyber Essentials Scheme to protect businesses against common cyber threats and the cyber streetwise campaign which offers simple cyber security advice to small businesses and consumers. In addition to the £860 million investment under the NCSP between 2011-2016, in November 2015 the Chancellor announced a new five year £1.9 billion investment in cyber security to make the UK one of the best protected countries in cyber space.
This information can be found in the 2015 Information Security Breaches Survey [Link]. The Government’s National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) aims to tackle cyber crime and make the UK the safest place in the world to do business in the world. This includes the Cyber Essentials Scheme to protect businesses against common cyber threats and the cyber streetwise campaign which offers simple cyber security advice to small businesses and consumers. In addition to the £860 million investment under the NCSP between 2011-2016, in November 2015 the Chancellor announced a new five year £1.9 billion investment in cyber security to make the UK one of the best protected countries in cyber space.
All Government departments must adhere to the Government’s Security Policy Framework and are required to report, manage and recover from information risk incidents, including losses of protected personal data and ICT security incidents.
At the end of January 2016, 1,674 Cyber essentials and Cyber essentials Plus certificates have been issued, of which 80% were awarded to micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
The findings of the report are disturbing. The government is committed to tackling corruption in sport and we will continue working with UK Anti-Doping and sport stakeholders to ensure that our athletes can compete in a clean sport environment.
We recognise the vital importance of early intervention, particularly for the most disadvantaged members of society and the crucial role played by education and children’s services in promoting good outcomes for children and families. The latest Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-results-2014-to-2015 show that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development in relation to the most deprived areas, SEN, free school meal eligibility, term of birth, first language and ethnicity is improving. The proportion of children eligible for FSM has increased from 45% in 2014 to 51% in 2015 and the gap between FSM and other children has narrowed from 18.9 percentage points in 2014 to 17.7 in 2015.
We continue to support our hard-working dairy farmers by reducing inspections, extending the system of tax averaging, and opening new export markets.
The £26.2 million aid package we secured from the European Commission has helped to provide some immediate relief. A number of supermarkets have also pledged to pay a premium over and above the current market price.
The Secretary of State for International Development leads on this government’s approach to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, with support from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster where appropriate. This will be a cross-government effort with individual Secretaries of State accountable through their single departmental plans. There will be continuous bilateral discussions with individual departments across Government. The Government also intends to produce a report in due course setting out how the UK is contributing to the Global Goals.
The UK employment rates for disabled and non-disabled people are monitored quarterly based on the Labour Force Survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics. The latest available figures can be found here:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/november-2015/table-a08.xls
Only year on year comparisons can be made because the data are not seasonally adjusted. Therefore, the change in the UK disability employment gap since 7 May 2015 is not yet available.
Employment is a reserved matter. Progress towards halving the disability employment gap is a key part of our aim to achieve full employment across the whole of the UK. This is consistent with the Government’s manifesto commitment which said ‘as part of our objective to achieve full employment, we will aim to halve the disability employment gap’.
The current employment rate of 73.6% is a record high.
Work is the best route out of poverty, and the system of conditionality that underpins the welfare system is the most effective way to support jobseekers into work.
Staffing in our health service is a priority for this Government. That's why we have invested in the frontline. There are around 11,800 more full time equivalent hospital and community doctors since May 2010, and 13,300 more full time equivalent nurses than in May 2010. With almost 52,000 doctors and 51,000 nurses in training, we will continue to make sure we have the staff available to give patients high quality care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Department of Health is working with NHS England to test a contract focused on improving oral health, particularly in children. Public Health England has produced guidance to support local authorities in improving dental health, and to assist dental teams on preventing dental disease in young children. In last week’s budget we have announced the introduction of a sugar levy in 2018.
The Spending Review made social care funds available for local government from April 2017, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019/20. This grant will be paid from the Department for Communities and Local Government to local authorities on condition that they add it to the Better Care Fund, where the money will support integration of health and social care.
The Barnett Formula was applied to DCLG’s Spending Review settlement in the usual way.
Extremist and terrorist organisations, notably social media sites, are exploiting the internet to disseminate propaganda and recruit individuals to their groups or to support their aims. Some vulnerable individuals, including young people are being misled by this damaging propaganda.
We are working closely with responsible internet and social media companies to take robust action against terrorist and extremist material and safeguard users. Since 2010 over 140,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed by industry from various online platforms at the request of the dedicated police Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). Approximately 58,000 removals were made in 2015 alone.
We remain committed to the F-35 programme and, as per the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we plan to buy 138 Lightning aircraft over the life of the programme. The Department has appropriate contingency in place to ensure that the F-35 programme delivers on time and to the approved cost.
As part of Joint Force 2025, the Royal Navy continues to develop and deliver the individual training that will enable personnel to operate and maintain safely all the equipment and systems required to run the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2017 to Question 64890 to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Wayne David).
The F-35 Lightning programme will train sufficient pilots to deliver operational requirements.
As at 17 March 2017, eight RAF and five Royal Navy pilots have been trained to operate the F35 Lightning aircraft.
The Royal Navy is constantly evolving its recruitment marketing methods, using specific advertising campaigns, web based media, radio, social media, print and appearances at recruitment events.
To address the issue of recruitment to technical specialisations the Royal Navy employs a range of mechanisms to attract and develop such recruits including apprenticeship schemes and staged remunerative awards, as well as an active engagement in a University Technical Colleges affiliation programme aimed at assisting in the development of technically able young people.
There are currently seven RAF pilots who have been trained to operate P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft, as at 20 March 2017.
The new service for enabling communication between Service personnel on operations and their families and friends is being introduced on 1 April 2017. Printed messages will still be provided to deployed personnel and any savings made will be reinvested into the improvement and development of the welfare services available to deployed personnel, such as increased Wi-Fi capabilities.
I am withholding this information as providing planned numbers would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. However, the P8-A programme will train sufficient pilots to deliver operational requirements.
The RAF is actively promoting careers in the engineering branch through: University Road Shows at universities with courses which focus on Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM); through specifically targeted marketing and media campaigns; and via Station events. The RAF is also offering attractive incentives such as sponsorship of STEM based university students, a 'Golden Hello' for Engineering Officers and the Continued Accelerated Promotion programme. Additionally, the RAF continues to engage with a number of national youth organisations to promote future careers in STEM.
The RAF is not encountering any difficulty in recruiting Intelligence Officers. Therefore, there is no focused recruiting or incentives for the intelligence branch outside of the current recruitment campaign.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 January 2017 to Question 59239 to the right hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Sir Nicholas Soames).
The Ministry of Defence has spent to date a total of circa. £34.4 million on the maintenance and checks carried out by the Department and regulators on the decommissioned submarines that are awaiting disposal.
The approximate figures for Her Majesty’s Naval Base Devonport and Rosyth Dockyard are circa. £11.9 million and £22.5 million respectively.
The first submarine to undergo initial dismantling under the Submarine Dismantling Programme will be HMS Swiftsure.
The Ministry of Defence has spent to date a total of circa. £34.4 million on the maintenance and checks carried out by the Department and regulators on the decommissioned submarines that are awaiting disposal.
The approximate figures for Her Majesty’s Naval Base Devonport and Rosyth Dockyard are circa. £11.9 million and £22.5 million respectively.
The first submarine to undergo initial dismantling under the Submarine Dismantling Programme will be HMS Swiftsure.
The moderate Syrian opposition is made up of groups which do not share an extremist ideology, and have affirmed support for a pluralist, inclusive future for Syria and a negotiated political settlement. Such groups will participate actively in political processes and will be represented at UN talks.
On 25 October, the Secretary of State for Defence announced that the UK would renew its participation in the US-led Train and Equip Programme to train selected members of vetted moderate Syrian opposition groups outside Syria as part of the wider counter-Daesh campaign. Before being accepted for training, prospective trainees are then individually vetted and subject to security and medical screening.
There are 12 submarines in laid-up storage in Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport and seven at Rosyth Dockyard. Under the Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP) one submarine will commence 'Initial Dismantling' at Rosyth later in 2016, subject to regulatory permissions, to refine the process.
While laid-up, the submarines are subject to regular maintenance and checks by both the Ministry of Defence and regulators, and pose no additional risk to workers or members of the public.
Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) is the only type of waste from submarines that will require the use of a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). A facility for the interim storage of ILW has been arranged at Capenhurst in Cheshire until the proposed GDF is available from 2040. In line with Government guidance, the interim ILW store will have a design life of at least 100 years - considerably longer than it is anticipated will be required.
The Department has held no formal discussions with the Government of the Russian Federation with regard to Russian military drills in the North Sea in October. All NATO Allies have a collective responsibility to monitor the path and activity of non-NATO ships and aircraft passing through NATO areas of responsibility. The UK fully upholds its commitments in this regard and will act accordingly. Russia is aware of these arrangements. We expect Russian activity to occur in international waters and airspace, and in accordance with international rules.