Stuart Anderson

My department continues to work closely with the Cabinet Office and other departments on the Prepare campaign, providing access to DCMS sectors and stakeholders to extend its reach. As the campaign progresses, we will continue to work with Cabinet Office colleagues to ensure messaging is coordinated and reaches the widest possible audience.

It is essential that the public has access to accurate and trustworthy information from public service broadcasters. The Government is resolute in taking steps to combat interference targeting the UK and its sectors from any actor.

The Government does not regulate ‘smart city’ or Internet of Things ecosystems as a distinct category. Its focus is on ensuring that connected technology meets minimum security requirements (the PSTI Act 2022), and that essential networks and services are resilient (the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill). The Government Cyber Action Plan sets out how we will achieve a step change in cyber security and digital resilience across government and the wider public sector (including local authorities). Owners and developers of smart city infrastructure should also follow the National Cyber Security Centre’s connected places cyber security principles, and the Government’s secure connected places playbook.

The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK's telecommunications infrastructure.

The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 established a robust security framework requiring public telecoms providers to identify, reduce and prepare for security compromises to their networks and services. The definition of ‘security compromise’ in the Act includes (amongst other things): ‘any unauthorised access to, interference with or exploitation of the network or service or anything that enables such access, interference or exploitation’.

DCMS works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre, as the UK's lead technical authority for cyber security, to identify and assess risks to telecommunications infrastructure, including those arising from hostile state cyber activity.

Under the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021, public telecoms providers must report significant security compromises to Ofcom. This includes incidents where a security compromise impacts the confidentiality and/or integrity of the network or service, such as espionage.

The Government is committed to transparency and accountability, including through clear and timely responses to correspondence. Your correspondence dated 19 June was passed to the Equalities Minister responsible for the UK equality framework; you should have now received the reply.

Through the Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board, the National Church Institutions are supporting new musical initiatives in churches in the following ways:

• Hympact! is funded in partnership with the Royal School of Church Music, the dioceses of Salisbury and St Albans, to create and publish music and resources, and develop and pilot ‘school to church pathways’. It also includes the development of faith notes for clergy and parish lay staff to use both in schools and churches to explore the theological, religious and spiritual themes of the songs, and to provide a framework within which to engage children and adults in an age-appropriate way on the road to discipleship.

• Choir Church in Blackburn Diocese, seeks to work intensively with eight parishes and schools, planting new local congregations built around children’s choirs which:

a) learn excellent music with the Gospel at the heart;
b) pray and worship together as a congregation of children, parents, teachers, and the wider community;
c) work for social justice using the techniques of community organising, modelling a church which is both of and for the poorest.

The Diocese Investment Programme (DIP) has also recently supported choirs and traditional church music in London and in Southwark dioceses:

In Southwark funding is supporting the establishment of a new junior choir in All Saints Church, Kingston, providing children from all backgrounds with a free first-class musical education. It will:
• involve children in a regular pattern of worship and a supportive church community;
• ensure the future health of the choir;
• bring new families into church, providing excellent opportunities to engage with parents and siblings and encourage them with music education.

In London, the Hackney & Islington Project DIP has funded a music director to support catholic mission & renewal, and support the development of liturgical and sacramental music.

In Portsmouth the Director of Music Dr David Price and his team are working with schools and churches to transform music across the diocese. The cathedral recently welcomed hundreds of school children from Gosport, Fareham, Havant and Portsmouth to a special St Cecilia Evensong and it has partnered with churches such as St Mary’s Fratton, to support the development of a growing and confident choir of children and young people. Portsmouth Cathedral also recently played host to Gabrieli ROAR where 200 young singers from across the diocese joined Portsmouth Grammar School for highly successful choir workshops and ten performances of “A Grand Georgian Christmas”, supported by the Gabrieli Consort.

Church buildings are community assets as well as places of worship and almost 80% of churches are involved in 35,000 social action projects annually.

Church Halls are able to apply for support from our Net Zero Carbon programme’s Quick Wins Fund (currently £2.4 million total),which can help church halls become more sustainable and energy efficient.

Through the Archbishops’ Council, the Church Commissioners funded the Buildings for Mission project, which has so far provided £6.2 million to all 41 dioceses across England for grants for repairs to churches. A further £3.2 million has funded over 30 Church Buildings Support Officers to help parishes most in need in rural and urban areas to keep their church buildings in good repair and extend their use by the wider community.

St Michael and All Angels in Lydbury North, which is within the South Shropshire constituency, has received Buildings for Mission funding for urgent roof repairs and heritage at risk. St John the Evangelist in Newcastle on Clun has also received funding for urgent ceiling plastering work restoration, supported by the Buildings Support Officer in the Diocese of Hereford.

The Commission fully supports UK Parliament Week, the largest single public engagement campaign delivered by the UK Parliament.

This year, UK Parliament Week (18–24 November) will reach over two million people, who will take part in over 15,500 activities being organised by schools, youth organisations and community groups all over the UK, in British Overseas Territories, Crown Dependencies, and many countries around the world. Every parliamentary constituency will host some form of UK Parliament Week activity.

UK Parliament Week activities are registered by the public via the UK Parliament Week website. Activities can take many forms. They have previously ranged from themed assemblies and meeting Members of Parliament to artistic and creative activities with a Parliament or democracy theme. All those who register activities are sent either a printed or digital resource to help participants learn about Parliament. The resources include board games and quizzes aimed at school-aged learners.

The Commission invites all Members to participate in UK Parliament Week by encouraging constituents to sign up for events and activities that will help them learn more about the role of Members, the work that Members carry out both at Westminster and in their constituencies, and the importance of parliamentary democracy.

UK Parliament Week is delivered by the Participation team, Parliament’s bicameral public engagement specialists.

We understand the vital role of the voluntary, community and faith sector (VCFS) in all aspects of resilience and have been working closely with a wide range of groups on our resilience approach since coming into government.

Following a recommendation from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Government launched a consultation to gain views on whether placing a statutory duty on Category 1 responders to establish and maintain relationships with the VCFS is the best means to achieve stronger engagement, and what burdens any new statutory duty might have on both emergency responders and VCFS organisations. This will form part of the Post Implementation Review of the Civil Contingencies Act due to be published in March 2027.

We are continuing to identify and implement non-statutory measures that strengthen working with the VCFS in resilience and emergency response.

The Chronic Risks Analysis is a practical tool to help businesses, academia, Government and civil society to plan for the future. The risks and long-term challenges identified in the Chronic Risks Analysis and National Risk Register are used to inform cross-Government resilience planning and spending priorities.

Resource allocation and departmental spending priorities over the medium term are formally determined through the Spending Review process, ensuring that we effectively spend money to protect the UK from the range of potential threats we face.

To date, the Cabinet Office has undertaken two nationwide tests of the Emergency Alerts system: the inaugural launch test on 23 April 2023, and a second national test on 7 September 2025, which confirmed strong transmission performance across more than 96% of cell towers. Mobile network operators also conduct regular technical operator testing to ensure operational readiness.

The Government keeps testing requirements under continuous review alongside mobile network operators and emergency responders. Any future national test of the system would be accompanied by a proactive public information campaign delivered in collaboration with partner agencies and organisations representing relevant groups such as those facing domestic violence and abuse.

The Resilience Action Plan, available on GOV.UK, committed to deliver a consolidated, data-driven picture of our resilience baseline by 2029. To inform this measure, the UK Resilience Academy has convened relevant experts from across society to shape its development.

The Risk Vulnerability Tool creates a map of the UK for different risks that we face, and shows where there are groups who might be disproportionately impacted. Vulnerable groups are identified by data including age, disability, or whether someone is receiving care. This tool is accessible to the UK Government and devolved governments through a secure platform.

As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the Government is committed to driving forward a whole-of-society conversation about the risks we face in order to strengthen national resilience and preparedness.

There are multiple strands of work ongoing, including providing practical guidance on steps households can take to prepare for everyday risks.

To support interoperability between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Cabinet Office provides ResilienceDirect as a common, secure digital platform for local resilience partnerships and national responders. The platform enables spatial and incident information to be shared and viewed consistently across administrative boundaries.

The Cabinet Office published its second annual UK Public Survey of Risk Perception, Resilience and Preparedness on 19 August 2026. The survey findings provide insight that supports the development of our preparedness guidance for households and individuals. This is supplemented by stakeholder insight gathered through direct engagement to develop national preparedness messaging.

The National Risk Register (NRR) is the public-facing version of the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), which follows a rigorous methodology that assesses the likelihood and impact of the most significant risks to the UK and its interests overseas. Risks are presented as reasonable worst-case scenarios to allow planners to prepare for a severe but plausible manifestation of them.

The NRR and NSRA are updated via a dynamic process, meaning assessments can be updated as frequently as real-world evidence demands. To ensure that the assessment process is robust, risks are reviewed by panels of technical and scientific experts, each led by an independent chairperson. More information on the methodology can be found in the Guide to the NRR and Chapter 2 of the NRR.

The National Security Strategy 2025 makes clear the UK’s national security and growth objectives will be profoundly affected by tensions between the major powers. Increasing our sovereign and asymmetric capabilities is a key part of the Strategy's response to the risk posed by strategic dependencies on foreign adversaries. As a trade-reliant nation, the UK must also balance economic openness with addressing risks and vulnerabilities. The Government is taking steps to deliver this.

The Supply Chain Centre, based in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, is building the resilience of the supply chains critical to the UK’s security and prosperity, including working closely with industry. The Critical Minerals Strategy defines success criteria for foreign supply of critical minerals.

The Government is actively investing in and onshoring the industrial capabilities necessary for national security. For example, through the Sovereign AI fund we are developing a baseline level of sovereign AI technology capability and strengthening the UK’s position within the broader international ecosystem.

The UK Government Resilience Action Plan, available on GOV.UK, outlines the approach the Government is taking to enable the whole of society to increase their resilience. A July 2026 implementation report set out our progress and next steps. These include an updated National Risk Register, the public-facing version of the UK Government’s classified assessment of risks facing the UK.

The Government launched beready.campaign.gov.uk on Thursday 22 October and a Written Ministerial Statement was delivered by the Security Minister. The launch of new guidance marks the first phase of the gradual roll out of a three-year campaign designed to increase household resilience across the country.

The ‘Be Ready’ campaign has been built in collaboration with numerous charities and campaigners to ensure accessibility, including people with insecure housing and people who use foodbanks, as well as with Local Resilience Forums and officials from the Welsh and Scottish Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive Office.

The Resilience Action Plan, available on GOV.UK, committed to deliver a consolidated, data-driven picture of our resilience baseline by 2029. To inform this measure, the UK Resilience Academy has convened relevant experts from across society to shape its development.

To evaluate chronic risks more effectively, the Cabinet Office and the Government Office for Science developed a new methodology, which we published in 2025. This can be found in the methodology section of the published Chronic Risks Analysis. This assessment of chronic risks complements the acute risks of national emergencies in the National Risk Register.

HMG has made significant progress in advancing the Home Defence Programme since its inception in 2024 and continues to develop civilian-military preparedness. As announced in July, the programme is leading the regeneration of the Government War Book and we will be holding the largest home defence exercise in recent UK history next year. I am driving forward this work at pace in the Cabinet Office, working with colleagues in the Ministry of Defence.

The Cabinet Office oversaw two cross-system National Exercises within this period – more than in 14 years of successive Conservative governments. Exercise PEGASUS on pandemic preparedness was conducted in three primary phases in September and October 2025 helping to shape this government’s new Pandemic Preparedness Strategy. A classified cross-system exercise was also conducted in 2026. Findings from PEGASUS will be made public by winter 2026. Findings from the cyber resilience exercise will not be made public for national security considerations.

Emergency Alerts are a critical tool in the Government’s toolkit for warning and informing people where their lives are at risk. The Cabinet Office is committed to delivering value for money to the public and to continuously improving the service to keep people safe. There is no cost of issuing an Emergency Alert.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 April 2026 to Question UIN 125344.

This Government is determined to ensure the £400 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually delivers economic growth and supports British businesses, especially SMEs.

Since coming into office, this Government has published a new, more ambitious, National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) setting out our vision for public procurement. The NPPS requires contracting authorities to consider ways to increase procurement spend with SMEs and Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprises (VCSEs).

We have also introduced changes allowing local councils to reserve over one billion pounds worth of lower value contracts to suppliers based locally or within the UK which has recently become law, a step strongly supported by SMEs.

We will set out further reforms, including the response to the recent public procurement consultation, in due course.

The Government is committed to the effective delivery of public services through cross-departmental collaboration, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's focus on place-based approaches. The Prime Minister has established a Public Services Committee, chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. The Committee is considering all matters related to improving the population’s experience of public services.

The Procurement Act has introduced a number of reforms to make it easier for small businesses to access public sector supply-chains and removing unnecessary burdens and costs, including:

• a new duty on contracting authorities to have regard to their participation and consider whether they can remove barriers to entry;

• greater visibility of upcoming public sector opportunities and early market engagement to explain requirements to better help SMEs prepare to bid; and

• 30-day payment terms will apply throughout the public sector supply chain.

The National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) supports Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSEs), giving them greater opportunities to win public contracts by instructing contracting authorities to maximise their spend with these organisations.

To support implementation of the NPPS, I have announced new rules requiring all government departments and their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to set three-year targets for direct spend with SMEs from 1 April 2025, and from 1 April 2026 for VCSEs, and publish progress annually. This will drive greater transparency and accountability for increasing numbers of SMEs and VCSEs delivering public contracts, supporting local economic growth and innovation and creating jobs in local communities up and down the country.

The Government encourages communities, charities and businesses to sign the Armed Forces Covenant. The Cabinet Office has published guidance on how departments can encourage suppliers to sign the Covenant and to raise awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant. This guidance is published on gov.uk and available here PPN 008: Armed Forces Covenant (HTML) - GOV.UK.

The Parliamentary Capability Team within the Cabinet Office designs and delivers training for civil servants on all aspects of parliamentary procedure. Parliament Week is an important part of the training calendar every year. This year a programme of events will take place each day designed to improve the awareness and understanding of Parliament across the Civil Service. This will include discussions with the right honourable Leaders of both houses, officials and members. These events are advertised across all departments and open to all to attend.

The Department regularly undertakes analysis of economic resilience, productivity and regional growth to inform policy development. However, it has not undertaken specific economic modelling to estimate the cascade failure points of regional commercial clusters. The Department continues to monitor risks to business activity and regional economies through a range of analytical and engagement mechanisms and works across Government to support economic resilience and growth.