Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what steps the Government is taking to work with EU countries to counter disinformation campaigns orchestrated by foreign state actors.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK works closely with international partners to counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) by hostile actors, including with the European Union and with some EU members States. This includes work to identify and respond to the diverse and evolving threat to our democracies from information manipulation. We work closely with countries across Europe to develop effective national security responses to FIMI; enable communication activities to challenge information manipulation; and support independent media and civil society organisations to build resilience to disinformation. We have sanctioned enablers of Russian disinformation and information manipulation including Russia state media and Kremlin-funded information operations globally, including in Europe.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department monitors the role of external state actors in influencing electoral outcomes in the EU.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
International partners, including in the EU, could be at risk of attempts by foreign states to interfere in elections. Collaboration with international partners, including in the EU, is an essential part of countering these risks. Through the UK's Defending Democracy Ministerial Taskforce, FCDO officials have engaged with partners, including Austria, Romania, and France, to share best practice and identify opportunities for future joint work to build resilience against interference in our democratic processes. FCDO regularly updates to the Taskforce's Ministerial meetings on key risks, learnings, and responses from international elections to inform the UK's election preparations. The UK will continue to engage with international partners.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to enhance cybersecurity infrastructure to help tackle phishing scams through (a) text messaging and (b) fake payment websites.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Criminal Justice Bill will introduce a new offence of supplying or possessing “SIM farm” devices, which allow criminals to send scam texts to thousands of people at the same time, without good reason or undertaking adequate due diligence.
In addition, the Government and Industry have signed the Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter, a voluntary agreement to improve counter-fraud efforts. Under the Telecommunications Charter, the sector has introduced firewalls that detect and stop scam texts from reaching customers. The firewalls have stopped 960million scam text messages since January 2022.
Furthermore, domain registrars, Internet infrastructure (IIPs) and service providers (ISPs) operate robust voluntary arrangements for filtering, blocking and takedown of malicious websites, which is supported by the operational work of our agencies and law enforcement. NCSC also works in collaboration with industry partners to present ISPs with real-time threat data that enables them to instantly block access to known fraudulent or malicious websites. This has a major impact in protecting citizens from cyber- and cyber-facilitated crimes.
Where voluntary arrangements prove unsuccessful, we are introducing a new legislative power will provide law enforcement and investigative agencies with a formal process to suspend IP addresses and domain names that are being used to facilitate serious crime. This power will also be introduced as part of the Criminal Justice Bill.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the financial loss to UK residents due to (a) fraudulent text messages and (b) fake payment websites.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Fraud strategy estimates that in 2019/20 the financial loss from fraud offences was £3.1bn.
A link to the Fraud strategy can be found here: Fraud Strategy 2023
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help protect workers from (a) dismissal and (b) other disciplinary action arising from their participation in legal strikes.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under existing legislation employees taking part in official protected industrial action lasting up to 12 weeks are protected from dismissal. The question of what other disciplinary action an employer can take in these circumstances was recently considered by the Supreme Court in the case of Mercer v Alternative Futures Group Ltd. The Government is carefully looking at the judgment in that case and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what technologies his Department is using to enhance defence against (a) cyber-propaganda and (b) misinformation campaigns.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) doesn’t focus on a technological solution to cyber-propaganda and misinformation campaigns because it is fundamentally a human issue rather than a technological one. There is a cross-Government effort to identify, counter and shut down sources of malign narratives and dis/misinformation, but ultimately our focus is on ensuring our people – military, civilian, and supporting industry – are resilient to it. Additionally, misinformation can be produced far faster than it can be countered and therefore providing MOD personnel with the right skills and mindset, including through regular mandatory training, is the best way to ensure we have resilience in the face of cyber-propaganda and misinformation campaigns.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with allies to secure semiconductor supply chains in the context of heightened tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Safeguarding the UK against supply chain disruptions is a key pillar of the UK National Semiconductor Strategy, and international collaboration is crucial to achieving this. The UK Government works closely with international partners, including through semiconductor partnerships with Japan and the Republic of Korea. These partnerships explore shared approaches and solutions to improve global supply chain resilience and aim to establish areas of collaboration for mutual strategic advantage. Multilaterally, the UK Government is engaging with the G7 and the OECD Semiconductor Informal Exchange Network to strengthen understanding and coordination of global supply chain risks.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had discussions with her international counterparts on coordinating the global response to potential disruptions of semiconductor manufacturing as a result of geopolitical tensions.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Government is working closely with international partners and has already signed semiconductor partnerships with Japan, the Republic of Korea and the US. These partnerships encourage greater transparency in the semiconductor market, place an increased focus on improving supply chain resilience, and establish areas of collaboration for mutual strategic advantage. Multilaterally, the UK Government is engaging with the G7 and the OECD Semiconductor Informal Exchange Network to strengthen understanding and coordination of global supply chain risks.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of natural disasters on (a) semiconductor supply chains and (b) global technology markets.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As the recently published Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy highlights, the UK Government is building capability to forecast and respond to external shocks to critical supply chains, including natural disasters. The Government will continue work to further the resilience of our critical imports and their supply chains, including semiconductors.
The UK Government is working closely with international partners, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to improve supply chain resilience for semiconductors. This includes working with the G7 and supporting the work of the OECD to improve the availability and exchange of information on semiconductor supply chain risks.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support the diversification of semiconductor manufacturing to enhance supply chain resilience.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Government is taking steps domestically and internationally to address supply chain diversification requirements for different types of semiconductors. The UK has world-leading capability in semiconductor design, R&D, and compound semiconductors and the Government is boosting the UK domestic sector through targeted intervention. Internationally, the UK Government is working closely with the G7 and bilaterally with partners such as Japan, the Republic of Korea and the US to improve global supply chain diversification and resilience.