Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure the security of IT used in elections.

The Government is committed to safeguarding democracy and has established the Defending Democracy Taskforce, which has a mandate to safeguard our democratic institutions and electoral processes.

Whilst elections continue to be delivered in a traditional manner - with electors voting with pencil and paper - the supporting infrastructure uses digital systems. The Register to Vote on-line service undergoes regular security and accessibility checks.

Through the Defending Democracy Taskforce, this department works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre to provide guidance and support relating to the risks of election-related cyber-attacks to local authorities and their suppliers, as well as to political parties.