Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of ending the vetting transformation programme on (a) national security and (b) staff recruitment delays.

The security of our people, assets and information is a Government priority.

The Vetting Transformation Programme (VTP) was first announced in October 2020. The programme was subject of a number of reviews and audits under the previous administration, including by the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) and Cabinet Office Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) Hub. These reviews concluded that there were weaknesses in governance and stakeholder engagement. As a result, the programme was closed in September 2024.

In its place, this Government is undertaking a range of initiatives to modernise and improve vetting services, delivered through three core workstreams:

1. Rationalising Policy and Process - Government Security Group (GSG) and UK Security Vetting are working with departments to standardise and centralise decision making.

2. Enhancing Digital and Cyber Security - UKSV are currently in the process of migrating the National Security Vetting System (NSVS) platform to the cloud to enhance the reliability of the current service and bring capabilities in line with industry best practice.

3. Increasing Assurance - GSG and UKSV are moving to an approach of continuous improvement across the assurance offered by vetting investigations.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.