Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that the devolved parliaments and assemblies have sufficient resources to (a) detect, (b) deter and (c) prosecute any malign State activities seeking to undermine those democratic institutions.

The Defending Democracy Taskforce regularly engages and works with devolved Governments and Parliaments on threats facing our democracy including foreign interference.

This includes supporting the delivery of cyber security advice which makes available expert cyber support to elected representatives across the UK’s Devolved Parliaments.

In addition, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), as a standing member of the Taskforce, continues to deliver the enhanced cyber security offer for elected representatives across the UK - at local, Devolved, and national levels - to better protect them, their teams, and families online.

The National Security Act 2023 also provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt modern-day state threats, including foreign interference.