Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential ways the UK cloud sector can become involved in the supply chain for Amazon Web Services' cloud computing contract with GCHQ.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The national security community does not routinely avow details of the technology partnerships it enters into. Releasing details concerning national security technology can have significant security implications as would be the case in this scenario. Any contract can be fully scrutinised through the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
We have a long-standing, 75-year intelligence relationship with the United States, which is invaluable to each country's national security. The alliance has clear guidelines for how we share communication, translation, analysis, and code breaking information, and has helped protect our countries and allies for decades. Any move to cloud does not change this agreement.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential positive impact of GCHQ’s cloud computing contract with Amazon Web Services on the domestic cloud sector.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The national security community does not routinely avow details of the technology partnerships it enters into. Releasing details concerning national security technology can have significant security implications as would be the case in this scenario. Any contract can be fully scrutinised through the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
We have a long-standing, 75-year intelligence relationship with the United States, which is invaluable to each country's national security. The alliance has clear guidelines for how we share communication, translation, analysis, and code breaking information, and has helped protect our countries and allies for decades. Any move to cloud does not change this agreement.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what risk assessment was undertaken before awarding the cloud contract for GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 to Amazon.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The national security community does not routinely avow details of the technology partnerships it enters into. Avowing details around national security technology can have potential security implications as would be the case in this scenario. However, any procurement process can be fully scrutinised through the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union's July 2020 Schrems II judgement and the recently reported cloud computing contract between Amazon Web Services and GCHQ, what steps she has taken to ensure that data which that company will hold as part of that agreement will not be accessed by US authorities without the knowledge of UK citizens or the Government.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The national security community does not routinely release details of the technology partnerships it enters into. Releasing details concerning national security technology can have significant security implications as would be the case in this scenario. Any contract can be fully scrutinised through the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
The US are not involved in decisions about the technology we use in our infrastructure. We have a long-standing, 75-year intelligence relationship with the United States, which is invaluable to each country's national security. The alliance has clear guidelines for how we share communication, translation, analysis, and code breaking information, and has helped protect our countries and allies for decades. Any move to cloud does not change this agreement.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the recently reported contract awarded to Amazon Web Services, for what reasons GCHQ did not contract its cloud services with a domestic UK provider.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The national security community does not routinely release details of the technology partnerships it enters into. Releasing details concerning national security technology can have significant security implications as would be the case in this scenario. Any contract can be fully scrutinised through the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to enable Parliamentary scrutiny of the cloud computing contract between Amazon Web Services and GCHQ.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The national security community does not routinely release details of the technology partnerships it enters into. Releasing details concerning national security technology can have significant security implications as would be the case in this scenario. Any contract can be fully scrutinised through the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. This is the appropriate forum for Parliamentary scrutiny on this matter.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many cloud computing companies submitted a bid for the contract that GCHQ is recently reported to have awarded to Amazon Web Services; and how many of those bids were submitted by domestic UK companies.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The national security community does not routinely release details of the technology partnerships it enters into. Releasing details concerning national security technology can have significant security implications as would be the case in this scenario. Any contract can be fully scrutinised through the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the value of the recently reported cloud computing contract between Amazon Web Services and GCHQ is.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The national security community does not routinely avow details of the technology partnerships it enters into. Avowing details around national security technology can have potential security implications as would be the case in this scenario. However, any contract can be fully scrutinised through the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals are employed by the Defence Intelligence organisation; and what is the budget for its operations.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The Defence Intelligence workforce at 31 March 2021 was circa 4,100 people and the budget for the same period was £349 million. We report annually to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament on the size of the Defence Intelligence workforce and budget. The Committee normally publishes this information in its Annual Reports.
Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to progress closer working between MI5 and police regional Counter- Terrorism Units on countering Hostile State Activity, as recommended by the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on Russia published on 21 July 2020.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The Government agrees with the Intelligence and Security Committee on the benefits of close working arrangements between law enforcement and the security and intelligence services.
As noted in the Government’s response to the ISC’s report, MI5 has already developed closer working with Police and Home Office partners in tackling the threat posed by State Threats, including working together closely on a number of State Threats cases. The Salisbury response and investigations in 2018 were led by Counter Terrorism Policing, drawing on its expertise in investigating matters which pertain to national security. The Agencies continue to collaborate closely and productively with Police on all relevant State Threats cases.