Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of cyber threat posed to public (a) services and (b) institutions.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Government and the wider public sector remain an attractive target to a broad range of cyber threat actors of every level of capability and motivation from nation states to cyber criminals.
In December last year, the UK and its allies exposed a series of attempts by the Russian Intelligence Services to target high-profile individuals and entities through cyber operations.
The Government Cyber Security Strategy (2022) includes as its key objectives 'protect against cyber attack', 'detect cyber security events', and 'develop the right cyber security skills, knowledge and culture' in order to ensure that the Government’s critical functions are cyber resilient.
The NSCS Active Cyber Defence (ACD) programme has several core services, including the Takedown Service and Protective Domain Name Service or PDNS. In 2022, the total number of takedowns conducted by the Takedown Service was 2.4 million. The same year, PDNS blocked over 5 million requests for domains associated with ransomware, a significant contribution to protecting UK organisations from this threat.
We have a comprehensive approach to attract and develop new talent, and to upskill cyber professionals. This includes the cyber apprenticeship and Fast Stream programmes. Cross-government awareness campaigns and training courses are available for all civil servants, including accredited and examination-based learning. We were recently recognised amongst the 2023 Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers nationally. We provide training for specific cyber roles and mid-career switchers with a high level of core skills.
At a national level, the Government is supporting the demand for skilled people in the strong and growing cyber industry with a diverse range of skills interventions. The Government is also looking at long-term solutions, including through the Digital and Computing Skills and Education Taskforce and support for the UK Cyber Security Council.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve cyber security (a) training and (b) awareness in public sector organisations.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Government and the wider public sector remain an attractive target to a broad range of cyber threat actors of every level of capability and motivation from nation states to cyber criminals.
In December last year, the UK and its allies exposed a series of attempts by the Russian Intelligence Services to target high-profile individuals and entities through cyber operations.
The Government Cyber Security Strategy (2022) includes as its key objectives 'protect against cyber attack', 'detect cyber security events', and 'develop the right cyber security skills, knowledge and culture' in order to ensure that the Government’s critical functions are cyber resilient.
The NSCS Active Cyber Defence (ACD) programme has several core services, including the Takedown Service and Protective Domain Name Service or PDNS. In 2022, the total number of takedowns conducted by the Takedown Service was 2.4 million. The same year, PDNS blocked over 5 million requests for domains associated with ransomware, a significant contribution to protecting UK organisations from this threat.
We have a comprehensive approach to attract and develop new talent, and to upskill cyber professionals. This includes the cyber apprenticeship and Fast Stream programmes. Cross-government awareness campaigns and training courses are available for all civil servants, including accredited and examination-based learning. We were recently recognised amongst the 2023 Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers nationally. We provide training for specific cyber roles and mid-career switchers with a high level of core skills.
At a national level, the Government is supporting the demand for skilled people in the strong and growing cyber industry with a diverse range of skills interventions. The Government is also looking at long-term solutions, including through the Digital and Computing Skills and Education Taskforce and support for the UK Cyber Security Council.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the National Security Council has received briefings on red-rated legacy computer systems used by Government departments in the last three years.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The National Security Council (NSC) is a committee of Cabinet and is bound by the same rules and conventions as all Cabinet Committees. Information about discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees are not normally publicly shared.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to work with relevant authorities to tackle violent crime against retail workers in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.
However, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 25% in the 12 months to June 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 29% in the year ending June 2023.
We have recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting.
In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any worker, particularly those who provide a valuable service to the public, is never acceptable.
In 2022 we took the significant step to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against those who are serving the public. Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 means the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences, allowing the court to give a longer sentence within the statutory maximum for the offence.
The Government also continues to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to work with relevant authorities to tackle shoplifting in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities and consumers. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010.
However, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 25% in the 12 months to June 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 29% in the year ending June 2023.
We have recently made significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting.
In October, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.
This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there is actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.
October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership, which involves retailers providing data, intelligence and evidence to Opal, the national police intelligence unit on organised acquisitive crime, to develop a better strategic picture and help forces crack down on serious offenders.
The Government is clear that violent and abusive behaviour towards any worker, particularly those who provide a valuable service to the public, is never acceptable.
In 2022 we took the significant step to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against those who are serving the public. Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 means the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences, allowing the court to give a longer sentence within the statutory maximum for the offence.
The Government also continues to work closely with retail businesses, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to ensure the response to retail crime is as robust as it can be.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
What steps his Department is taking to strengthen national security.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office leads and coordinates the UK’s national security crisis response through the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR), and national security policy through the National Security Council structures. This includes the National Cyber Strategy, National Security and Investment Programme, and the Biological Security Strategy, all of which the department is taking essential steps to deliver.
Key successes in 2023 included publishing the Integrated Review Refresh, passing the National Security Act, launching the Emergency Alerting scheme and delivering the Atlantic Declaration and risk elements of the AI Summit. So far in 2024, we have launched a new Strategic Dialogue on Biological Security with the US and continued to coordinate the response to the conflict in Gaza and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle cyber-related crime in Solihull constituency.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Tackling cyber crime is at the heart of the Government’s National Cyber Strategy 2022-25, which is supported by £2.6 billion of investment through the National Cyber Fund.
Key to delivery is ensuring that local policing has the resources needed to deal with the cyber threats we face. In 2023/24, the Home Office is receiving £18 million from the National Cyber Fund to provide a range of capabilities and resource to tackle and respond to cyber crime. This funding is supplemented by a further £16 million of Home Office funding through the Police Settlement Programme.
This funding continues to build law enforcement capabilities at the national, regional, and local levels to ensure they have the capacity and expertise to deal with the perpetrators and victims of cyber crime. We directly fund a specialist Cyber Crime Unit at West Midlands Police, which covers Solihull, and another, more specialist team, at the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). This ROCU team is integral to our response to high-harm, high-impact crimes like cyber extortion.
This Regional Cyber Crime Unit for West Midlands (RCCUWM) also works with businesses and organisations based in Solihull, across the private and public sectors, and at community level. Under the Local Resilience Forum, RCCUWM work with Solihull Council, amongst others, to build stronger cyber security and resilience. A key part of RCCUWM’s work is to ensure the integrity of our Critical National Infrastructure providers, and they have a long-standing partnership with NHS Birmingham Solihull (BSOL) Integrated Care System and NHS England.
We have also rolled out Regional Cyber Resilience Centres in London and each of the nine policing regions, including the West Midlands. These are a collaboration between the police, public, private sector and academic partners to provide cyber security advice to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises so that they can protect themselves better in a digital age. Details of the Cyber Resilience Centre for the West Midlands can be found at Cyber Resilience | The Cyber Resilience Centre For The West Midlands (wmcrc.co.uk)
All vulnerable victims of fraud and cyber crime in Solihull receive contact and Protect advice from law enforcement, specifically aimed at helping them to protect themselves in future from revictimization.
The specialist RCCUWM Prevent Team also work to intervene if people are deemed at risk of becoming involved in cyber offending. RCCUWM deliver the National Cyber Choices programme and have delivered multiple initiatives across Solihull, including working with schools to help them identify those at risk. Solihull local police officers support these important safeguarding interventions.
Asked by: Chloe Smith (Conservative - Norwich North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Security Minister's role leading the Defending Democracy Taskforce, if he will take steps to appoint (a) a lead police force and (b) a lead officer in each police force for election security and electoral offences.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Defending Democracy Taskforce seeks to protect the democratic integrity of the UK from the threats of foreign interference working across government and with operational partners, including Counter Terrorism Policing as a standing Taskforce member.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council has a national portfolio lead for policing of elections. This role is currently held by Assistant Commissioner Nik Adams of the City of London Police.
The National Police Operations Centre (NPoCC) are coordinating national planning for policing relating to the elections. This work is bringing together regional representatives from police forces to ensure efficient and effective national coordination for the preparation, planning and delivery of policing responses to elections in the UK.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2023 to Question 6491 on Shoplifting, whether HM Passport Office data has been used to help identify suspects of shoplifting.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities and consumers.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010; however, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 25% in the 12 months to June 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 29% in the year ending June 2023. That’s a welcome indication that the police are heeding the message and are giving greater attention to shoplifting. The Home Office does not hold specific information relating to shoplifting offences attended by the police.
Over recent months I have worked with representatives of the retail sector and senior police leaders, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) leads for Acquisitive Crime, Retail Crime, Business Crime and the National Business Crime Centre, to improve the police response to
shoplifting. These conversations resulted in the development of the NPCC’s Retail Crime Action Plan.
In October, the NPCC published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel.
Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. Police forces use the facial matching facility on the Police National Database which contains images of people previously arrested. The UK passport database is searched on a limited basis in support of the most serious law enforcement investigations.
The plan also includes guidance for retailers on what response they can expect from their local police, as well as how retailers can assist the police by providing evidence to help ensure cases are followed-up. Retailers can assist police by providing CCTV footage and images, which is best shared electronically via a Digital Evidence Management System.
The Home Office does not hold data on police attendance at retail crime incidents. The NPCC is exploring how this data could be captured by police forces to show attendance in line with the commitments in the Retail Crime Action Plan.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests made by police in England and Wales, as part of the annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Stop and search and arrests’ statistical release. The Home Office does not hold information relating to citizens arrests.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2023 to Question 6491 on Shoplifting, whether the number of citizen's arrests related to shoplifting increased in 2023.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the significant impact shoplifting has on businesses, communities and consumers.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 51% compared to findings from the year ending March 2010; however, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 25% in the 12 months to June 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting offences has risen by 29% in the year ending June 2023. That’s a welcome indication that the police are heeding the message and are giving greater attention to shoplifting. The Home Office does not hold specific information relating to shoplifting offences attended by the police.
Over recent months I have worked with representatives of the retail sector and senior police leaders, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) leads for Acquisitive Crime, Retail Crime, Business Crime and the National Business Crime Centre, to improve the police response to
shoplifting. These conversations resulted in the development of the NPCC’s Retail Crime Action Plan.
In October, the NPCC published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces in England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel.
Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals. Police forces use the facial matching facility on the Police National Database which contains images of people previously arrested. The UK passport database is searched on a limited basis in support of the most serious law enforcement investigations.
The plan also includes guidance for retailers on what response they can expect from their local police, as well as how retailers can assist the police by providing evidence to help ensure cases are followed-up. Retailers can assist police by providing CCTV footage and images, which is best shared electronically via a Digital Evidence Management System.
The Home Office does not hold data on police attendance at retail crime incidents. The NPCC is exploring how this data could be captured by police forces to show attendance in line with the commitments in the Retail Crime Action Plan.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests made by police in England and Wales, as part of the annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Stop and search and arrests’ statistical release. The Home Office does not hold information relating to citizens arrests.