Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when his Department was first informed of Boris Johnson's meeting with Venezuelan government officials; and whether enquiries were made on the nature of this visit.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Boris Johnson was visiting entirely in a personal capacity and not acting on behalf of the UK Government. His trip was not funded by the UK Government. As part of his visit, Mr Johnson paid a courtesy call on the British Residence in Caracas. The UK does not accept the legitimacy of the administration put in place by Nicolás Maduro following the 2018 presidential election.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department provided a briefing to Boris Johnson in advance of his meeting with the Venezuelan President.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Boris Johnson was visiting entirely in a personal capacity and not acting on behalf of the UK Government. His trip was not funded by the UK Government. As part of his visit, Mr Johnson paid a courtesy call on the British Residence in Caracas. The UK does not accept the legitimacy of the administration put in place by Nicolás Maduro following the 2018 presidential election.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on introducing a deed of undertaking to make the requirements of the Business Appointment Rules enforceable for Ministers.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government expects all former Ministers to abide by their obligations with regard to the Business Appointment Rules, as set out in the Ministerial Code. The work to develop a ministerial deed is ongoing and an update will be made in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will hold discussions with Boris Johnson on the requirements upon him under the business appointment rules to make applications to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, in the context of his role with Merlyn Advisors.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Government expects all former Ministers to abide by their obligations with regard to the Business Appointment Rules, as set out in the Ministerial Code. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments writes to the Government if they consider there to have been a breach of the Rules.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, what steps his Department has taken to mitigate the risks of red-rated legacy IT systems.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, has established a programme to support departments managing legacy IT. CDDO has agreed a frame-work to identify ‘red-rated’ systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding certain assets within the IT estate. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by next year (2025).

It is not appropriate to release sensitive information held about specific red-rated systems or more detailed plans for remediation within Defra’s IT estate, as this information could indicate which systems are at risk and may highlight potential security vulnerabilities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, what steps his Department has taken to mitigate the risks of red-rated legacy IT systems.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, has established a programme to support departments managing legacy IT. CDDO has agreed a framework to identify ‘red-rated’ systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding certain assets within the IT estate. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by next year (2025). It is not appropriate to release sensitive information held about specific red-rated systems or more detailed plans for remediation within the Home Department’s IT estate, as this information could indicate which systems are at risk, and may highlight potential security vulnerabilities.