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Written Question
Cabinet Office: ICT
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, 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 Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet 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, more detailed plans for remediation within departmental IT estates, or information that could indicate which systems are at risk as it may highlight potential security vulnerabilities.


Written Question
Cabinet Office: Visits Abroad
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answers of 15 April 2024 to Questions 20230 and 20234 on Cabinet Office: Visits Abroad, whether the share of the total flight costs attributable to the Deputy Prime Minister was £14,784.46; and whether the non-flight costs incurred by the Deputy Prime Minister on his visit to New York were £13,915.54.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Costs for the trip were outlined in the ministerial travel data entitled Cabinet Office ministerial overseas travel, July to September 2023, published on 21 March 2024.

As outlined in that publication, the flight was also used to support regular movement of military personnel between the UK and the USA. These were not included in the number of officials nor in the cost calculations for the trip in order to maintain operational security.


Written Question
European Court of Human Rights
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18492 on European Court of Human Rights, what assessment the Prime Minister has made of the potential impact of the location of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on how its jurisdiction applies to (a) the country in which it is based and (b) other countries; and if he will make a comparative assessment of how the jurisdiction of the ECHR applies in (i) France and (ii) the UK.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the reply to the answer of 18 April 2024, Official Report, PQ 20335.

A clear distinction can be made between the domestic courts of the United Kingdom applying our law on one hand, and international (foreign) courts on the other, which hear cases within their often limited jurisdiction, in which at least one party is likely to be a nation state, and which are composed of international panels of judges or arbitrators applying international law, and whose rulings or opinions are often but not always final and binding.


Written Question
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18492 on European Court of Human Rights, whether the Prime Minister considers the Tribunals of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes to be foreign tribunals when they meet in (a) Washington DC and (b) London.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the reply to the answer of 18 April 2024, Official Report, PQ 20335.

A clear distinction can be made between the domestic courts of the United Kingdom applying our law on one hand, and international (foreign) courts on the other, which hear cases within their often limited jurisdiction, in which at least one party is likely to be a nation state, and which are composed of international panels of judges or arbitrators applying international law, and whose rulings or opinions are often but not always final and binding.


Written Question
International Court of Justice
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18492 on European Court of Human Rights, whether the Prime Minister considers the International Court of Justice to be a foreign court.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the reply to the answer of 18 April 2024, Official Report, PQ 20335.

A clear distinction can be made between the domestic courts of the United Kingdom applying our law on one hand, and international (foreign) courts on the other, which hear cases within their often limited jurisdiction, in which at least one party is likely to be a nation state, and which are composed of international panels of judges or arbitrators applying international law, and whose rulings or opinions are often but not always final and binding.


Written Question
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18492 on European Court of Human Rights, whether the Prime Minister considers the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea to be a foreign tribunal.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the reply to the answer of 18 April 2024, Official Report, PQ 20335.

A clear distinction can be made between the domestic courts of the United Kingdom applying our law on one hand, and international (foreign) courts on the other, which hear cases within their often limited jurisdiction, in which at least one party is likely to be a nation state, and which are composed of international panels of judges or arbitrators applying international law, and whose rulings or opinions are often but not always final and binding.


Written Question
Permanent Court of Arbitration
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18492 on European Court of Human Rights, whether the Prime Minister considers the Permanent Court of Arbitration to be a foreign court.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the reply to the answer of 18 April 2024, Official Report, PQ 20335.

A clear distinction can be made between the domestic courts of the United Kingdom applying our law on one hand, and international (foreign) courts on the other, which hear cases within their often limited jurisdiction, in which at least one party is likely to be a nation state, and which are composed of international panels of judges or arbitrators applying international law, and whose rulings or opinions are often but not always final and binding.


Written Question
Civil Service: Political Impartiality
Friday 19th April 2024

Asked by: Nick Fletcher (Conservative - Don Valley)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had discussions with the Cabinet Secretary on the contents of a response to the correspondence sent by the Civil Service Sex Equality and Equity Network in October 2023 on Civil Service impartiality.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place between Cabinet ministers and officials is not normally shared publicly. However, as mentioned in the Minister’s speech at the Institute for Government on 23 January 2024, the Cabinet Office will be introducing new impartiality guidance which will support Civil Servants to remain objective and impartial when engaging in diversity and inclusion work.


Written Question
International Criminal Court
Thursday 18th April 2024

Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18492 on European Court of Human Rights, whether he considers the International Criminal Court to be a foreign court.

Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union

The clue is in the name.


Written Question
Blood: Contamination
Thursday 18th April 2024

Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 22 of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry, published on 5 April 2023, what steps his Department plans to take to help ensure (a) the independence of and (b) confidence in the arms length body.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The victims of the scandal are at the forefront of my mind, and it is critical to ensure that any scheme works effectively for the victims. The Government will respond in full to Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations following the publication of the Inquiry’s final report. Additionally, we are tabling a Government amendment at Report Stage of the Victims and Prisoners Bill in the Other Place to fix technical deficiencies, while working in the spirit of Dame Diana Johnson’s amendment. The amendment is tabled with the intention of speeding up the implementation of the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry.