Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking to help reduce disinformation at the next general election.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government is committed to safeguarding the UK’s elections and already has established systems and processes in place, to protect the democratic integrity of the UK.
DSIT is the lead department on artificial intelligence and is part of the Defending Democracy Taskforce which has a mandate to safeguard our democratic institutions and processes from the full range of threats. The Taskforce ensures we have a robust system in place to rapidly respond to any threats during election periods.
Furthermore, the Online Safety Act places new requirements on social media platforms to swiftly remove illegal misinformation and disinformation - including artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes - as soon as they become aware of it. The Act also updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online. This includes enabling users to establish the reliability, accuracy, and authenticity of content.
Finally, the threat to democracy from artificial intelligence was discussed at the AI Safety Summit in November 2023, reinforcing the Government’s commitment to international collaboration on this shared challenge.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2024 to Question 8979 on Home Office: Public Appointments, what his Department's timescale is for the publication of the outcome of the recruitment process for the role of the Independent Advisor for the Defending Democracy Taskforce and Open-Source Intelligence Hub.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
In line with similar appointments, the Home Office will publish the outcome of the recruitment process for the role of the Independent Advisor for the Defending Democracy Taskforce and Open-Source Intelligence Hub.
The Government will publish the outcome at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps officials in his Department are taking with their counterparts in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to tackle money laundering in British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Illicit finance is an active and growing threat to the UK family and can undermine our national security, prosperity, and democracy. As set out in the 2023 Economic Crime Plan 2 (ECP2), tackling economic crime is a high priority for the UK Government, including in the Overseas Territories (OTs).
ECP2 commits the UK Government to using our diplomatic and technical influence to further strengthen partnerships with other financial centres, particularly in the OTs. The Home Office, alongside other government departments such as HM Treasury and law enforcement partners, has supported the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to strengthen our strategic dialogue and technical cooperation with the OTs on a range of economic crime threats such as countering sanctions evasion and money laundering.
The Home Office and FCDO also work together on supporting beneficial ownership transparency in the OTs. The Home Office will continue to support the FCDO on this important agenda.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress (a) his Department and (b) the Security Minister have made on preparations for the global fraud summit.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Global Fraud Summit will be held in London on 11-12 March. It will bring together international ministers, industry leaders, law enforcement, and multilateral organisations to signal our commitment to work together to tackle fraud.
The Home Secretary will host the Summit.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 8437 on Organised Crime, what his Department's timescale is for the publication of the cost of Serious and Organised Crime.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office will update the figure this year once data for financial year 2022/23 is available across all the SOC crime areas. We estimate that a research report on the cost of serious and organised crime will be completed and ready for publication in 2025.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the status is of the Northern Transport Acceleration Council.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
As you know, the Northern Transport Acceleration Council (NTAC) was set up in 2020 as an advisory forum.
In 2022, the decision was taken to dissolve NTAC, in response to feedback from Northern leaders, who provided feedback that their own body was a more suitable channel than NTAC.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he and the Minister for the Cabinet Office plan to increase the number of staff who work in the Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It is, and always will be, an absolute priority for this Government to protect our democratic and electoral processes. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit (JESP) works between DLUHC and GSG in Cabinet Office to coordinate election security and preparedness activity within government and externally. JESP carries out the majority of its work to track and mitigate risks through officials in other government departments and the UK intelligence community. The JESP also works with the devolved administrations, local authorities and the Electoral Commission.
Details of staffing are published in departmental organograms, which are updated periodically.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many members of staff were working in the Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit on 31 January 2024.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
It is, and always will be, an absolute priority for this Government to protect our democratic and electoral processes. The Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit (JESP) works between DLUHC and GSG in Cabinet Office to coordinate election security and preparedness activity within government and externally. JESP carries out the majority of its work to track and mitigate risks through officials in other government departments and the UK intelligence community. The JESP also works with the devolved administrations, local authorities and the Electoral Commission.
Details of staffing are published in departmental organograms, which are updated periodically.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in Pakistan eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy are still awaiting relocation.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 30 January 2024, there are approximately 1,100 Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) Eligible Principals and their family members awaiting relocation from Pakistan.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) are committed to support the continued relocation of eligible Afghans and their families out of Pakistan, and into the UK, as quickly as possible. To date, we have brought approximately 15,300 applicants to safety in the UK under the ARAP scheme.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the threat to (a) wives and (b) children of people eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy in cases where the principal is deceased.
Answered by James Heappey
Wives and children under 18 of a deceased ARAP-eligible principal applicant are themselves eligible to relocate to the UK under ARAP, provided they can demonstrate that the death of the principal has had a direct impact upon the level of risk they face or their level of vulnerability. This policy is published online and is available on the Gov.uk website at the below link on page 14: