Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the sale of spyware to individuals across the internet.
Answered by Karen Bradley
Installing spyware on a computer without the owners consent is already covered by the offences in the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Any unauthorised access to a computer however that is achieved, whether by spyware or another programme is an offence under the Computer Misuse Act. It is also an offence to make or supply an article (which includes spyware) intending it to be used to gain unauthorised access to a computer. Similarly, it is an offence to obtain an article with a view to it being supplied for use to commit such an offence. Amendments to section 3A of the Computer Misuse Act in the Serious Crime Bill will also make it an offence to obtain an article intending it to be used to commit such an offence.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to police in England and Wales on investigation of a complaint that spyware is being used against an individual.
Answered by Mike Penning
The College of Policing is responsible for issuing guidance to the police on training and investigations. At the request of the National Policing Lead for Cyber Crime (DCC Peter Goodman) the College of Policing is in the process of
developing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on cyber crime, which will be focused on cyber-dependent and cyber-enabled crime (as defined in the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy).
The Government is investing £860 million over five years through the National Cyber Security Programme to respond to the threat posed by cyber and online crime. Of this, approximately 10% is being invested in building law enforcement
capabilities to tackle cyber crime. This has been used to build capability at the national, regional, and local level, including delivering training in cyber crime to officers in local police forces.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of spyware devices sold to residents of England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Home Office does not hold this information.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many reports of the use of spyware against individuals have been made to the police in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of spyware downloads by residents of Engand and Wales in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karen Bradley
The Home Office does not hold this information.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, how many prosecutions for summary offences were discontinued as a consequence of delay in obtaining data from (a) social media companies and (b) the forensic examination of computers or mobile phones in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a central record of prosecutions dropped as a result of delays in receiving data from social media companies or from the forensic examination of computers or mobile phones. Obtaining this information would require a manual review of individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken to forensically examine a mobile telephone is from the point of seizure by the police in England and Wales in the last five years.
Answered by Mike Penning
This is not data that is stored centrally by the Home Office. The time taken to forensically examine either a mobile telephone or computer will vary considerably dependant on the material being examined. The resourcing of
forensic examination is something that is determined locally by forces.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken to forensically examine a computer is from the point of seizure by the police in England and Wales in the last five years.
Answered by Mike Penning
This is not data that is stored centrally by the Home Office. The time taken to forensically examine either a mobile telephone or computer will vary considerably dependant on the material being examined. The resourcing of
forensic examination is something that is determined locally by forces.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff who worked in ministerial offices in his Department were from (a) the Civil Service and (b) external bodies (i) between May 2005 and May 2010 and (ii) since May 2010.
Answered by Simon Hughes
All staff employed in Ministerial private offices are employed by the civil service. This includes Special Advisers, who are employed as temporary civil servants.
Since November 2012, an independent contractor has also worked alongside the private office to provide advice to the Justice Secretary on his priority reform programmes.
Asked by: Elfyn Llwyd (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what date the Government has set for the publication of the Chilcot Inquiry report; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Maude of Horsham
The Iraq Inquiry is independent of Government. Timing of the delivery of its report to the Prime Minister is a matter for the Inquiry.