Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff employed in extended ministerial offices will be (a) redeployed to other posts within the Civil Service and (b) made redundant.
Answered by Ben Gummer
This is a matter for the relevant departments.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any cyber attacks have been carried out on the UK which had the potential to affect its democratic processes.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The first duty of Government is to safeguard the nation, and we treat cyber security extremely seriously.
Our system of paper balloting and hand counting means UK voting mechanisms do not lend themselves to direct electronic manipulation.
The new National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) offers UK organisations, including political parties, access to the best cyber security advice and support to help them meet their responsibility to protect their information and prevent cyber attacks from all possible threats.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking beyond those outlined in the Cyber Security Strategy of November 2016 to defend the UK from cyber attacks from abroad.
Answered by Ben Gummer
The Government is taking a number of ambitious steps to deliver the new National Cyber Security Strategy. This is supported by an increased, transformational investment of £1.9bn across a five year spending period.
A significant recent success was the launch of the National Cyber Security Centre. The Centre is working to deliver the National Cyber Security Strategy, to improve the UK’s ability to respond to major cyber incidents, provide expert guidance on cyber security and push technological innovation for better, more automatic large-scale cyber security.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average weekly wage is for workers in the water transport sector.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average weekly wage was for men in (a) full and (b) part-time employment in (i) Wansbeck constituency and (ii) the North East region in each year since 2010 according to the Office of National Statistics' standard industry classifications for each such year.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average weekly wage was for women in (a) full and (b) part-time employment in (i) Wansbeck constituency and (ii) the North East region in each year since 2010 according to the Office of National Statistics' standard industry classifications for each such year.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average weekly wage is for UK-domiciled seafarers.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials of his Department are working on contingency planning for floods.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the lead government department responsible for planning for and responding to flooding emergencies. The Cabinet Office’s role in contingency planning is to ensure coherent, robust, risk-based planning is undertaken across Government and that generic capabilities are in place to prepare for and respond to a range of emergencies, including flooding.
Three officials in the Cabinet Office are currently spending a significant amount of their time contributing to the National Flood Resilience Review. Eight officials in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat work on the response to flooding as well as other emergencies.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Government's policy is on contingency planning for potential major industrial accidents.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
A robust statutory framework exists for contingency arrangements in the event of a major industrial accident. This focuses on both accident prevention and multi-agency contingency planning delivered through the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and legislation addressing specific industrial hazards, including the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 2015, the Pipeline Safety Regulations (PSR) 1996, and the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations (PEPPIR) 2001. The CCA requires multi-agency partnerships to assess the risks associated with industrial accidents and to undertake suitable specific or generic contingency planning. COMAH, PSR and REPPIR require site operators, local authorities and others to ensure effective arrangements are in place to respond to the onsite and offsite consequences of major accidents and provide for warning and informing those who might be affected.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has had with (a) the Home Department, (b) the Department of Health and (c) telephone companies about the potential vulnerability to flooding of the emergency services communication lines.
Answered by Oliver Letwin
The vulnerability of communications, including those used by emergency services, to flooding is part of the National Flood Resilience Review, alongside the vulnerability of other utilities and public services. This review, led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is wide ranging, involving conversations with multiple government departments, including the Home Office and Department of Health as well as infrastructure operators. A report on progress is scheduled to be published in the summer.