Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January to Question 102676, on Government Departments: Social Media, how much the Government has spent on targeted advertising on social media platforms since 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
All government advertising on social media platforms is targeted.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the value of a) grants and b) other forms of financial assistance to charities working in the immigration sector was in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government publishes data on grant funding annually in the Government grants register on gov.uk.
Grant funding for the period 2023/24 is publicly available. Grants funding data for 2024/25 will be published in March 2026. Grants funding data for 2025/26 is scheduled for publication in March 2027.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total expected value is of the media strategy, planning, and buying contract awarded to WPP Media; and what estimated cost savings will result from reducing the number of suppliers under the new agreement.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
WPP Media has been awarded a place on Lot 1 of the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) RM6364 Media and Creative Services agreement.
The agreement, managed by CCS, will play an important role in ensuring that the UK public receives clear, accurate, and authoritative information from the government. By uniting media planning and buying under a single agency, the government will streamline its work to reach target audiences more effectively across diverse platforms. This consolidation is designed to drive value, improve operational efficiency, and ensure more effective media buying for every pound of public money spent.
Spend and related savings will be determined by individual public sector bodies based on their specific requirements.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what performance indicators will be used to evaluate WPP Media’s provision of media planning and buying services across Government; and how often performance will be reviewed.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Crown Commercial Service reviews framework-level performance on a quarterly basis, including pricing commitments, financial transparency, social value delivery, and client satisfaction.
Individual departments are responsible for managing day-to-day performance and specific service-level agreements for their own call-off contracts.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of cyber attacks there have been on infrastructure in the last three years.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Cyber attacks against the UK are increasing in scale and impact. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) categorises cyber incidents that have a substantial impact on the national security, the economy, or critical infrastructure as ‘nationally significant incidents’. In the 12 months to August 2023, 62 nationally significant incidents were recorded. This increased to 89 in 2024, and further rose to 204 in 2025. NCSC’s Annual Review provides further information on cyber incidents and trends.
On improving the cyber security of national infrastructure, I refer to my answer for UIN 906730, debated on 4 December 2025. The Government is committed to strengthening cyber security across the UK. The recently introduced Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services on which companies rely are secure.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to improve cyber security infrastructure.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Cyber attacks against the UK are increasing in scale and impact. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) categorises cyber incidents that have a substantial impact on the national security, the economy, or critical infrastructure as ‘nationally significant incidents’. In the 12 months to August 2023, 62 nationally significant incidents were recorded. This increased to 89 in 2024, and further rose to 204 in 2025. NCSC’s Annual Review provides further information on cyber incidents and trends.
On improving the cyber security of national infrastructure, I refer to my answer for UIN 906730, debated on 4 December 2025. The Government is committed to strengthening cyber security across the UK. The recently introduced Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services on which companies rely are secure.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the implementation of Digital ID in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government intends to work closely with each of the Devolved Governments.
My colleague, the Minister for Digital Government and Data, Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, was in Northern Ireland on 7 October 2025. He had meetings with representatives across parties in the Northern Ireland Executive, where the issue of the Government's proposed digital ID scheme was discussed.
The Government has made a commitment that the new government-issued digital ID will respect the Good Friday Agreement and the Common Travel Area.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations the Government made to the European Commission at the Citizens’ Rights Specialised Committee meeting on 18 December 2025 regarding the protection of UK nationals’ rights in the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Information on matters discussed at the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights is available here: Citizens’ Rights Specialised Committee meeting, 18 December 2025: joint statement - GOV.UK. The UK and the EU are committed to working cooperatively to ensure full and faithful implementation of the citizens’ rights part of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on the use of targeted advertising on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit for Government communications campaigns.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government uses a range of channels to reach and engage the public. Any use of these platforms is assessed against the high standards for digital safety set out in the Government Communication Service (GCS) SAFE framework.
To ensure all government communications are clear, accurate and authoritative, GCS has established general guidance at https://www.communications.gov.uk/guidance/. This includes the Generative AI Policy (https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/gcs-generative-ai-policy/) and the Framework for Ethical Innovation in Government Communications (https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/gcs-framework-for-ethical-innovation/) .
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the use of digital and AI‑driven communications provides clear, accurate and authoritative information to the public.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government uses a range of channels to reach and engage the public. Any use of these platforms is assessed against the high standards for digital safety set out in the Government Communication Service (GCS) SAFE framework.
To ensure all government communications are clear, accurate and authoritative, GCS has established general guidance at https://www.communications.gov.uk/guidance/. This includes the Generative AI Policy (https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/gcs-generative-ai-policy/) and the Framework for Ethical Innovation in Government Communications (https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/gcs-framework-for-ethical-innovation/) .