Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to prevent the unauthorised disclosure of Cabinet discussions to the media.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As set out at chapter 5 of the ministerial code, the principle of collective responsibility requires that the privacy of ministerial discussions at Cabinet and its committees should be maintained. It is therefore a long established precedent that information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet and its committees is not normally shared publicly.
It is the longstanding policy of successive governments not to comment on specific leak investigations.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 634, if he will initiate a review of maritime security to inform the new national security strategy.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
There are no current plans to publish a separate national maritime security strategy. As announced by the Prime Minister, a new national security strategy will be published this summer.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cyber attacks were conducted by (a) China and (b) Chinese-sponsored actors against (i) Government and (ii) Government-affiliated systems in the last 12 months.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The UK Government does not comment upon operational security matters.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cyber attacks were conducted by (a) Iran and (b) Iranian-sponsored actors against (i) Government and (ii) Government-affiliated systems in the last 12 months.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The UK Government does not comment upon operational security matters.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cyber attacks were conducted by (a) Russia and (b) Russian-sponsored actors against (i) Government and (ii) Government-affiliated systems in the last 12 months.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The UK Government does not comment upon operational security matters.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of public sector workers of working age who have become economically inactive in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 3 January is attached.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the First Report of Session 2023–24 of the Liaison Committee, Promoting national strategy: How select committee scrutiny can improve strategic thinking in Whitehall, HC 31, published on 29 May 2024, whether his Department has taken recent steps to develop a cross-Whitehall lexicon.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Government is considering the Liaison Committee's report and looks forward to discussing it with the incoming Chair once elected.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of paragraph 29 of the First Report of Session 2023–24 of the Liaison Committee, Promoting national strategy: How select committee scrutiny can improve strategic thinking in Whitehall, HC 31, published on 29 May 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Government is considering the Liaison Committee's report and looks forward to discussing it with the incoming Chair once elected.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how their Department defines strategy.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The definition is detailed in the Functional Standards Common Glossary, which is published on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps they are taking to use (a) artificial intelligence and (b) data to help increase their Department's productivity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Cabinet Office is committed to improving its productivity, including through artificial intelligence (AI) and effective use of data.
The Cabinet Office Data Strategy promotes the use of high quality data and analytics to gain insights that drive decision making and operational effectiveness.
In parallel, we are growing the department’s AI capabilities through the design and application of a range of solutions, including Redbox which is a tool to help staff perform research, drafting and reviewing faster, reducing administrative burdens and improving response times for stakeholders. Other solutions are also in development (e.g. machine learning applications and generative AI) to automate and accelerate routine business operations and policy activity.
We draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform our AI and data usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Data Maturity Assessment, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.
The department also has access to the Central Digital & Data Office, based in the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, for expert advice.
We will continue to regularly review our usage of AI and data to maximise productivity benefits for staff and the public.