Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he has taken to protect people in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, (b) Staffordshire and (c) the UK from cyber attack.

The cyber security of the UK is a priority for the government. We are taking a range of action to protect people, businesses and the economy from cyber threats. This year the government will introduce the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill to improve UK cyber defences and better secure our essential services and the IT infrastructure they rely upon. In Staffordshire, the Cyber Resilience Centre for the West Midlands is part of a nationwide police-led collaboration helping strengthen cyber resilience in small and medium-sized businesses, while the Cyber PROTECT Network operates in every police force area, providing advice and guidance to individuals to help protect against a range of threats and provide support to victims. The government’s Stop! Think Fraud campaign provides the public with advice on how to prevent fraud and cyber crime.