Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Oral Statement of 19 November 2025 on China Espionage: Government Security Response, Official Report, column 614, if she will set out the proposed changes to the security guidance for candidates in the devolved and local elections.

The Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit develops and distributes candidate security guidance ahead of every election. This includes best practice on personal and physical security; information on the role of the police; cyber security; and routes for candidates to report online abuse. The refreshed guidance will be distributed in January.

The guidance will include a link to recently published NPSA guidance to protect democratic institutions from foreign interference and espionage threats.

Election preparedness is a priority for the Defending Democracy Taskforce which established the Joint Election Security and Preparedness (JESP) Unit as a permanent function which sits jointly between Cabinet Office and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). JESP is dedicated to protecting UK elections and referendums and coordinating work across government to respond to issues including foreign interference, protective security, and cyber threats as they emerge.