Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on whether personal data belonging to (a) current and (b) former armed forces personnel has been published online following the armed forces payment data breach reported on 6 May 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Department has found no evidence of personal data that belongs to current and former Armed Forces personnel being published online following the armed forces payment data breach reported on 6 May 2024. This will continue to be monitored.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personal data incidents affecting suppliers to his Department have been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office in each year since 2010.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The requirement to record personal data incidents reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours came into force in May 2018 under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018. The figures requested per year are as follows:
2018 1
2019 2
2020 2
2021 1
2022 1
2023 0
2024 1
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which external organisation his Department has commissioned to conduct an independent investigation into the armed forces payment data breach reported on 6 May 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has commissioned the independent investigation under an existing cyber incident response contract. The MOD is unable to disclose which external organisation has been commissioned at present for national security reasons.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has found evidence that personal data has been copied out of the subcontractor’s IT system by a malign actor following the armed forces payment data breach reported on 6 May 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The investigation into the network compromise is ongoing and at this time there is no evidence to suggest that any data has been exfiltrated.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement entitled Defence Personnel Data Breach of 7 May 2024, Official Report, column 466, when the investigation into that data breach will be concluded.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The investigation into the network compromise is ongoing and is expected to file an initial report at the end of June.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) full-time, (b) reservist and (c) former armed forces personnel reported suspicious activity related to their bank account to his Department following the data breach reported on 6 May 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As of 9 May, no personnel had reported suspicious activity related to their bank account following the data breach reported on 6 May 2024.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data sets will flow into the Federated Data Platform; and what her planned timetable is for each of those data sets to be (a) visible and (b) in use on the Federated Data Platform by participating hospital trusts.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Federated Data Platform will deliver measurable improvements for patients. It will allow people to be discharged quicker, and for waiting lists to be shortened, through making better use of data.
It will securely bring together information already available to trusts, in hospital health records, waiting lists, and theatre and staff rosters, to better manage patient care. Each NHS organisation will be the data controller for their instance of the platform. Data will always remain under the full control and protection of the NHS and is only visible to approved users.
The NHS Federated Data Platform will provide trusts and integrated care boards, on behalf of local integrated care systems, with a set of core capabilities and nationally developed products, to support five key National Health Service priorities: elective recovery; care-co-ordination; vaccination and immunisation; population health management; and supply chain management.
A suite of products will sit under each of the use cases. A product is a software solution to address a particular NHS need, for example a patient discharge product which brings together data to help support discharge teams in hospitals in getting patients the right care in the right place. As each product is developed or transitioned to the NHS Federated Data Platform, a privacy notice will be published, setting out the data that will be utilised within the product. These are available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/privacy-notice/how-we-use-your-information/nhs-federated-data-platform-privacy-notice/fdp-products-and-product-privacy-notices/
The NHS Federated Data Platform is being implemented in phases, with the first phase, from March to July 2024, being a transition of existing National Data Platform products to the national instance of the NHS Federated Data Platform, and the transition of 44 pilot sites to local instances. The second phase, from May 2024 to March 2027 and following the successful transition phase, is the rollout of instances of the platform to new trusts and integrated care boards. Once trusts and boards have their local instance of the platform, they can choose to use any of the nationally commissioned products, and develop new or additional products locally, to address local issues. This is when the data will become visible to approved users.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of cases in which domestic abuse was disclosed were referred by the Child Maintenance Service to an Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and recognises that domestic abuse often continues and can worsen after separation, which can have detrimental impacts on the welfare of children. CMS therefore continues to evolve and make positive changes to the way we deliver our service and to support our case workers.
We have measures in place to ensure victims and survivors of domestic abuse can access and use our services safely.
Of 29,000 new applications to the CMS in the quarter ending December 2023, 56% of applications were exempt from the application fee, largely on the grounds of domestic abuse.
The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the CMS. Latest statistics are available up to December 2023. Table 2 of the of the National tables provides the volume of applications and volume of those with an exemption due to domestic abuse for the period 2021-2023.
Quarter of Application | Application Fee Exemptions due to Domestic Abuse | Total Application Fee Exemptions | Percentage of Applications with an Exemption |
[note 1] | |||
Jan to Mar 2021 | 10,500 | 10,600 | 58% |
Apr to Jun 2021 | 11,800 | 11,900 | 60% |
Jul to Sep 2021 | 12,400 | 12,500 | 59% |
Oct to Dec 2021 | 11,600 | 11,600 | 60% |
Jan to Mar 2022 | 15,100 | 15,200 | 57% |
Apr to Jun 2022 | 17,300 | 17,500 | 55% |
Jul to Sep 2022 | 17,600 | 17,900 | 53% |
Oct to Dec 2022 | 14,700 | 14,900 | 55% |
Jan to Mar 2023 | 17,600 | 17,800 | 55% |
Apr to Jun 2023 | 17,800 | 18,100 | 56% |
Jul to Sep 2023 | 18,500 | 18,800 | 54% |
Furthermore, in October 2023 the CMS introduced regulations to completely remove the application fee for all families, this came into force on the 26 February 2024.
We are also trialling the use of a single, named case worker team to help ensure victims of domestic abuse are appropriately supported. Evaluation of the trial will inform the future service we offer to survivors of domestic abuse.
CMS have procedures to prevent unwanted contact between parents and provide advice on bank accounts with a centralised sort code so their location cannot be traced. Additionally, CMS can act as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases to facilitate the exchange of bank details, which helps to ensure no personal information is shared between parents.
Further changes, The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 28 June 2023. On 8 May 2024, the Department published a public consultation, Improving the Collection and Transfer of Payments, which follows the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023. The consultation proposes to remove the Direct Pay service completely, which will go further than the measures set out in the Act and provide the same level of protection for all parents. The consultation closes 31st July 2024. The Government will then carefully consider the feedback and a response will be published. To find out more information go to: Child Maintenance: Improving the collection and transfer of payments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
We support our case workers to deliver our service by ensuring they receive appropriate training and have access to signposting and support that could be utilised to assist survivors of domestic abuse.
Through extensive Stakeholder engagement CMS reviewed their domestic abuse training in 2021. Training was delivered to all case workers to ensure they are equipped to recognise coercive and controlling behaviour and appropriately signpost parents in vulnerable situations. All caseworkers have access to the District Provision Toolkit which contains the most up to date information for signposting to help and support for domestic abuse across England, Scotland, and Wales.
A Domestic Abuse Plan was developed which outlines key steps for caseworkers to follow to ensure victims of domestic abuse are supported. This includes advice on contacting the police if the parent is in immediate danger or calling the police on behalf of the parent if requested to do so. Additionally, the plan directs case workers to consider a referral to an Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader if a customer requires further support.
The number of ACSSL cases that have been referred by CMS colleagues, where the referral has been categorised as ‘domestic abuse’ are as follows:
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023* |
ACSSL Referrals from CMS colleagues categorised as domestic abuse | 3 | 3 | 1 |
It should be noted that disclosure of domestic abuse does not automatically require an Advanced Customer Support Senior Leader (ACSSL) to become involved in supporting a case. Additionally domestic abuse may be reported at any stage of case, we do not gather data on all cases therefore the information requested on the proportion of referrals is not held, however given ACSSL referrals are very low this is also likely to be very low.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Newcastle (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of heritage assets and community spaces at risk of coastal erosion in the Northumberland region and what steps will they take to protect those at risk.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The coastal erosion risk, and long term policy for management of the Northumberland Coast is outlined in the Scottish Border to River Tyne Shoreline Management Plan 2009 (SMP): North East Coastal Observatory (see attached). The SMP considers risks associated with coastal processes and outlines management policies to reduce risks to people and the developed, historic, and natural environment.
As part of the Scottish Border to River Tyne SMP (2009), a comprehensive assessment was undertaken to understand the characteristics of the natural and built environment of the Northumberland Coast. This assessment included evaluating the effects of coastal erosion on heritage, cultural heritage, and the historic environment (including churches and graveyards) to help ensure all relevant considerations were made when developing policies to manage coastal erosion.
As the relevant Coastal Protection Authority (CPA) in this location, Northumberland County Council (NCC) is eligible to bid for capital FCRM Grant in Aid for projects that mitigate the effects of coastal erosion. There are around 18 coastal projects with funding on the current 6-year capital programme within the Newcastle Diocese. These schemes have been allocated over £3.7million of FCRM Grant in Aid funding. Schemes can only progress after business cases for each scheme are produced and approved.
As part of the recent Natural Flood Management Announcements (40 projects to benefit from £25 million funding for natural flood management - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) (see attached) a scheme was approved within the Northumberland Coast, at Alnmouth. NCC's project will maintain and enhance existing saltmarsh and dune systems in the Aln Estuary.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for a fee waiver application decision; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those waiting times on people without leave to remain.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Please find published transparency data regarding consideration times for fee waivers in relation to permission to stay here: Immigration and protection data: Q4 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Where a fee waiver application is submitted in relation to a subsequent application for permission to stay, while the applicant still has valid permission, and that permission expires while the fee waiver application is outstanding, section 3C of the 1971 Immigration Act will automatically extend the person’s permission while the fee waiver and linked application are still pending.
In the case of applicants where there is evidence of significant vulnerability, for example homeless individuals, the department makes efforts to prioritise consideration of their fee waiver application to support resolution of status.