To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much each government department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much each government department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years.

The Prime Minister will write to ministerial colleagues providing guidance on the conduct of government business during the general election period. The Cabinet Secretary has issued parallel guidance to civil servants on their conduct during this period. The guidance comes into force on 22 April 2017.

Copies of the documents have...

The Prime Minister will write to ministerial colleagues providing guidance on the conduct of government business during the general election period. The Cabinet Secretary has issued parallel guidance to civil servants on their conduct during this period. The guidance comes into force on 22 April 2017.

Copies of the documents have...

On 4 May 2017, elections will take place to local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland, including for directly elected Mayors to seven Combined Authorities, and two local district councils in England.

As is normal ahead of elections, guidance has now been issued for civil servants in UK Government departments and...

On 4 May 2017, elections will take place to local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland, including for directly elected Mayors to seven Combined Authorities, and two local district councils in England.

As is normal ahead of elections, guidance has now been issued for civil servants in UK Government departments and...

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister's predecessor met Lord Rothermere in February or March 2016.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister's predecessor met Lord Rothermere in February or March 2016.

Today the Government is publishing an updated list of Cabinet Committees and Implementation Taskforces. As part of the changes, the Prime Minister will chair two new Sub-Committees of the European Union Exit and Trade Committee.

The two new Sub-Committees are as follows:

• European Union Exit and Trade (Negotiations) Sub-Committee: to oversee...

Today the Government is publishing an updated list of Cabinet Committees and Implementation Taskforces. As part of the changes, the Prime Minister will chair two new Sub-Committees of the European Union Exit and Trade Committee.

The two new Sub-Committees are as follows:

• European Union Exit and Trade (Negotiations) Sub-Committee: to oversee...

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether future meetings between Ministers and the right hon. Member for Tatton will be required to be published in the Departments' transparency data concerning meetings with proprietors, editors and media executives after his appointment as editor of the London Evening Standard; and...

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether future meetings between Ministers and the right hon. Member for Tatton will be required to be published in the Departments' transparency data concerning meetings with proprietors, editors and media executives after his appointment as editor of the London Evening Standard; and...

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to prevent the right hon. Member for Tatton from accessing copies of Government, Cabinet or Cabinet Committee papers relating to the period when he was in the Government while he is the Editor of the London Evening...

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to prevent the right hon. Member for Tatton from accessing copies of Government, Cabinet or Cabinet Committee papers relating to the period when he was in the Government while he is the Editor of the London Evening...

My right hon. Friend the Minister is a decent and honourable man, and he will make his own decision about his ministerial responsibilities. It is wrong to impugn his motives in the House, if I may say so.

My right hon. Friend the Minister is a decent and honourable man, and he will make his own decision about his ministerial responsibilities. It is wrong to impugn his motives in the House, if I may say so.

My hon. Friend has it in one: not only does this initiative allow us to save costs so that we can direct money to the frontline, but it means that public services are far simpler for our citizens to deal with, because they are located in one place.

My hon. Friend has it in one: not only does this initiative allow us to save costs so that we can direct money to the frontline, but it means that public services are far simpler for our citizens to deal with, because they are located in one place.

Cyber-attacks are growing more frequent, sophisticated and damaging. The government transformation strategy will ensure that government protects all of its services and products from cybercrime, and will ensure that all systems are designed with cyber-security and appropriate privacy safeguards in place.

Cyber-attacks are growing more frequent, sophisticated and damaging. The government transformation strategy will ensure that government protects all of its services and products from cybercrime, and will ensure that all systems are designed with cyber-security and appropriate privacy safeguards in place.

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for making that point. Central to what we are doing is protecting not only the information that government requires to be kept confidential, but, as importantly, the information that citizens require to be kept confidential. That is partly why gov.uk Verify has been designed so that it protects citizens’ data in the inquires that they make of government.

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for making that point. Central to what we are doing is protecting not only the information that government requires to be kept confidential, but, as importantly, the information that citizens require to be kept confidential. That is partly why gov.uk Verify has been designed so that it protects citizens’ data in the inquires that they make of government.

My hon. Friend has doctors in high places. All I would say to him is that specific inquiries about NHS digital services should be directed to the Health Secretary, but I shall ensure that he receives a proper reply from him. As for the Government’s general strategy, our purpose is to make sure that we have the most secure government information systems anywhere in the world. That is what lies behind the government transformation strategy and the Government’s cyber-strategy, too.

My hon. Friend has doctors in high places. All I would say to him is that specific inquiries about NHS digital services should be directed to the Health Secretary, but I shall ensure that he receives a proper reply from him. As for the Government’s general strategy, our purpose is to make sure that we have the most secure government information systems anywhere in the world. That is what lies behind the government transformation strategy and the Government’s cyber-strategy, too.

The Government are seeking to achieve precisely the latter of those things, which is why gov.uk Verify has been built as it has. It is very important that citizens have complete faith in the data held by government and feel able to interrogate data in the way that is open to them. We are not quite where I would like to be on this yet, but as we design digital services in the future I want to arrive at precisely the point the hon. Gentleman indicates.

The Government are seeking to achieve precisely the latter of those things, which is why gov.uk Verify has been built as it has. It is very important that citizens have complete faith in the data held by government and feel able to interrogate data in the way that is open to them. We are not quite where I would like to be on this yet, but as we design digital services in the future I want to arrive at precisely the point the hon. Gentleman indicates.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important matter. I direct businesses to look at the cyber essentials pack on the National Cyber Security Centre website, which details the essentials of what businesses can do to protect themselves. The NCSC’s purpose is to ensure that businesses that work with government adhere to the same high standards of cyber-security that the Government expect of themselves.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this important matter. I direct businesses to look at the cyber essentials pack on the National Cyber Security Centre website, which details the essentials of what businesses can do to protect themselves. The NCSC’s purpose is to ensure that businesses that work with government adhere to the same high standards of cyber-security that the Government expect of themselves.

The Government are conducting an efficiency review to deliver savings and embed an efficiency culture into government. The Chief Secretary and I are leading the review together. Cabinet Office functions provide support, expertise and assurance, helping Departments to work together to cut waste and inefficiency.

The Government are conducting an efficiency review to deliver savings and embed an efficiency culture into government. The Chief Secretary and I are leading the review together. Cabinet Office functions provide support, expertise and assurance, helping Departments to work together to cut waste and inefficiency.

The House, especially those interested in plans, will be pleased to know that this is the first time in the history of Government plans that we have done a second iteration of a plan—that is an exciting point. We are aligning the plans with the efficiency review, which means that, amazingly, we are going to plan government with money at the same time.

The House, especially those interested in plans, will be pleased to know that this is the first time in the history of Government plans that we have done a second iteration of a plan—that is an exciting point. We are aligning the plans with the efficiency review, which means that, amazingly, we are going to plan government with money at the same time.

The hon. Gentleman makes a serious point. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority was set up to assess infrastructure projects rigorously, which is why we have been able to reduce the number of overspends he correctly identifies. The complex transactions unit in my Department also assesses transactions before they happen to make sure that we are protecting the Government. I hope the big projects that are coming down the line are going to be framed even better than others have been in the past few years.

The hon. Gentleman makes a serious point. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority was set up to assess infrastructure projects rigorously, which is why we have been able to reduce the number of overspends he correctly identifies. The complex transactions unit in my Department also assesses transactions before they happen to make sure that we are protecting the Government. I hope the big projects that are coming down the line are going to be framed even better than others have been in the past few years.

The UK is recognised as a world leader in transparency, and the Government are committed to being the most transparent in the world. We have published an unprecedented amount of data—more than 35,000 datasets, including data about the workings of government.

The UK is recognised as a world leader in transparency, and the Government are committed to being the most transparent in the world. We have published an unprecedented amount of data—more than 35,000 datasets, including data about the workings of government.

We must learn from each other, which is why we are members of the Open Government Partnership, which this country helped to set up. I have been to the OGP conference to learn from others, and we will continue to learn in that way, including from the OECD, the G20 and the International Aid Transparency Initiative.

We must learn from each other, which is why we are members of the Open Government Partnership, which this country helped to set up. I have been to the OGP conference to learn from others, and we will continue to learn in that way, including from the OECD, the G20 and the International Aid Transparency Initiative.

I profoundly apologise to the hon. Lady if we have not responded in time. It is very important to me that we respond courteously and quickly to Members, and I shall chase up the matter immediately and make sure that she gets a proper response.

I profoundly apologise to the hon. Lady if we have not responded in time. It is very important to me that we respond courteously and quickly to Members, and I shall chase up the matter immediately and make sure that she gets a proper response.