Speeches by Griffiths.

“I should not interrupt, but why did it take getting measures put in place that enabled consumers to be able to see what was happening? Why could the industry and the regulators not have managed that themselves without consumers having to monitor it for them?”

“The obvious next question is to Jo Nettleton of the EA: what was going on five years ago? Why were you not looking ahead to ensure that we managed our investment in infrastructure appropriately?”

“Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that if people are to contribute, the fundamental bedrock is having a job, and that the jobs tax is causing mass unemployment and business closures?”

“Will the hon. Member give way?”

“Hard-working families and business owners in Bognor Regis, Littlehampton and our villages are feeling the squeeze as never before. Labour stood on a manifesto promise not to raise taxes for hard-working people, yet at the very first opportunity, in the autumn Budget, they raised employers’ national insurance. This is a…”

“T2. What steps is the Cabinet Office taking to ensure that all public bodies adopt robust cyber-security frameworks, and what is the timetable to ensure their compliance?”

“It was done a couple of years ago, wasn’t it?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“That was not strictly the question, to be clear. It was about preparation.”

“What are we talking about, specifically?”

“No, I do not want a list. I am asking you about your confidence in the ability of the Government.”

“Are you confident that the national risk register covers our economic security sufficiently?”

“That was a perfect introduction to the question that I want to ask about cyber-security for SMEs. RUSI has highlighted its concern about the lack of availability of security tooling for SMEs, which have an outsized exposure to attack, both from direct impacts on their organisations and as a result of their exposure to …”

“Going back to the original question, has the Government already prepared for possible combined attacks? You have given me several tests, none of which cover, for example, an attack on the pipeline in the North sea—which we may or may not have already seen—or a large cyber-attack. I did not hear in your answer anything …”

“Pat McFadden—a slight shift of tack—how does the Government prepare for possible combined attacks, such as a physical attack and a cyber-attack, against critical infrastructure or critical sectors of the economy?”

“I want to go back to the point about small businesses. Most of those businesses do not know what they do not know, and they are too busy trying to stay on a plateau, let alone grow in the current environment. I want to hear a much more proactive strategy for getting through to all those businesses, whether that is thro…”

“I would argue that that journey is never going to end. The NCSC has some fantastic capability on its website, but it knows that people are not accessing it. Small businesses are not accessing it and, with the best will in the world, many will not necessarily be exporting or even going on the growth website. Robust enga…”

“Is there an acceptance that historically, because that service has not been there, engagement has been pretty thin on the ground, and that this is the first attempt to really take a step forward?”

“Yes. My constituency is quite similar to yours in that it is a coastal constituency. The impact of sewage is felt acutely in my constituency. Thank you.”

“Welcome, Minister Hardy. As you will already know, flooding is one of the most immediate and growing climate risks facing the UK. What is the Government’s approach to managing this threat and ensuring the country is genuinely prepared for the longer term risks?”