Speeches by Spencer.

“Will the Minister give way?”

“The scope and breadth of the organisations regulated by these provisions is one of the most important parts of the debate. If the hon. Member can wait a moment, that point will form the bulk of my speech. It was also mentioned by my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Spelthorne. The previous Governme…”

“I really appreciate my hon. Friend’s intervention. It goes incisively to the heart of the concern about how these provisions are currently drafted. I really struggle to see how an OES that is providing a service to another OES could effectively argue that it is not within the full scope of these regulations. We have a …”

“My hon. Friend has figured out what I am going to say in a moment, when it comes to the scoping of the regulator and that communication process. Such is the depth of the rabbit hole that the provision creates that, even though my hon. Friend’s intervention did not go where I thought she was going, another problem has j…”

“On a point of order, Ms McVey. What mechanism is available to Members who are concerned that there is a factual error in the impact assessment? How can that be corrected?”

“This clause is one of the provisions that has given rise to widespread industry concern regarding its scope and implications. Business supply chains, particularly for large operators of essential services and multinational companies, are becoming ever more complex. The increased digitisation of service provision across…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. Legal clarity is important. I have absolutely no issue with lawyers, but we do not want to make a load of money for lawyers as a consequence of the definitional challenges around the Bill’s implementation. That is not good for businesses, which need certainty as to how to ap…”

“The cloud providers tell me that the energy costs are crippling, which is highly problematic, and that is why we need to drive those costs down. They talk about the challenges of getting data centres built and about planning considerations, which are a concern across the country. They talk about the taxation environmen…”

“The cloud providers I have spoken to talk about several things. They talk about the crippling cost of energy in the UK, something that we need to drive down—”

“The public support a ban on social media for the under-16s, Conservative Members support a ban on social media for the under-16s, and Labour Members support a ban on social media for the under-16s. The Secretary of State has said many fine words about her concerns for children’s safety online, but what we now need is a…”

“Q Thank you very much for coming in to give us evidence this afternoon, and thank you for your service. I have two questions. Who are the main threat actors in cyber-attacks on UK networks and information systems—what do they break down into, in terms of state actors, affiliates and criminal gangs? Secondly, on ransomw…”

“Q Do you think that would be helpful in this context? Richard Starnes: Yes. We have FS-ISAC operating in the United Kingdom and in Europe, with all the major banks, but if you took this and replicated it on an industry-by-industry basis, particularly ones in CNI, that would be helpful. It would also help with informati…”

“Q Thanks for coming to give evidence this afternoon. I have two questions—one for each of you. Chris, from Fortinet’s perspective, what more do you think the Government can do to support SMEs to improve their cyber-resilience, while at the same time ensuring that the burden of regulation remains proportionate, particul…”

“Q Do you think there is a potential need for guardrails? Kanishka Narayan: I think the guardrails in the Bill are very important, absolutely. The Bill provides that, where there is an impact on organisations or regulators, there is an appropriate requirement for both deep consultation and an affirmative motion of the H…”

“Q What conversations have you had with the Secretary of State regarding guardrails on the extensive powers in this Bill that were referred to earlier? Kanishka Narayan: I have spoken to the Secretary of State about the Bill, including the reserve powers, and we have agreed that the policy objective is very clear. I do …”

“Q Do you not think that, as the Minister taking this through the Commons, you should have also had some of those meetings and consultations? Kanishka Narayan: I have had some meetings but, as the Minister in charge of this Bill, she has been very engaged with businesses, so I think that is fitting. We have obviously wo…”

“Q I assume that you are referring to the previous Minister, who you took over from? Kanishka Narayan: I am referring to the Minister for Digital Economy, who is in the other place.”

“Q Thank you, Minister, but I am not sure that you answered my question. What engagement have you had in terms of consulting with industry in setting those definitions? Kanishka Narayan: I have met a number of companies, but the relevant Minister has also had extensive engagement with both companies and regulators, incl…”

“Q That sounds slightly like an argument for having a single regulator, as opposed to multiple sector regulators. I apologise if I am putting words into your mouth. Natalie Black: That is definitely not what I am saying. You can cut the cake in many different ways. From where I sit—from my experience to date—you need sp…”

“Q Notwithstanding other components to the criteria one may seek to use or will use, is there a danger that—although this is clearly not the intention in the drafting—through the back door, our entire economy ends up being in scope of this Bill? Carla Baker: I think that is part of the issue about not having clear crite…”