Allison Gardner MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 19 May 2026 · Violence against Women and Girls · Hansard source

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  I welcome the announcement of a record £100 million expansion of GPS tagging for domestic abusers following a pilot by the Greater London Authority that saw reoffending fall by up to 63%. However, the current plans will apply only to the highest-risk offenders. Given that all domestic abuse is serious and many perpetrators escalate their violence on release, I am concerned that this will allow abusers to slip through the net. Will the Minister consider extending GPS tagging to all convicted offenders of domestic abuse, not just those deemed high risk?

• 18 May 2026 · Backing Business to Create Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I am excited by this Government’s vision and commitment to renationalisation. We have started renationalising rail with Great British Railways, thus ending the subsidising of foreign owners. That, alongside freezing rail fares, means businesses and their workers can look forward to reliable, cheaper rail travel that expands where businesses can locate and where workers can seek employment. I also note the reopening of several rail stations nationally, and I of course continue to ask that we consider doing similarly in Stoke-on-Trent South. Connectivity is key to our economic growth. In this King’s Speech, we see much on transport, including the railways and passenger benefits Bill and Northern Powerhouse Rail. There I see a new rail route proposed from Crewe to Manchester. While I welcome that, I must raise the continuing concern that High Speed 2 causes throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. I ask that any new rail investment assesses the impact on Stoke-on-Trent. We have a conurbation with the city and towns such as Kidsgrove and Newcastle-under-Lyme of over 400,000 people. It is an area with huge growth potential if we have the investment and connectivity we need. It is not about speed; it is about capacity and the assurance of direct services to Manchester, Birmingham and London, plus eastwards to Derby and Nottingham. We still sit in stasis in Staffordshire in the sorry shadow of the old HS2 plan. I ask that we consider upgrading the west coast main line in Staffordshire, tackling the key pinch points and giving resolution to the people and communities impacted by the travesty of HS2 thus far. Alongside renationalising rail, we now see the steel industry nationalisation Bill. Bringing back strategically important industries such as steel into the ownership of the British people is something I am deeply proud of, but of course I would like to see this vision continue. I would like us to be braver still, and I encourage the Government to renationalise the water industry. I commend the Government on their work so far to tackle the appalling and—in the view of many—criminal shambles that private water companies have inflicted upon this country. I welcome the plans to overhaul the regulatory regime with the clean water Act, but will it be enough? Our rivers are dead, and sewage flows over our fields and streets and into our sea. I have seen this in my constituency in Trentham and Tean. My constituents and I would welcome this Government throwing out the foreign private interests that have devastated our waterways and siphoned off profits, and delivering a water sector owned by the people of this country. I also note that the Government have an investment plan of up to £100 billion for improving our water infrastructure. I hope that this investment uses British businesses and products, including the pipes, tiles and bricks produced by the ceramics industry, so that every penny spent re-enters our own economy. We back British business by building British. Of course, as the MP for Stoke-on-Trent South and the villages, I cannot let a debate focusing on British business go by without repeatedly mentioning ceramics. In the last parliamentary Session, we saw ceramics recognised in the industry as a foundation industry. I have championed advanced and technical ceramics throughout my time in this place, and I am delighted to see its inclusion, alongside refractories, in the British industrial competitive scheme, but we need to do more for all of our ceramics sector. Many of my ceramics businesses tell me of their frustration with exporting to the EU. They can export to the US easier than they can to our nearest and biggest market. Hence, I welcome the European partnership Bill. Creating closer links to Europe is key to our economic future. We can do this strategically without having to revisit the toxic Brexit debate of old. We are rebuilding a partnership that works for us and our European partners. Closer dynamic alignment is vital. As we are essentially talking about trade, I again ask that we have a trade envoy for British ceramics. We need to promote our iconic tableware, our sanitaryware, our bricks and, most certainly, our technical ceramics. We also need to tackle the crippling issue of Chinese dumping and the flooding of fakes into the British market. We need to support our home-grown industry, and I am a proud signatory of the GMB’s potters’ pledge. I have many times raised the strategic value of investing in the manufacturing of fibre and of carbon matrix composites. That is vital to ensuring that we have control of key supply chains within aviation, defence and nuclear industries. We are currently dependent on a handful of overseas factories. Despite this country owning many of the IPs, once again manufacturing occurs elsewhere. We need to bring it home and centred around the Potteries’ developing advanced sector. Of course, ceramics is a gas-intensive industry and so has additional challenges to face. I note that this King’s Speech introduces the electricity generator levy Bill, but we need a bespoke solution for the ceramics industry. We need help now.

• 23 Apr 2026 · UK Biobank Data · Hansard source

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  From my previous work with the AI and Digital Regulations Service, and as a scientist, I know that UK Biobank is an excellent resource, which furthers scientific research for the benefit of my health and my constituents. In particular, it is working very hard to ensure that its dataset is unbiased and representative of all peoples in our communities in our country. Will the Minister again reassure us that the data is scrupulously anonymised and that deanonymisation is exceptionally difficult and unlikely? Will he confirm that although UK Biobank is a charity and independent of Government, we will continue to support its work once it has addressed the processes that caused this breach?

• 21 Apr 2026 · Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment · Hansard source

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  Polls can generate different answers depending on how the questions are formed. In other polls the Prime Minister is still a lot more popular than certain other Members present in this House. In reference to the Opposition’s chaos, I will speak up for the civil service and express empathy for Sir Olly Robbins. In the whirl of Prime Ministers and Ministers under the previous Government, among the covid partying and profiteering—for which the Conservatives have never apologised, and for which I will never forgive them—the civil service clearly did its best to stop this country sinking into the mire. In such chaotic conditions, it is no wonder that a culture developed that decisions would be made without fully informing Ministers or Prime Ministers. That was partially because under the Conservatives, civil servants could not be sure who would be the Prime Minister or Minister that month.

• 21 Apr 2026 · Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment · Hansard source

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  I promise I will come to the hon. Member in a minute. I am in the flow. People are tired after 14 years of the previous Government chopping and changing Prime Ministers and Secretaries of State. We had the blonde bumbler and the loopy lettuce. This country was on its knees, its people exhausted. The people do not want more of the same. Despite the Opposition’s constant efforts, we will not let them manufacture more chaos.

• 21 Apr 2026 · Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment · Hansard source

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  I will reiterate the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) made: I wish I had never heard the name Peter Mandelson. He should not have been appointed. It is right that he was sacked. I acknowledge my hon. Friend’s experience and expertise on the issue, which I admit I do not have. Yesterday, in my question to the Prime Minister in his statement, I focused on Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, but I briefly mentioned the issue of other parties seeking to gain political capital. Much to the chagrin of the reasonable, quiet people of this country, those parties asked for the Prime Minister’s resignation, yet again causing chaos, to which the Opposition are so addicted, for the governance of this country. [ Interruption. ] The Opposition grumbled at that, as they are doing now, so I will take this opportunity to clarify. If we ignore the social media trolls and bots and ignore the self-interest of the billionaire-owned right-wing press, we see that the quiet, reasonable majority of people do not want a change of Prime Minister. As one lifelong Tory said to me yesterday, “I see the Prime Minister is still here. That is a good thing.” They are grateful that this Prime Minister— [ Interruption. ] I was a teacher; I can out-talk anyone. Those people are grateful that this Prime Minister has not drawn our country into a mad, dangerous conflict that the Opposition would have immediately joined. People value a stable Government who focus on the matters that they really care about. They want a stabilised economy. They want reform to special education needs and disabilities and support for schools. They want our NHS rebuilt and waiting lists to drop. They want our roads fixed. They want their wages to increase. They want affordable homes. They want their communities to be safe and welcoming, and they want violence against women and girls tackled. People are fed up of politics and of this navel-gazing over process. They are fed up of more politicians politicking and point scoring. They are tired of it, and why?

• 21 Apr 2026 · Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment · Hansard source

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  I apologise, because I struggle with my hearing. I did not pick up everything that the hon. Lady said, but I will come to the vetting and security policy in a second. I hope that might deliver an answer for her. Conservative Members are quibbling about the process, but I remind them that the policy of the FCDO being able to grant vetting, contrary to the advice of UKSV, has been running for many years under successive Governments. This Prime Minister and this Government are now reviewing the process, and I will reiterate the key points. Mandelson should never have been appointed as our ambassador. The Prime Minister has repeatedly acknowledged that and repeatedly apologised.

• 21 Apr 2026 · Peter Mandelson: Government Appointment · Hansard source

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  I am conscious of the time. We have a seven-minute guideline, so I will carry on. It is clear that Foreign Office officials granted developed vetting security clearance to Mandelson and never told Ministers that they had done so, against the recommendations of the vetting agency. That is shocking, and any reasonable person would have assumed that the information would have been proffered without asking. The policy is wrong. It should change, and as a result of the review, hopefully it will change. This Government—still less than two years old—will not let such a policy continue. I am pleased that the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister has immediately suspended the ability of the Foreign Office to grant security clearances. My hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen is not in his place, but I understand that he asked for that to be a short-term response for other security reasons, and I acknowledge his point. Thanks to the previous Government, the cryptocurrency-fuelled damage of Reform and, of course, the economic suicide of Brexit, which both the Conservatives and Reform are responsible for, people are fed up and trust in politics is at an all-time low. Indeed, the Prime Minister recognises this and understands that recent revelations have further damaged that trust, and I acknowledge that. However, I stress that politics focused on people, not political process, and on the decent, hard-working people of our country, who are thankfully still at peace due to the strength of this Prime Minister, can be a force for good. The Conservatives are still addicted to chaos and game playing, and seek scraps of political capital where they can get them. I suggest that they have flogged this issue as much as they can. They need to focus on rebuilding their dying party and apologise to the people. This Prime Minister and this Government are focused on rebuilding this country—the country the Conservatives broke, which they still will not apologise for.

• 21 Apr 2026 · Wheelchair Provision: Independent Review Body · Hansard source

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  I acknowledge the personal wheelchair budget, but constituents have raised with me that it does not fit the cost of wheelchairs nowadays. It does not quite match, so they sometimes have to use their own funds to get the wheelchair they need, which is not good enough.

• 21 Apr 2026 · Wheelchair Provision: Independent Review Body · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Daniel Francis) on securing this important debate, and on his excellent work across the board on wheelchair services through the APPG that he leads. As vice-chair of the APPG for wheelchair users, this debate is incredibly close to my heart. The reason I became part of the APPG is that so many of my constituents were contacting me in desperate need of a new wheelchair or vital wheelchair repairs. One young lad, Noah, had long outgrown his moulded wheelchair to the point that it was becoming unsafe and causing him harm. When he went into hospital for spinal surgery, despite being well enough to be discharged, he could not leave for weeks because he did not have a safe wheelchair to go home with. Disabled people, including children, with life-limiting conditions have been left waiting for up to two years to receive a new wheelchair. In the young life of a child such as Noah, that is unacceptable. They are left in pain in unsuitable chairs, and some of my constituents are unable to leave the house altogether because their chair has broken down. The long waits have affected my constituents’ physical and mental health, and have placed great strain on their carers. Preston, the 19-year-old son of my constituent, Kelly Williams, was left with a collapsing wheelchair for six months before vital repairs were made, and it was a further four months before his wheelchair was eventually replaced. Preston lives with a progressive brain disease. He cannot walk or bear weight, and for almost an entire year he was forced to sit in an uncomfortable chair that was not fit for purpose. That is completely unacceptable. When many of my constituents contacted AJM, the previous provider, there was a complete lack of communication and an all-round failure to consider their needs. I will name one more constituent among the many: an ex-Paralympic medallist, Ian Marsden, runs the risk of being bedridden because, if his broken wheelchair is not fixed, he is stuck. Having raised the issue with the ICB, I was pleased to see that it issued a performance notice against the provider in August last year, but the fact that enforcement action had to be taken raises serious concerns about contract oversight, risk escalation and safeguarding of disabled service users. The service went out to retender; a new provider has been appointed and is due to start, as my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) outlined. The contract was awarded on 24 February 2026. I trust that lessons are learned, but a new contract means that wheelchair users in Stoke-on-Trent South will once again have to get used to a new system and possibly a service in a new location. I strongly encourage the ICB to be diligent in monitoring and reviewing the performance of the new contractor. Playing the blame game with previous providers, as AJM did, will not wash this time. At this point, I will slightly veer off track to express the significant concerns regarding the changes to car mobility schemes, which were raised by my constituent Ryan. With those changes in mind, it is even more vital that we get wheelchair services right. Given the history and legacy of these issues, I strongly support an independent review body to oversee wheelchair provision and ensure that wheelchair users receive an outstanding service. The time is now, and I ask the Minister to act and fix this situation—it is bad in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, but it is a national issue.

• 20 Apr 2026 · Security Vetting · Hansard source

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  Earlier today, NBC released an interview with hospice worker Rachel Benavidez, who was 22 years old when she became one of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. For 27 years she has been waiting for the crimes committed against her to be recognised, and as she told NBC: “Until we are heard, until survivors are heard and believed, then I don’t think there’s ever going to be justice.” Does the Prime Minister agree that we owe it to the hundreds of victims like Rachel to put them first in these debates, not political point scoring, and that he was absolutely right to sack someone like Peter Mandelson, who refused to believe those victims, and if he did, did not care?

• 25 Mar 2026 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q8. I recently met Graham and Malcolm, who bravely shared their lived experience of addiction to monkey dust, a synthetic cathinone causing significant problems in Stoke-on-Trent. They shared the challenges that they faced in recovery—challenges caused by a lack of joined-up working between local services, including mental health and housing services. I am now setting up a taskforce to address those gaps and to learn from excellent local projects, such as SPHERE. Will the Prime Minister meet me to discuss how, together as a country, we can tackle this pernicious drug?

• 23 Mar 2026 · Police Efficiency: Technology · Hansard source

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  Live facial recognition technology is being deployed across the country to support the police to prevent and detect crime. While I recognise the importance of improving police efficiency, we have also seen a number of wrongful arrests linked to the use of live facial recognition systems, and only last week one police force paused the use of facial recognition due to racial bias. In the light of that, will the Secretary of State reassure the House that deployment, oversight and auditing of facial recognition technologies are subject to robust and transparent safeguards, and will she state when the facial recognition framework will be published?

• 23 Mar 2026 · Police Efficiency: Technology · Hansard source

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  6. What steps her Department is taking to use technology to increase police efficiency.

• 10 Mar 2026 · Technology Sovereignty · Hansard source

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  It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West (Dame Chi Onwurah) on securing the debate. Ensuring that we have a strong and secure technological landscape in the UK is vital not only to our growth and development but to our national security. As we move at pace, we must also move with precision. That brings me to the £500 million sovereign AI fund. It is a very welcome commitment, but the impact will depend entirely on how it is used. I therefore ask the Minister for assurance and clarity on how the new funding will genuinely break from past initiatives and deliver real, measurable impact. That means being transparent about who will receive support, what priorities will shape those choices, how we will ensure true diversity—not only in the people and organisations involved, but in the problems we choose to tackle—and what value judgments we employ in the decision-making process. If we want innovation to flourish rather than stall, we must ensure that smaller British and diverse organisations are actively supported to grow and scale. I warn against being dazzled by big promises with big tech, particularly from those who are not British. I am pleased to see the Government’s commitment to building AI infrastructure, data security and compute power, which we see in data centres, AI growth zones and supercomputers, as well as the AI sovereign fund mentioned earlier. However, how can we be assured that such investment happens and has impact? What oversight will the Government have to ensure that funds are used as intended, outcomes are audited, and impact is recognised? Governance of funding beyond product timeframe is vital. I want to mention again the issue of definitions. We must be clear about what we are supporting. Often the terms “technology”, “digital” and “AI” are used interchangeably as though they describe the same thing, but digital is not the same as technology, and neither is synonymous with artificial intelligence. If we are to build a coherent national strategy, we must be absolutely clear about what we are talking about, what we are funding and what we are trying to secure.

• 5 Mar 2026 · Local Museums · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft) for securing this debate today. Our local museums are at the heart of our communities. I am incredibly lucky to have important museums in my constituency of Stoke-on-Trent South that proudly champion our pottery heritage—Gladstone Pottery Museum and World of Wedgwood. Museums are not just about the past; they can be living museums that illustrate our past, present, and indeed our future—a point that I hope to illustrate through those two museums. For generations, our famous tableware brands have crafted household favourites and shipped bespoke British products all over the world. From Wedgwood to Gluggle Jug, our companies were and are at the centre of the world’s pottery industry. That is what makes us the Potteries. Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton showcases the skills, craftsmanship and economic contribution made and curated by local people. Gladstone is the only complete Victorian pottery factory in the country set within a preserved coal-fired factory with traditional bottle ovens. I am sure that hon. Members will be familiar with—and not just because I talk about it all the time—“The Great British Pottery Throwdown” on Channel 4, which Gladstone Pottery Museum proudly hosts and which draws in visitors and TV presenters from across the world. That shows the importance of museums to tourism and the local economy. Visitors to Gladstone can watch live demonstrations of traditional crafts, explore galleries showcasing historic ceramics, tiles and sanitaryware and learn about the pottery-making process from clay to finished products. Visitors gain an incredible insight into what working conditions were like for the men, women and children who powered the pottery industry throughout the Victorian era. The museum is sited in Longton; there are many working potteries and china companies around Longton, including Susan Rose, Gluggle Jug and, further away, 1882 Ltd. Many of their skills are heritage skills, which we need. They were developed in, for example, Gladstone pottery, and are now used in places such as Mantec, an advanced ceramics company. In its research laboratory, one can see a big view of Gladstone Pottery Museum. The skills used at Gladstone are now being used to make parts for jet engines. I find that very iconic. A short drive away is the World of Wedgwood, an award-winning tourist destination and living museum that has the V&A Wedgwood collection and a working factory. Wedgwood’s founder, Josiah Wedgwood, was an incredible innovator and entrepreneur who invented creamware, green glaze and much more, and helped to drive the industrial revolution. Sadly, given the pressures of today, the Wedgwood factory is in discussions to reduce production and make redundancies. The financial sustainability of the World of Wedgwood and its factory is vital. This is about not just the factory workers and the skills but local hospitality such as Lunar restaurant and other shops, which we must try to save. It is precisely because I wish to save those places and create jobs that I want to support the project for the Lunar Gardens—a cultural destination that would draw on heritage while engaging with the future of the industry. It would include residencies and studios for creative work, a training centre for heritage crafts skills, continued industrial ceramics production, a park and an adventure-themed forest playground, as well as a contemporary art gallery. The proposal would not only promote our proud heritage and boost local tourism but create employment and education opportunities at the working factories. Before I close, I should also say that Longton is also putting in a bid to be town of culture. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the Lunar Gardens project and support for Wedgwood, to develop its business case and keep this important museum open?

• 5 Mar 2026 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Synthetic cathinones, commonly known as monkey dust, are a stimulant drug causing significant harm in Stoke-on-Trent. These substances can cause severe psychosis and trigger acute health risk in the very vulnerable people who turn to them, which is having a significant impact on our local communities and public services. Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on synthetic cathinones?

• 4 Mar 2026 · Ministry of Defence · Hansard source

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  Within the allocations of defence spending and investment, and in light of current geopolitical volatility, I am sure that the Government will be looking to secure a strategic, robust and sovereign defence supply chain. In north Staffordshire, our advanced ceramics industry is a key creator of the unique advanced ceramic materials that are required for our fighting capability, including armour materials, ultra-high speed munitions, and protection and security for our defence communications. I have spoken previously to the Minister about the strategic importance of north Staffordshire in creating an advanced manufacturing cluster. An example of such a business in my Stoke-on-Trent South constituency is Mantec, a technical ceramics company that produces ceramic molten metal filters that remove impurities from molten turbine blades used for civil aviation and defence. Investment in that technology is cost-saving because it is said that using those materials creates a £1 million fuel saving per year, which is £40 million over the lifecycle of a plane, so short-term investment now can lead to long-term savings. I must emphasise the strategic importance of securing sovereign capability in advanced defence materials, particularly ceramic matrix composites. To quote the National Composites Centre, “the future of British defence will depend on sovereign access to ceramic matrix composites”. To bolster national security, strengthen our industrial expertise and position the UK as a leader in advanced defence technologies, we must invest in our sovereign CMC and fibre manufacturing capacity. When I recently met the UK Atomic Energy Authority, it highlighted—again with great frustration—the importance of having this sovereign capability to manufacture CMCs and fibres. The manufacturing currently happens in a few factories overseas, including in a Rolls-Royce factory in America, which produces the CMCs we need for our defence and civil aviation. Fibre manufacturing also takes place in only a few factories globally, including in Japan and Germany. It is crazy that we actually hold much of the intellectual property, and we have the skilled workers and technology, yet we are dependent on those overseas supply chains. In a volatile world, that is increasingly putting our sovereign capability for defence manufacturing at risk. As the Minister will know, I have met Lucideon, which is based in the constituency of the right hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge (Sir Gavin Williamson). It is working very hard, in a wide partnership, to create a sovereign CMC manufacturing facility in north Staffordshire, hopefully based near the Applied Materials Research, Innovation and Commercialisation Company at Keele University. I once again ask the Minister whether he will meet me to see how we can move that forward and understand the vital strategic importance of north Staffordshire’s advanced ceramics capability to our country and our defence.

• 4 Mar 2026 · Department for Business and Trade · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend mentioned the cost of electricity, but ceramics is a gas-intensive industry, so I again make a plea that when considering support for businesses, we remember gas-intensive industries, which includes steel, and that we have a strategy.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I will defend myself: my point was not a criticism of the Government. I just know how hard it is for regulators to work together and iron out cross-working. They were very confident in their information-sharing skills, but it is more difficult than that. It was just a kindly meant reminder that there is not an easy solution, and that 12 months is a bit of a tight timeframe.

• 10 Feb 2026 · Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  I worked for the AI and digital regulations service in the NHS. We were linking with all of the regulators to try to have a one stop, one shop door approach to how we do things. It was incredibly difficult, and three years on we were still ironing out all the glitches. New clause 7 is laudable, but because I know how difficult it is, a 12-month proposal is a very tight timeframe in which to try to get this right.

• 9 Feb 2026 · Police Efficiency: Technology · Hansard source

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  I recently met Home Office Ministers to discuss the use of synthetic cathinones, often referred to as monkey dust, in Stoke-on-Trent. These substances cause significant harm to users and, indeed, communities. They are frequently sold via the dark web and imported through the post. Can the Secretary of State provide an update on her work with the National Crime Agency and Royal Mail to detect illicit substances using technology, and advise whether existing opioid detection methods can be adapted or applied to synthetic cathinones?

• 9 Feb 2026 · Police Efficiency: Technology · Hansard source

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  13. What steps her Department is taking to use technology to increase police efficiency.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q I am interested in who you report to should you identify a cyber-incident. I am talking about not just data breaches but wider ones that can affect operational systems. Which regulators do you deal with? If it is multiple regulators, do you feel there is a case for having one distinct regulator to cover cyber-resilience and manage that quite difficult landscape? Brian Miller: That is a great question. I will touch on some different parts, because I might have slightly different information from some of the information you have heard previously. On reporting—Stewart will deal with the data protection element for reporting into the Information Commissioner’s Office—we report to the Scottish Health Competent Authority. It is important that we have an excellent relationship with the people there. To put that in context, I was speaking to them yesterday regarding our transition to the CAF, as part of our new compliance for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. If there was a reportable incident, we would report into the SHCA. The thresholds are really well defined against the confidentiality, integrity and availability triad—it will be patient impact and stuff like that. Organisationally, we report up the chain to our director of digital services, and we have an information governance steering group. Our senior information risk officer is the director of digital, and the chief information security officer role sits with our director of digital. We report nationally, and we work really closely with National Services Scotland’s Cyber Security Centre of Excellence, which does a lot of our threat protection and secure operations, 24/7, 365 days a year. We work with the Scottish Government through the Scottish Cyber Co-ordination Centre and what are called CREW—cyber resilience early warning—notices for a lot of threat intelligence. If something met the threshold, we would report to the SHCA. Stewart, do you want to come in on the data protection officer? Stewart Whyte: We would report to the Information Commissioner, and within 72 hours we also report to the Scottish Government information governance and data protection team. We would risk assess the breaches and determine whether they meet the threshold for reporting. Not every data breach is required to be reported. From the reporting perspective, it would be helpful to report into one individual organisation. I noticed that in the reporting requirements we are looking at doing it within 24 hours, which could be quite difficult, because sometimes we do not know everything about the breach within that time. We might need more information to be able to risk assess it appropriately. Making regulators aware of the breach as soon as possible is always going to be a good thing.

• 3 Feb 2026 · Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Q I am just thinking that if you are putting liability on someone, you need to make sure that they can apply the regulation in a simple and effective manner and ensure that it is enforced, so they do not carry the full burden of liability. Richard Starnes: True, but I would submit that under the Companies Act that liability is already there for all the directors; it just has not been used that way.