Written questions by Dodds.

Whether the Defending Democracy Taskforce has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the report by Demos entitled Epistemic Security 2029: Protecting the UK’s information supply chain and strengthening democratic discourse for the next political era, published on 29 November 2024.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is a core member of the Defending Democracy Taskforce and is working to build information resilience and protect our democracy, including through key levers such as the Online Safety Act.My officials have been in touch with Demos to learn more about their work and consider any potential policy implications arising from their research.

Whether she has made an assessment of trends in the levels of transnational repression towards Sudanese diaspora peace activists in the UK.

The first duty of this Government is to keep the country safe. We are committed to addressing foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression (TNR). We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously. As I set out in my statement to the House on 14 May, and reiterated during my evidence session at the Joint Committee on Human Rights on 21 May, any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated, irrespective of the perpetrating country.The legislation and tools designed to detect and disrupt transnational repression are actor agnostic. Where we become aware of individual victims of TNR, we work to deploy a range of tailored support and security assistance mechanisms for their protection. This assistance is based on threat and varied in its scope and approach.In line with recommendations from the Defending Democracy Taskforce’s TNR Review, new guidance is available on GOV.UK to provide those who believe themselves to be at-risk of TNR with practical advice for their safety both physically and online. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station, or 999 in emergencies.

What steps the Defending Democracy Taskforce (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to help tackle threats to democracy outside of election periods.

The Defending Democracy Taskforce is driving forward a programme of work to secure the democratic integrity of the UK from the full range of threats. Alongside its work to protect elections, since the General Election the Taskforce has:Conducted a wide-ranging review to understand how we can prevent and deter harassment and intimidation of anyone involved in our electoral institutions and processes and is now taking forward priority work to address this issue.Sponsored the National Cyber Security Centre to deliver an enhanced cyber security offer for elected representatives across the UK to help better protect them online.Concluded a comprehensive assessment of the UK’s response to Transnational Repression to understand the scale and nature of Transnational Repression in the UK, as well as Government’s response to the issue.Engaged with international partners to share lessons learnt and expertise to help tackle similar threats to our democracies.

What steps the Defending Democracy Taskforce (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to help tackle threats to democracy arising from the lack of availability of high-quality local news.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport who are core members of the Defending Democracy Taskforce, are in the process of developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is for a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, and thereby contributes to the UK’s democratic resilience.