Following the Afghan data breach, is the government doing enough to improve its data security?
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee will question the government on its implementation of recommendations made in the 2023 Information Security Review, commissioned after a series of high-profile public sector data breaches.
The existence of the Review was first revealed to the public in correspondence between the Cabinet Office, the ICO and the Committee Chair in August 2025, two years after it was undertaken.
The cross-party committee will question Dan Jarvis, Cabinet Office Minister and Minister for Security in the Home Office; as well as Ian Murray, the Minister for Digital Government and Data; the Government Chief Data Officer; and the Government Chief Security Officer.
Meeting details
Questions may explore which of the Review’s recommendations have yet to be implemented and seek updates on other measures the government has announced to raise information security standards.
MPs could ask about the government and the ICO’s joint memorandum of understanding, and how poor data hygiene may impact the government’s digital transformation agenda.
The government’s current work to deincentivise phone theft with technical solutions, and its failure to hold the long-promised follow-up phone theft summit, may also be discussed with Dan Jarvis in his capacity as Home Office Minister.