Ministry of Defence: ICT
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) phones, (b) laptops and (c) other electronic devices have been lost by their Department since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard
The Ministry of Defence takes the security of its devices seriously and requires all losses and thefts to be reported.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 33948 on 7 March 2025 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge).
The updated figures for the requested period are:
| Computers | USBs | Phones | Laptops |
From 5 July 2024 | 11 | 2 | 14 | 8 |
August 2024 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 |
September 2024 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 8 |
October 2024 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 19 |
November 2024 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
December 2024 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
January 2025 | 0 | 5 | 124 | 7 |
February 2025 | 0 | 2 | 145 | 4 |
March 2025 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 32 |
Up to 21 April 2025 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
Total | 12 | 15 | 379 | 95 |
It is important to note that not all of the above incidents have resulted in actual losses or thefts. On some occasions where devices could not be accounted for, they would be reported but may have subsequently been found.
January and February figures are high due to two incidents submitted by one part of Defence regarding the mustering of assets. Although it appears likely that the cause is poor accounting, the phones are still recorded as losses as this has not been confirmed.
The discrepancy came to light following the strengthening of accounting processes within that organisation. This new audit process will ensure record keeping and utilisation are carefully managed in future, minimising associated costs and wastage.
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