Department for Business and Trade: National Security
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to paragraph 88 of the policy paper entitled UK Government Resilience Action Plan, published on 14 July 2025, how many meetings have been attended by civil servants within their Department in relation to the Home Defence Programme; which directorate in the Department owns the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme; and what the job title is of the civil servant leading and cohering the Departmental contribution to the Home Defence Programme.
Answered by Chris Bryant
Any disclosure of specific meetings relating to defence is restricted to protect the principle of collective responsibility, allowing officials to debate policies freely in private.
Various teams across the Department for Business and Trade contribute towards ongoing conversations in relation to the Home Defence Programme. The responsibility for this policy area is shared across several teams and does not fall to one singular official or directorate.
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