To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to provide assurance to (a) users and (b) employers on the security of documents stored on cloud services in relation to the IT system for applying for settled status.

The Home Office takes the security of all of our data extremely seriously, including digitised evidence provided by EU Settlement Scheme users. There are processes in place in the Home Office for the capturing and mitigation of risks and vulnerabilities to ensure appropriate control of our services. I can confirm this is the case for the EU Settlement Scheme

All Home Office systems including EU Exit applications undergo rigorous cyber strengthening prior to launch. This includes an independent security testing to ensure they are resilient to external attack.

Our IT systems hosting platform include a number of mechanisms to detect and respond to malicious intrusions.

All data is encrypted both in transit and at rest. Our IT staff are security cleared and data will only be accessed by those who have a valid business reason to access it. The Home Office regularly monitors the systems for abuse and misuse.