Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

No direct discussions have taken place on these matters. The review has been shared with all departments, and is available for all arms-length bodies and institutions to consider in light of ongoing work in this area.

Accidental cable damage from industrial maritime activity is part of the cable operating ecosystem. There are 65 cables systems connecting to the UK, with 45 of those cables connecting internationally. The large continental shelf and busy maritime sector in the UK mean there are a high number of accidental breaks each year, 12-15 mainly caused by industrial fishing and some from anchor drags or drops, and a small amount by underwater seismic activity. In the UK we have an exemption from permitting for emergency repairs meaning we have the fastest repair time in the world at 5-7 days. The cables provide redundancy for each other as data is diverted along other cables while a cable waits for repair.

We are aware Supporting cable repair industry and working with international partners to deter this activity through initiatives such as the Joint Declaration on cooperation to protect energy and telecommunications infrastructure in the North Sea, NATO’s Baltic Sentry and the Joint Expeditionary Forces Nordic Warden.

The government is taking action in both these areas. The Digital Inclusion Action Plan sets out how we have, for example, launched a device donation pilot scheme in partnership with The Digital Poverty Alliance to refurbish end-of-life government laptops from three departments and get them to those that need them most.

The government is also supporting digital upskilling, for example through Essential Digital Skills (EDS) provisions funded by the Department for Education’s Adult Skills Fund. We will also be enhancing support for the EDS framework, which supports businesses and individuals to get the digital skills they need.

Sections 28–31 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 set the legislative requirements for the inclusion of statutory review provisions in secondary legislation, including that a report of the first review must be published within five years of the relevant legislation's commencement date and subsequent reports published at intervals not exceeding five years. In the absence of a review provision, the post-implementation review statutory guidance made under section 31 of the act states that policies should still be subject to proportionate monitoring, evaluation and non-statutory review, where appropriate.

The Government's independent regulators regularly review regulations and provide their independent recommendations to the Secretary of State to ensure that these regulations are effective and support businesses within the sector.

The Online Harms White Paper set out a vision for a new regulatory framework for online services to tackle online harm, which would be overseen by an independent regulator with a suite of enforcement powers.

The Online Safety Act realises this vision. On 17 March 2025, illegal harms codes of practice came into effect, enabling Ofcom to take robust enforcement action against platforms failing to protect users from illegal content. Services are also required to conduct risk assessments for content harmful to children later this month, with the child safety duties expected to be enforceable by Summer 2025.

Following the May 2024 Space Regulatory Review, the new government is implementing a package of space regulatory reforms to achieve seven outcomes, including ensuring a safe, secure and sustainable space environment. Government is undertaking research into the impacts of several technical options to help mitigate the risks from space debris, such as reducing post-mission disposal timelines. Government is also supporting the development of independent British standards for space sustainability and has conducted an innovative regulatory sandbox for rendezvous and proximity operations to provide greater clarity and certainty in enabling regulation for future missions which could de-orbit debris.

The government has now published the independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender commissioned by the previous government.

Individual departments are considering the findings in light of ongoing policy work in this area.

The Government published its consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence (AI) on 17 December 2024. This closed on 25 February 2025.

The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its approach to copyright and AI. The Government will continue to engage extensively as it considers next steps, and its proposals will be set out in due course.

The Government recognises the importance of accurate data and statistics on sex and gender, and has shared the independent review’s recommendations with departments for consideration in ongoing policy work. The Government Digital Service is also developing data standards for attributes of a person with input from across the public sector. Digital verification services, and public authorities processing personal data which may be used by such services during the verification process, are subject to data protection legislation which requires the personal data they’re processing to be relevant and accurate for the purpose for which it is being used.

For central government services, departments are required by the Government Service Standard to meet the minimum of level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 (which is the current version) for services that are in public beta or live.

Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations require most public sector organisations to ensure their services, websites, published documents, intranets, extranets and apps are accessible to disabled people by meeting the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines v2.2 to level AA and by publishing a prescribed format accessibility statement.

Succession Select is an internal search tool used to support talent management within the existing Senior Civil Service (SCS) digital workforce. It is not used as part of the recruitment process, nor does it influence external appointment decisions. Accordingly, the Government has not made a formal assessment of its impact on external recruitment.

DSIT's R&D budget is rising to £13.9bn for the 2025/26 financial year, a real terms increase of 8.5% compared to 2024/25. This will include investments in our R&D system in every region of the UK.

There will be a lag in the data showing the exact regional distribution but the latest figures from UKRI show that all regions and nations received an increase in UKRI investment between the financial years 21/22 and 23/24. In 23/24 the greatest absolute increases in investment were seen in the North West, West Midlands and East Midlands.

The Government recognises the importance of responsible and ethical AI to provide business and consumer confidence in this technology and support its adoption across the economy.

AI assurance is crucial to ensuring that AI systems are developed and deployed ethically, responsibly and safely. That is why we have designated AI assurance as a key pillar of support for meeting the commitments made in the government’s response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

To drive demand for AI assurance, DSIT has developed and consulted on AI Management Essentials, a self-assessment framework designed to help businesses establish responsible management practices for the development and use of AI systems.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that while the exact economic impact hinges on the wider development and adoption of AI, the UK could see productivity gains of up to 1.5 percent annually. By investing in AI now, we’re ensuring that the UK is prepared to harness its transformative potential.

To encourage widespread adoption, we are targeting high-growth Industrial Strategy sectors and supporting diffusion across the whole economy by appointing AI Sector champions. The Technology Adoption Review will also set out recommendations for how government should work with industry to support businesses to adopt AI.

This builds on Innovate UK's £100 million BridgeAI programme, which has so far provided £68 million in funding to nearly 800 businesses to boost AI-enabled productivity.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to Question UIN HL5960 on 2 April 2025.

We are aware that harmful content exists online including the risk it poses to boys and children. The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services to tackle illegal abuse and protect users from illegal content. This includes content which incites hatred, abuse, harassment and sexual exploitation content.

In addition, in-scope services likely to be accessed by children need to put in place measures to protect children from harmful content, including providing age-appropriate access for content which encourages violence.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator, has enforcement powers where platforms fail to fulfil their duties.

We are aware that harmful content exists online including the risk it poses to boys and children. The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services to tackle illegal abuse and protect users from illegal content. This includes content which incites hatred, abuse, harassment and sexual exploitation content.

In addition, in-scope services likely to be accessed by children need to put in place measures to protect children from harmful content, including providing age-appropriate access for content which encourages violence.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator, has enforcement powers where platforms fail to fulfil their duties.

This was an independent review by a leading academic. As such, the Government has not made an assessment of the approach to data collection.

HMG is committed to adopting AI to increase efficiency and quality of services. All departments are promoted to explore all of their existing data sets from all sources to find opportunities for innovation as part of the 'Scan, Pilot, Scale' approach set out in the AI opportunities plan. Further work is being scoped to look into data quality from both cloud and legacy services as part of the 'Lay the foundations of AI' mission also set out in the AI Opportunities Plan.

The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 (“the 2022 Act”) introduced specific measures affecting applications to the courts on telecoms matters. These included a requirement for operators to inform landowners of the availability of alternative dispute resolution and to consider using it before issuing legal proceedings. This is intended to reduce costs and litigation.

DSIT is working with counterparts in the Ministry of Justice to understand the impacts of the changes made by the 2022 Act, including measures to transfer the jurisdiction for cases currently dealt with by the county court to the First-tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal.

Most digital infrastructure, including new ground-based masts and rooftop antennas, benefit from permitted development rights, which permit deployment of infrastructure that meet certain specifications without the need for full planning permission.

We are encouraging network innovation through our Open Networks Programme. For example, the BEACH project, which deployed shared cellular network solutions via small cells to provide greater network bandwidth based on end-user demand. Similarly, the ONE WORD project utilised existing street furniture, such as lampposts, to deploy small cell infrastructure in high-density areas like Bath and Shrewsbury.

Both projects demonstrated scalable innovative network approaches in challenging environments.

When Information Society Services, such as social media or live streaming sites, rely on consent to process children’s data, consent is only lawful in respect of children under the age of 13 when parental authority has been granted. The current age of consent was set by Parliament in the Data Protection Act 2018. We will continue to keep the evidence for and against change in this area under review.

In the English Devolution White Paper, we committed to support more local leaders, working in partnership with businesses and universities, to unlock their regions’ innovation potential.

For example, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is deepening its regional partnerships with Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England and working to extend this to the Devolved Administrations. InnovateUK is working with local leaders across the UK to develop jointly owned local innovation action plans. UKRI is developing a framework to assess the effectiveness of these partnerships, which will help inform the consideration of options for future regional innovation funding as part of the Spending Review.

We are also developing a new, UK-wide regional innovation funding programme as part of the Spending Review. This will help to ensure everyone benefits from innovation-led growth.

The Government has engaged extensively with the creative sector and will continue to do so. This includes a roundtable meeting held by the Secretary of State with creative sector representatives in March.

The consultation was jointly published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The range and scale of impacts the Government is considering in its proposals are outlined in the summary assessment of options.

The Government recognises that this is a complex area and welcomes all views and evidence to help shape its thinking.

The Government’s consultation on Copyright and AI closed on 25th February.

It sought views from both AI developers and rights holders on proposals to create an effective rights reservation system. We will not move forward with any option until we are confident that it will be effective, proportionate, and accessible to both individual creators and larger rights holders.

The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, gathering the evidence to inform its next steps. The Government will continue to engage extensively before setting out proposals in due course.

This Government is committed to supporting data centre builds in the UK and removing barriers to sustainable development, including reviewing and improving grid connections and exploring other ways to provide capacity.

Since last July, over £40 billion has been announced in private investment in new data centres in the UK. In January, the Prime Minister launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan, which included plans to develop AI Growth Zones, dedicated hubs designed to fast-track AI infrastructure development, support planning approvals, and unlock energy access.

More widely, we are streamlining planning rules to accelerate buildout, have designated the sector as Critical National Infrastructure, and are introducing a stable regulatory environment to improve security and resilience.

The Online Safety Act requires all platforms to proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content, including illegal incitement to violence and sexual offences, including where these are targeted at men and boys.

Services must employ age-appropriate measures to protect all children from legal abusive and hateful content, including misandry.

Category 1 services will have extra duties where abuse is not illegal, requiring them to offer user empowerment tools, enabling all adult users greater control over their online experience. Category 1 services will also need to remove legal misandry content, when prohibited in their terms of service.

According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report (published on 5 December 2024) 97% of the Wetherby and Easingwold constituency has 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, while 5G is available from at least one operator outside 85% of all premises. I have raised my concerns about the accuracy of their coverage reporting with Ofcom and I urge them to continue to improve this.

The government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from good quality mobile coverage. Our ambition is for all populated areas, including communities in your constituency, to have higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030.

We work closely with the mobile industry and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition in the market.

The government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from reliable and good quality mobile coverage.

4G geographic coverage from at least one mobile operator has now reached over 95% of the UK landmass through the Shared Rural Network. The programme is continuing to deliver 4G mobile connectivity to places where there is either limited or no coverage.

Our ambition is for all populated areas having higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and we are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition. As part of this work, the government intends to reform the planning system to make it easier to build digital infrastructure. We have also increased funding for our 5G Innovation Region programme to £43 million to drive adoption of standalone 5G across key sectors.

We will continue working with Ofcom to ensure that their coverage reporting is more accurate.

The government is committed to delivering 2030 nationwide gigabit connectivity, including in rural areas. The government's strategy supports market entry and expansion by alternative network operators via access to Openreach’s ducts, poles, and other utility infrastructure, through the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) framework.

Ofcom governs the PIA framework, with powers to impose access conditions on electronic communications networks, enabling third party infrastructure access on fair and reasonable terms, conditions and charges, and without undue discrimination.

The government supports this framework but will not intervene in independent Ofcom decisions regarding the PIA fee pricing structure.

The government is committed to delivering 2030 nationwide gigabit connectivity, including in rural areas. The government's strategy supports market entry and expansion by alternative network operators via access to Openreach’s ducts, poles, and other utility infrastructure, through the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) framework.

Ofcom governs the PIA framework, with powers to impose access conditions on electronic communications networks, enabling third party infrastructure access on fair and reasonable terms, conditions and charges, and without undue discrimination.

The government supports this framework but will not intervene in independent Ofcom decisions regarding the PIA fee pricing structure.

The Government’s ambition is to deliver nationwide coverage of standalone 5G to all populated areas by 2030.

Most wireless infrastructure, including ground-based masts and rooftop antennas, benefit from permitted development rights. This means that mobile operators can upgrade to 5G more quickly.

In addition, the Chancellor announced £46 million investment into the planning system for 2025-2026 to support the deployment of infrastructure. The Government has also committed to appointing 300 new planning officers into local planning authorities. As part of our determination to strip away unnecessary and disproportionate regulatory burden, the government is considering whether further changes to planning regulations are required to reduce barriers to digital infrastructure deployment.