Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to being forward legislation to (a) ban and (b) limit mobile phone and broadband above inflation contract increases.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We have no current plans to legislate to ban or limit above inflation contract price increases for mobile and broadband. Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator, introduced rules in January 2025 which required that any in-contract price rises must be set out prominently and transparently in pounds and pence so that consumers can make better informed choices. These rules banned in-contract price rises being linked to inflation.

On 25 November, the Chancellor and Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom to request an interim review of the new rules by spring 2026 and a full review in 2027.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information her Department holds on the proportion of chatbots deployed in the UK that use search-based functionality as part of their responses; and what assessment she has made of the whether AI chatbot users in the UK are adequately protected from harmful content.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Generative AI services, including chatbots, that allow users to share content with one another or that search live websites to provide search results are regulated under the Online Safety Act and must protect users from illegal content and children from harmful and age-inappropriate content.

The Secretary of State confirmed in Parliament this week that the government is considering how AI chatbots interact with the Act and also urged Ofcom to use its existing powers to ensure that AI chatbots are safe for children.

Where evidence demonstrates that further action is necessary to protect children and the wider public, we will not hesitate to act.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to phase out the use of animal-derived biomaterials and promote non-animal alternatives in medical research.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This Government’s recent strategy commits to reducing the use of animals in research and promotes the use of any validated alternative method. This includes replacing the use of animal-derived products, including for example, animal-derived polyclonal antibodies which we aim to replace by 2030. Other animal-derived substances/biomaterials generated in procedures regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 may be considered as part of the alternative-methods research and development priorities that will be developed in consultation with stakeholders and published biennially from 2026.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to monitor and report on its progress towards phasing out animal testing; and whether industry stakeholders will be involved in assessing the effectiveness of the strategy once implemented.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We will establish governance structures to oversee strategy delivery, including a cross-governmental Ministerial group on alternative methods, chaired by the Science Minister, key performance indicators (KPIs) and a publicly available dashboard of progress against the strategy’s key deliverables. From 2026 we will also report biennially on updated research and development priorities, alternative methods accepted by regulatory agency and priorities for future development and validation.

We will work closely with experts from across many fields including regulators, academics, industry and civil society organisations, to ensure that this strategy remains up to date, focused on the key issues and delivers on track.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many organisations and companies (a) reported cyber incidents in the last 12 months and (b) had adopted the Cyber Essentials scheme beforehand.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

While we do know which organisations are certified to the Cyber Essentials scheme, we do not hold data on whether they reported a cyber incident in the past 12 months.

We are confident that the controls are effective with insurance data indicating that organisations with Cyber Essentials are 92% less likely to make a claim on their cyber insurance than those without it.

That is why we have written to businesses and organisations encouraging them to use the Cyber Essentials scheme. We have been pleased with the positive feedback on this. The number of live certifications as of October 2025 was 54,678, representing an increase of 8,335 certificates on the previous 12 months (an 18% increase).

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with respect to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland regarding the Technology Prosperity Deal published on 18 September 2025, what assessment has the Government made of the role that Northern Ireland companies and universities can play in delivering the eight component parts of its Accelerating AI Innovation Strategy, and what steps has it taken to secure full Ireland engagement in this aspect of the Technology Prosperity Deal.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Technology Prosperity Deal supports businesses, universities and research organisations across the whole of the UK, including in Northern Ireland, to unlock growth for our most strategically important tech companies and harness R&D to tackle some of the most pressing problems we face. The Deal was informed by experts from across the United Kingdom.

Northern Ireland’s universities and companies are recognised as key partners in delivering the UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan. Recent government investment of £2 billion from the AI Opportunities Action Plan aims to target and benefit all regions of the UK and highlights Northern Ireland’s growing strengths in artificial intelligence and next-generation networks. We are also working closely with the Northern Ireland Executive on the delivery of our flagship TechFirst programme.

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking to several NI tech firms and universities in Belfast, to make sure the business ecosystem is meeting the needs of NI AI and tech companies to international markets, including the United States. We continue to engage with the Northern Ireland Executive on matters relating to growth to ensure we are working collaboratively to achieve the best results for the people of Northern Ireland.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment the Government has made of the feasibility of replacing animal testing in the UK with Non-Animal New Approach Methodologies (NAMs); and if this will be reflected in the upcoming strategy to phase out animal testing.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

I refer the hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield to the answer of 01.12.2025 to Question 92600.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merit of redirecting existing funding and resources to support the transition to Non-Animal New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to support the phasing out of animal testing.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s publication “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” is supported by new funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology including £30 million to set up a translational hub and £30 million for the UK centre for the validation of alternative methods.

£11.4m has also been committed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Innovate UK’s core budgets and £4.5m from the Wellcome Trust to support strategy implementation to build a world-class UK research system by enhancing investment.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of artificial intelligence chatbots on the mental health of children.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

DSIT is conducting a range of research projects to advance evidence around the impacts of AI chatbots on users, including on their mental health. The Secretary of State has also confirmed this week that the government will further consider chatbots and how they interact with the Online Safety Act as part of its approach, urging Ofcom to use its existing powers to ensure they are safe for children.

Alongside this, DHSC’s 10 Year Plan sets out an ambitious reform agenda to transform mental health services to improve access and, treatment and promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for artificial intelligence chatbots being regulated as search services under the Online Safety Act 2023.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Last year, Ofcom published a letter that set out that if an AI service searches the live internet to return its results it will be regulated under the Act as a search service.

The Secretary of State has also confirmed in Parliament this week that the government will further consider the role of chatbots and how they interact with the Online Safety Act as part of its approach, urging Ofcom to use its existing powers to ensure they are safe for children.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has formalised reporting requirements for departments that experience repeated cyber incidents.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government Cyber Security Policy Handbook sets clear expectations for departments to follow in the event of a cyber incident, including the communication plans that departments need to have in place to notify relevant bodies and organisations.

The Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) will shortly publish the Government Cyber Incident Response Plan (G-CIRP) which reiterates departmental responsibilities during cyber incidents, including reporting.

Furthermore, DSIT expects to publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter, which sets out clear structures and actions to improve our collective response to fast-moving incidents. It also articulates how the Government Cyber Coordination Centre will provide departments with more support in understanding, detecting and responding to threats.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has a framework for evaluating cyber-security workforce shortages within the public sector.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT has a number of different mechanisms for evaluating the public sector’s cyber workforce.

DSIT completes an annual Cyber Security Skills in the UK Labour Market Survey, which identifies key challenges facing the public sector’s cyber security workforce, including skills gaps.

Additionally, DSIT expects to publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter which will set out our approach to tackling cyber skills across Government. To develop this approach, DSIT considered a range of data sources, such as the cross government Security Profession Workforce Commission, the People Survey, the recent National Audit Office report on Government Cyber Resilience, and Civil Service Jobs databases to understand where we are facing cyber workforce shortages, why these shortages exist, and how best to tackle them.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what procedures are in place for cross-border data exchange within UK-EU institutional partnerships.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

UK and EU organisations that transfer personal data in the context of institutional partnerships can rely on respective applicable arrangements that facilitate the free flow of such data. These are known as adequacy decisions

Following EU exit, the UK legislated to deem the EU institutions adequate while in 2021 the EU also adopted its own adequacy decisions for the UK. Some exchanges of personal data are also governed by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement or arrangements for specific areas of cooperation.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what mechanisms the Government uses to assess public sector compliance with national cyber security standards.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

GovAssure is the cyber security assurance scheme for assessing the critical systems of government organisations. The scheme was launched in April 2023 and DSIT recently initiated the scheme’s third year of operations.

GovAssure requires government organisations to self-assess the cyber resilience of their critical systems using the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF). Outcomes are independently verified by accredited third-party reviewers and returned to the Government Cyber Unit, providing DSIT with a clear and objective understanding of cyber resilience levels across government, including the systemic issues preventing organisations from achieving target resilience levels.

DSIT expects to publish the Government Cyber Action Plan later this Winter. The plan sets out how we will adopt a radical shift in our approach to cyber and digital resilience risks across the public sector, with a focus on strengthening accountability. It sets out the underlying milestones and a performance framework for measuring Government’s progress towards these goals, providing DSIT with a further mechanism for assessing compliance.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what arrangements exist for sharing threat intelligence between central Government and local authorities.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3) shares intelligence across government and the public sector, enabling organisations to better understand and defend against the cyber threat

GC3 and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) work closely together - alongside the National Cyber Security Centre and law enforcement - to share cyber threat intelligence with local authorities.

DSIT will publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this winter which will set out clearer responsibilities and structures for sharing intelligence across Government.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether Innovate UK will resume its Smart Grants funding stream to support innovation-led start-ups.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Smart grants programme has been paused while Innovate UK redesigns its funding programmes to best suit the needs of innovative businesses and align to the objectives of the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

However, Innovate UK has launched a new £130 million ‘Growth Catalyst’ Innovate UK scheme focused on scaling innovative businesses in Industrial Strategy growth sectors. This offers grants, aligned private sector investment, and tailored support to companies, and this approach has a track record of driving 10:1 follow-on investment.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to safeguard individuals in response to rapid developments in artificial intelligence, including protecting 1) the general public and 2) Members of Parliament from deepfakes, digital impersonation, and the misuse of personal identity.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government takes the threat posed by harmful deepfakes, including to MPs, very seriously. Deepfakes are captured by the Online Safety Act where they are shared on an in-scope service and constitute illegal content or content harmful to children.

Sharing a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence under the Act. Government has also legislated to criminalise the non-consensual creation of sexually explicit deepfake images.

The AI Security Institute (AISI) works to build an evidence base on the potential risks advanced AI systems could pose, to inform government decision making and help make AI more secure and reliable.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme will be reintroduced in Henley and Thame constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Our priority currently is to provide gigabit-capable coverage to as many premises as possible in Henley and Thame constituency through our Project Gigabit contracts, rather than through other schemes.

Project Gigabit contracts give better certainty of delivery than voucher projects, and also involve lower administrative overhead for suppliers and communities as well as the government. Future delivery is therefore much more likely to be through contracts rather than voucher delivery in most areas.

We will continue to monitor progress and review the need for further support as delivery continues. If gaps in coverage are identified, further interventions, including reopening the voucher scheme, may be considered.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support the life sciences sector.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This summer the Government published the Life Sciences Sector Plan, setting out how we will strengthen one of the UK’s most important sectors. The Plan focuses on enabling world-class R&D, making the UK an outstanding place to start, scale and invest in life sciences, and driving healthcare innovation and reform. Backed by up to £2 billion of public investment alongside funding from UKRI and NIHR, the UK is already securing multibillion-pound private investment, expanding manufacturing, streamlining regulation and clinical trials, and building new research infrastructure. The recent UK-US trade deal on pharmaceuticals will also ensure that British-based pharmaceutical and medical technology firms have the lowest-tariff access to the US market in the world, a major competitive advantage. The deal will also allow more NHS patients to access cutting edge new innovations.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support the development of Quantum Computing, including research at Universities.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s Digital and Technologies Sector Plan outlined £670 million of investment to accelerate the development and adoption of quantum computing through our quantum computing mission. It also backed our flagship National Quantum Computing Centre with a 10-year budget, providing them with long term certainty to expand activity and demonstrating Government’s commitment to the sector.

In 2024 we launched five quantum technology hubs, including a dedicated hub for quantum computing based at the University of Oxford. This brings together researchers from universities across Great Britain with industry partners, collaborating to progress quantum computing research and develop a skilled workforce.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to review the legal and regulatory framework governing the domestic use of CCTV, with particular reference to protections for individuals whose homes or private spaces are captured by neighbouring security cameras.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The department has no plans to review the current legal and regulatory framework governing the domestic use of CCTV, which can play a useful role in making householders feel safe and helping the police to prevent crime.

Individuals that use CCTV to film outside their property boundary have to comply with the UK’s data protection laws. This means that any personal data captured, such as images, recordings and footage of identifiable individuals, should be processed fairly, lawfully, transparently, and securely.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for data protection, has published practical guidance to help people concerned about intrusive use of CCTV: Home CCTV systems | ICO. Regardless of whether or not the use of CCTV falls within the data protection legislation, the ICO recommends that people use it responsibly to protect the privacy of others.

Where the use of a domestic camera system constitutes harassment or stalking, other, criminal laws will apply.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much and what proportion of funding allocated to AI and semiconductor growth zones will be spent in Wales; and over what timeframe.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The AI Growth Zones programme aims to attract billions of pounds in private investment into AI data centres and drive economic growth through job creation. The programme will create opportunities for skills development and apprenticeships, forge research and development partnerships with local universities, and enable British businesses to participate in major AI projects.

We have announced four AI Growth Zones, two of which are Welsh sites, with one in Anglesey and another in South Wales. These sites will benefit from major private investment, including Vanguard's planned £10 billion investment in the South Wales AI Growth Zone. In addition to this private capital, we are providing £5 million for each AI Growth Zone through UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) to support skills development and AI adoption, ensuring that local communities benefit directly from the programme. This funding will be available from April 2026 for all AI Growth Zones.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 in protecting children in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act requires services to protect children in the UK from both illegal and age-inappropriate content. These protections are now in force, as of 25 July, children in Northern Ireland should be seeing a tangible difference in their online experiences.

Ofcom are already taking robust action against non-compliant services failing to fulfil their duties. Since the children’s safety duties have been in force, over 6,000 services have implemented highly effective age assurance to prevent children seeing the most harmful online content; improving protections for millions of children online.

We will continue to monitor the Act’s effectiveness and will not hesitate to take further action to protect children online if evidence shows this is necessary.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to protect the elderly and most vulnerable from unsolicited calls selling mobile phone upgrades or contracts.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Unsolicited direct marketing calls are regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). Under PECR, companies must not make live marketing calls to a number that is registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) list. Organisations must not make automated marketing calls unless the recipient has specifically consented to receive this type of call from them.

PECR are enforced by the Information Commissioner who can impose financial penalties for breaches of the regulations. Once commenced, provisions in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 will significantly increase the maximum fine that can be imposed by the Commissioner. Details of enforcement actions are published at: https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department takes to record UK public sector participation in EU-linked research consortia.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Information on European Commission-led programmes, such as Horizon Europe, is collected by the Commission. This data is publicly available and includes details on successful consortia, including UK public sector organisations. It can be found in the R&I Projects section of the Funding and Tenders Portal under the Key Figures page using the relevant filters: R&I Proposals - Summary | Sheet - Qlik Sense. DSIT uses this and other relevant sources to assess UK participation and measures to keep improving this.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to encourage people skilled in AI research not to leave the UK to work elsewhere.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is taking decisive steps to attract and retain world-class AI researchers. We have expanded the Turing AI Pioneer Fellowships to build our expertise at home. We are also funding up to 100 Spärck AI scholarships for master’s degrees at leading UK universities, as part of the wider £187 million TechFirst digital skills programme.

To draw global talent, our new Turing AI Global Fellowships offer relocation packages for leading academics. These initiatives form part of a £1 billion AI R&D portfolio, which also includes doctoral training centres and research hubs – strengthening the UK’s research base and ensuring we remain a global leader in AI innovation.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support job creation and infrastructure development in the AI Growth Zone in South Wales.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is establishing AI Growth Zones (AIGZs) to deliver the infrastructure needed for the UK to develop and deploy advanced AI at scale.

Following the announcement of the fourth AI Growth Zone in South Wales, we are working with national and regional government, businesses and local skills providers to address key barriers to investment in the area and accelerate benefits for communities across South Wales. Our AI Growth Zone policy package unlocks £5 million for each site to invest in local benefits and capitalise on the AI economy. This additional funding can support initiatives such as expanding data centre-focused skills pathways, creating more high-skilled, high-paying jobs and strengthening the local research environment.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department has taken under the Replacing Animals in Science strategy to establish a clear timeline for phasing out all animal experiments.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

I refer the hon. Member for Putney to the answer given on 1 December 2025 to Question UIN 92600.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans the Government has to help ensure that local communities receive long-term economic benefits from new AI and data centre developments.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

TechUK estimate that the gross value added of data centres is currently £4.7bn in the UK. This government encourages data centre developers to consider the local benefits that data centre build can bring, especially in areas with favourable conditions for heat offtake, or where skills and training can be provided. Last year, the government reformed the National Planning Policy framework to ensure that local planning authorities integrate data centres into an area’s local plan, ensuring alignment with local and national long-term economic goals.

Through the AI Growth Zones initiative, we aim to crowd-in tens of billions of pounds in private investment and drive growth through job creation and by creating opportunities such as creating skills and apprenticeships pathways, R&D partnerships with local universities and creating investment opportunities for British businesses to participate in major AI projects.

We are ensuring that local communities benefit by providing £5m for each AI Growth Zone to support skills and adoption in the area, and by ensuring that local authorities keep 100% of all business rates generated by sites where pre-existing arrangements do not exist.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to bring forward proposals to require VPN providers to undertake age verification checks on UK users.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government continues to monitor the impact of circumvention techniques such as VPNs on the Act and will ensure that any future interventions are proportionate and evidence based.

There is limited evidence on how many children use VPNs and why they use them. The government is addressing this gap.

The Online Safety Act requires Ofcom to publish a report by July 2026 assessing how effective the use of age assurance has been and whether there are factors, including circumvention techniques, that have prevented or hindered its use.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many visas a) his Department, b) the Information Commissioners Office, c) the Intellectual Property Office, d) the Met Office, e) the UK Space Agency, f) the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, g) UK Research and Innovation, h) Ordnance Survey and i) Ofcom have sponsored since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of employers adopting AI systems on the labour market, and what steps they are taking to ensure workers are equipped with the skills required by the labour market.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out how we will address key labour market challenges and spread opportunity in order to fix the foundations of our economy so we can make the most of the opportunities AI presents. The Government is supporting workforce readiness for AI through a range of initiatives.

The new AI Skills Hub, developed by Innovate UK and PwC, provides streamlined access to digital training. This will support government priorities through tackling critical skills gaps and improving workforce readiness. We are also partnering with 11 major companies to train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030 and expanding AI education in universities, by launching Pioneer Fellowships for cross-disciplinary upskilling.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage professional services firms to adopt artificial intelligence productivity tools.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is committed to driving AI adoption across the economy, including professional services. Through the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we are tackling barriers such as lack of awareness, trust, and technical capability. This includes expanding the BridgeAI programme (which supports organisation adopt AI with funding and hands-on support), announcing an AI champion for professional business services, and training 7.5 million workers across the economy in essential AI skills by 2030. We are also investing £11 million to grow the UK’s AI assurance market, ensuring firms can adopt tools confidently and responsibly. These measures will help businesses harness AI to boost productivity and maintain the UK’s global competitiveness.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to accelerate the phasing out of the use of the LD50 test; and if she will set out a timetable for that phasing out.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The strategy uses ‘baskets’ to group animal tests according to their readiness for replacement, based on maturity of potential alternative methods. These initial baskets will be refined in consultation with stakeholders, noting that two LD/LC50 tests are already in baskets 1 and 2 (botulinum potency and fish acute toxicity tests respectively) so are among the first targeted for phase-out. The Acutox test is a non-regulatory test and not yet validated for use in safety assessments. We will establish a new UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM) to accelerate alternative method validation and uptake for regulatory decision making.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of animal-free tests such as the AcutoX for phasing out the LD50 test.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The strategy uses ‘baskets’ to group animal tests according to their readiness for replacement, based on maturity of potential alternative methods. These initial baskets will be refined in consultation with stakeholders, noting that two LD/LC50 tests are already in baskets 1 and 2 (botulinum potency and fish acute toxicity tests respectively) so are among the first targeted for phase-out. The Acutox test is a non-regulatory test and not yet validated for use in safety assessments. We will establish a new UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM) to accelerate alternative method validation and uptake for regulatory decision making.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the value achieved through recent contract negotiations with Microsoft; and what assurances are in place regarding future pricing.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government holds a number of contracts with resellers of Microsoft products, which includes Office tools, Copilot and Azure.

Value for money is typically assessed through the Department’s internal governance processes for awarding a new contract. The Department utilises the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24) MOU which was negotiated between Crown Commercial Services (CCS) and Microsoft. SPA24 provides discounts and favourable terms to UK public sector customers.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that UK institutions and companies comply with the GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and other relevant national security requirements when sharing genomic data internationally.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The UK has one of the most robust data protection regimes in the world, with all organisations required to comply with our legislation to safeguard UK personal data when transferring it overseas. Failure to do so can result in enforcement action.

Our data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has powers to take enforcement action and issue hefty fines. Individuals who consider that their data has been misused can also take legal action.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 91728 on Broadband: Henley and Thame, what steps her Department is taking to secure additional funding to complete that project.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Commercial delivery in a competitive market has and will remain essential to the delivery of the overall gigabit broadband ambition, as most gigabit-capable connections will be delivered commercially.

At the most recent Spending Review we announced £1.8 billion in funding for Project Gigabit to cover the period 2026/27 to 2029/30.This investment will support the delivery of all existing Project Gigabit contracts, voucher projects and areas currently in procurement. This includes the South Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and East Berkshire contracts referenced in the response to Question 91728.

We are refreshing our delivery plans ahead of the 2027 Spending Review and will continue to apply Project Gigabit subsidy in areas that are not expected to be reached commercially.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 91728 on Broadband: Henley and Thame, how much funding is required to meet the 99% goal.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Commercial delivery in a competitive market has and will remain essential to the delivery of the overall gigabit broadband ambition, as most gigabit-capable connections will be delivered commercially.

At the most recent Spending Review we announced £1.8 billion in funding for Project Gigabit to cover the period 2026/27 to 2029/30.This investment will support the delivery of all existing Project Gigabit contracts, voucher projects and areas currently in procurement. This includes the South Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and East Berkshire contracts referenced in the response to Question 91728.

We are refreshing our delivery plans ahead of the 2027 Spending Review and will continue to apply Project Gigabit subsidy in areas that are not expected to be reached commercially.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the broadband provider BRSK has recently contacted her Department regarding a customer data breach.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

BRSK has not recently contacted my department regarding a customer data breach. I understand BRSK has reported a data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent regulator for the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).

Under PECR, public electronic communications service providers are required to take appropriate technical and organisational measures to safeguard the security of their services. They are required to notify the ICO of any personal data breach without undue delay, and where feasible, not later than 72 hours after having become aware of the breach.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure .eu and .ie domain registration systems recognise Northern Ireland as an eligible territory.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The eligibility criteria are not the responsibility of the UK Government, and we have made no such steps.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of their current spending on AI procurement goes to AI companies that are headquartered in the UK, and what proportion of those companies are small and medium-sized enterprises.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

DSIT does not collate spending on AI procurement across all government departments. Procurement decisions and tracking of associated costs, including those for AI tools and services, are the primary responsibility of each individual government department. The government remains committed to providing new opportunities for UK AI companies to scale and succeed. The government is going further and faster to reform our approach to procurement so that it can shape markets and manage demand, putting in place measures to identify, nurture and protect the UK’s high-growth modern Industrial Strategy sectors like AI. DSIT’s role focuses on fostering an enabling ecosystem, and supporting the growth of the UK's AI sector, including through initiatives such as AI Growth Zones and pledging up to £100million through the Advanced Market Commitment to help AI hardware start-ups gain a competitive edge and win customers alongside established vendors.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking for procurement to diversify their cloud services providers.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government recognises its dependence on a small number of key suppliers for cloud services. As set out in the Blueprint for Modern Digital Government, we are addressing this by establishing the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence to strengthen digital procurement capability and improve supplier management. This includes working with Government Commercial Agency on the National Digital Exchange which is intended to make it easier for public sector organisations to access services from new cloud service providers, including SMEs. Together with the Procurement Act 2023, this will help ensure competition, innovation and resilience in government cloud services.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether each of the Met Office's network of weather stations is (1) appropriately sited, (2) adequately maintained, and (3) able to provide consistently reliable meteorological data.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Met Office’s weather station network currently consists of 405 sites across the United Kingdom (UK). This includes manual and automatic weather stations. The exact postal address of each site is not publicly available due to national security, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and land ownership reasons. The Met Office website provides a map of the UK station network.

The Met Office is ISO 9001 accredited and has a rigorous, internationally recognised quality-control process that includes calibration, inspection, and verification against World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards. The Government utilises a range of evidence, including information from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments and Met Office modelling and observations, ensuring climate policies are grounded in the latest scientific data.

Observation sites are chosen using strict criteria to ensure representative measurements and minimise external influences, as appropriate to the intended data use. The location of weather stations is vital to ensure consistency and continuity of measurements. When selecting station location the Met Office balances the operational need for coverage, whilst adhering to set standards. Regular physical inspections and maintenance of observation sites are carried out and all instruments undergo regular calibration, against externally recognised standards, to maintain measurement accuracy.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had in respect of the integrity of the data provided by the Met Office’s network of weather stations in the UK and the role that data has in shaping the Government’s policies to influence climate change.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Met Office’s weather station network currently consists of 405 sites across the United Kingdom (UK). This includes manual and automatic weather stations. The exact postal address of each site is not publicly available due to national security, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and land ownership reasons. The Met Office website provides a map of the UK station network.

The Met Office is ISO 9001 accredited and has a rigorous, internationally recognised quality-control process that includes calibration, inspection, and verification against World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards. The Government utilises a range of evidence, including information from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments and Met Office modelling and observations, ensuring climate policies are grounded in the latest scientific data.

Observation sites are chosen using strict criteria to ensure representative measurements and minimise external influences, as appropriate to the intended data use. The location of weather stations is vital to ensure consistency and continuity of measurements. When selecting station location the Met Office balances the operational need for coverage, whilst adhering to set standards. Regular physical inspections and maintenance of observation sites are carried out and all instruments undergo regular calibration, against externally recognised standards, to maintain measurement accuracy.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many weather stations exist within the Met Office’s network of weather stations in the UK reportedly supplying meteorological data and what are each of their postal addresses.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Met Office’s weather station network currently consists of 405 sites across the United Kingdom (UK). This includes manual and automatic weather stations. The exact postal address of each site is not publicly available due to national security, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and land ownership reasons. The Met Office website provides a map of the UK station network.

The Met Office is ISO 9001 accredited and has a rigorous, internationally recognised quality-control process that includes calibration, inspection, and verification against World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards. The Government utilises a range of evidence, including information from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments and Met Office modelling and observations, ensuring climate policies are grounded in the latest scientific data.

Observation sites are chosen using strict criteria to ensure representative measurements and minimise external influences, as appropriate to the intended data use. The location of weather stations is vital to ensure consistency and continuity of measurements. When selecting station location the Met Office balances the operational need for coverage, whilst adhering to set standards. Regular physical inspections and maintenance of observation sites are carried out and all instruments undergo regular calibration, against externally recognised standards, to maintain measurement accuracy.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to diversify their cloud service providers following the outages of those services in October.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government recognises the importance of resilience in cloud services. Following the outages in October, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology worked with affected providers and the Government Cyber Coordination Centre to assess impacts and strengthen contingency planning. Alongside this, the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will improve resilience standards. In February 2025, DSIT published guidance supporting multi-region cloud adoption to help departments improve resilience. I also refer the Noble Lord to the answer given on 4 November 2025 to Question HL11169.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, in cases where genomic data has been found to have been transferred in violation of UK law or national security standards, what steps has the government taken or plans to take to remediate these breaches.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The UK has one of the most robust data protection regimes in the world, with all organisations required to comply with our legislation to safeguard UK personal data when transferring it overseas. Failure to do so can result in enforcement action.

Our data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has powers to take enforcement action and issue hefty fines. Individuals who consider that their data has been misused can also take legal action.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the growth in the availability of open source Chinese AI platforms on the UK.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government continues to monitor global developments in AI, including open-source platforms. Open-sourcing AI models decentralises control, enabling more developers to innovate, experiment and deploy systems for diverse purposes.

This approach can deliver significant benefits by fostering innovation, competition and transparency. However, decentralisation also introduces security risks. Open model releases may allow malicious actors to remove safeguards and fine-tune models for harmful purposes.

Consumers and businesses should choose the AI system most suitable for their purpose, considering whether they trust the organisation hosting the model and handling of potentially sensitive queries. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published guidance to help individuals use AI tools safely, including advice on understanding how personal information is processed and shared.

As part of its research to understand the capabilities and impacts of advanced AI and develop and test risk-mitigations, the AI Security Institute (AISI) takes a leading role in safety-testing open and closed AI models wherever they come from.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with HM Treasury on the potential merits of ringfencing funding received from fines levied on tech platforms by Ofcom under the Online Safety Act to fund specialist violence against women and girls support services, specifically for ‘by and for’ led services.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Under the Online Safety Act, any fines collected by Ofcom must be paid into the Consolidated Fund and any subsequent allocation of funds would then be a matter for HM Treasury. It is worth noting that fine income is inherently unpredictable and therefore may not be an appropriate or sustainable way to directly fund initiatives.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is taking steps to improve reliability of broadband connection in the Bramcote area.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit coverage by 2032. Full-fibre technology will provide consumers with a faster but also more stable and reliable connection. People in the Bramcote area rightly expect to have the broadband connectivity they need to participate in the modern digital economy.

All communication providers, including those who operate in Bramcote, are subject to statutory obligations to ensure their networks and services remain available. They must take appropriate and proportionate measures to prepare for and reduce the risks of disruption occurring and report significant incidents to Ofcom, who have powers to investigate, enforce remedial measures and fine communications providers.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help prevent discrimination against women in digital spaces.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Making the online environment a safer and fairer place for women and girls is a priority for this government.

The Online Safety Act has placed a requirement on tech platforms to proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls, including harassment and intimate image abuse.

Ofcom recently published guidance outlining further steps services can take to make their platforms safer for women and girls online. We will be monitoring platforms’ progress closely and working with Ofcom to hold them to account.

The government is developing its wider strategy to tackle violence against women and girls and will publish it in due course.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) for 2026-27 to 2029-30 have not changed materially since they were published on the gov.uk following Spending Review 2025. Please find those documents and DELs: Spending Review 2025 document - GOV.UK

DSIT has recently published how it is allocating the majority of its R&D budget over this period. Here is the link to this: DSIT Research and Development (R&D) plans to 2029/2030 - GOV.UK. We intend to publish a further breakdown of our R&D spend later this financial year. Allocations for the non-R&D elements of DSIT’s CDEL budget are still being determined.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps are being taken to ensure there are safeguards when facial recognition is being used for children.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The UK’s data protection framework is technology-neutral, with principles such as transparency, accountability and fairness applying to all technologies using personal data. In practice, organisations must be clear with people about how and why their data is being processed, only processing it where there are legitimate grounds to do so, and ensuring that any data held is accurate and up to date.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published a range of guidance, including the use of biometric recognition technologies, and the use of video surveillance, including facial recognition technology used for children. These require organisations to carry out an impact assessment when processing activities involving technologies such as LFRT are likely to result in a high risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he has taken to make sure that digital ID can not be made a requirement for accessing a wide range of public and private services.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Digital ID will only be mandatory for a person who is going through a right to work check. There will be no other mandatory requirement to have the ID.

The Government is not mandating the use of digital ID to access other public or private services. People can still prove their identity using physical documents and non-digital alternatives outside of right-to-work checks if they prefer.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Virgin Media’s PSTN switchover on the safety of vulnerable and telecare-reliant customers.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Virgin Media has been fined £23.8m following the conclusion of Ofcom’s investigation started in 2023 into Virgin Media’s breach of their General Conditions.

We take people’s safety during this switchover very seriously. In November 2024, the Government secured further commitments from the telecoms industry, including Virgin Media, to protect vulnerable customers via the non-voluntary migrations checklist. This includes telecare-reliant customers.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the number of vulnerable customers impacted by ongoing PSTN switchover programmes.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

There are an estimated 2 million telecare users in the UK, and many customers may be identified as vulnerable for other reasons, such as landline-dependency. The government does not hold data on the specific number affected by the industry led PSTN migration.

The Government is committed to keeping vulnerable people safe during the PSTN migration. In November 2024, the Government secured further commitments from the telecoms industry to protect vulnerable customers via the non-voluntary migrations checklist.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the powers of the Communications Ombudsman.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has not assessed the potential merits of increasing the powers of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to expand its remit.

Ofcom, the independent regulator of communications services, approves Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services, including the Communications Ombudsman. Ofcom is required to assess whether the schemes it has approved still meet the requirements under the relevant regulations and Ofcom can modify conditions of approval or withdraw approval at any time.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to showcase departmental AI pilots, including (a) which tools are being used, (b) what safeguards are in place, and (c) what has succeeded or failed; and whether she will publish accessible case studies to provide templates for responsible AI adoption by SMEs, charities, and public sector organisations.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is promoting departmental pilots through the PM’s Exemplars Programme, which have been established to learn from high potential AI pilots in areas such as health, education and planning, and share learnings of what works or not. AI tools used in the public sector are also promoted via the public AI Knowledge Hub – a centralised repository of use cases, guidance and prompts - and through an AI Community of Practice available to all public sector workers.

All AI projects across Government are safeguarded by access to DSIT’s suite of responsible AI guidance, tools and expertise which enable rapid innovation whilst ensuring a transparent, trustworthy and responsible approach.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of business broadband connectivity speed and reliability on business growth, productivity and competitiveness in (a) Greater Manchester (b) Oldham.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has not made any specific assessment of the impact of business connectivity with regards to the specific areas of Greater Manchester and Oldham.

The Government’s view is that fast and reliable business broadband is critical for the growth of the economy, fostering innovation, and ensuring investment in the UK. In the Budget last month, the Chancellor set out that the government will work with Ofcom to support the availability and adoption of gigabit broadband solutions by business.

In July, we published our draft updated Statement of Strategic Priorities to Ofcom, where we set out that the regulator should continue to ensure that businesses across the country are able to access the fast, reliable, and resilient broadband services they need to thrive.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to bring forward proposals to expand the remit of the Communications Ombudsman.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has not assessed the potential merits of increasing the powers of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to expand its remit.

Ofcom, the independent regulator of communications services, approves Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services, including the Communications Ombudsman. Ofcom is required to assess whether the schemes it has approved still meet the requirements under the relevant regulations and Ofcom can modify conditions of approval or withdraw approval at any time.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support SMEs to (a) implement cybersecurity measures and (b) procure AI systems securely; and whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing (i) subsidised support and (ii) guidance to tackle the cost pressures that prevent small businesses from adopting secure-by-design practices.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Improving the cyber security of our nation’s SMEs is critical to the resilience of the wider economy. The Government provides free tools, guidance, and training to help SMEs implement cyber security measures. This includes the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC’s) recently launched Cyber Action Toolkit which provides SMEs with tailored advice.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) and the NCSC, have introduced several voluntary Codes of Practice, covering Software, AI, and apps and app stores. These measures, co-designed with industry and experts, set minimum security requirements and support SMEs to securely adopt AI systems.

We will continue to work with industry and monitor the impact of these Codes of Practice. This will enable us to assess their effectiveness and consider further guidance and incentives to help SMEs confidently implement secure-by-design practices in a cost-efficient way. For immediate assistance, SMEs should get in touch with their regional Cyber Resilience Centre, which are run by the police and the Home Office, and offer free cyber advice and support to SMEs.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many times Ministers have met OpenAI to discuss platform safety.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Ministers meet with the AI Industry to discuss a range of issues related to government priorities, including in relation to AI security. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)’s transparency data on ministers’ meetings with external organisations shows that between January and June 2025 there were six meetings with OpenAI, which focussed on issues including support for businesses, AI’s potential for public service delivery, and UK AI policy. Further updates on ministerial meetings will be released in due course.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with the Chancellor the Exchequer on funding to support delivery of the long-term objectives in the Digital Inclusion Action Plan.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT ministers and officials have worked closely with His Majesty’s Treasury to secure funding for digital inclusion that demonstrates the government’s commitment to delivering digital inclusion for everyone across the UK, regardless of their circumstances.

On 10 December, DSIT confirmed total funding of £11.7mn has been allocated across 80 projects through the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, to ensure everyone has access to the skills, support and confidence they need to take part in a modern digital society. This builds on the previously announced £9.5mn.

This is a first step, alongside a series of others, set out in the Government's Digital Inclusion Action Plan published in February. While we are currently focused on helping people by delivering these commitments, the ambition is for everyone to benefit from the digital world—whether that’s saving money on bills, finding a better job, or accessing vital services like the NHS more easily.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the strategy Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what data her Department will use as the baseline to measure the target to use validated alternative methods to reduce the use of dogs and non-human primates in dedicated PK studies for human medicines by at least 35% by 2030.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s publication, Replacing Animals in Science: A Strategy to Support the Development, Validation and Uptake of Alternative Methods, sets out our long-term vision for a world in which the use of animals in scientific research is eliminated except in exceptional circumstances.

The strategy commits to the publication of qualitative and quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in 2025. These are in the process of being developed, and the baseline assessment will be determined as part of this process.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) impartiality and (b) evidential handling procedures used by the communications ombudsman when determining complaints.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.

Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.

Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of communications ombudsman processes on consumer confidence in dispute resolution services.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.

Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.

Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has plans to undertake a review of the consistency of decision-making of the communications ombudsman.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.

Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.

Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of communication ombudsman timescales on consumers.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.

Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.

Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when will her Department publish the Government's response to its call for evidence following the publishing of its Digital Inclusion Action Plan: First Steps.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government wants everyone to benefit from the digital world—whether that’s saving money on bills, finding a better job, or accessing vital services like the NHS more easily.

On 17 July the government published a summary of responses to our call for evidence, on GOV.UK, which provides a thematic overview of the responses received.

Overall, we received positive feedback on the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, including on the target population groups, the objectives across each of the four focus areas, and the medium- and long-term next steps.

The government has taken the call for evidence responses into account when refining its approach to delivering the Action Plan, and will continue to draw on them to inform future policy development.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December to Question 96656, if she will make an assessment of the a) the proportion of chatbots which use search and b) the characteristics of chatbots which use search.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Chatbots that use search capabilities are designed to generate responses for users by actively searching the live web. This functionality means they would be captured by the Online Safety Act’s duties as a search service.

The Secretary of State confirmed in Parliament that the government is considering how AI chatbots interact with the Act and has also urged Ofcom to use its existing powers to ensure that AI chatbots are safe for children.

As part of this work, the government continues to assess the prevalence and nature of chatbot services.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many instances of non-compliance with ICNIRP public exclusion zone requirements for telecommunications masts have been identified in each of the last five years; and what enforcement action was taken in each case.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is not responsible for public health considerations related to radio waves, nor for monitoring or measuring mobile network operators’ compliance with their existing obligations in this area. In the United Kingdom, the Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises the Government on health impacts of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and monitors emerging evidence.

Wireless network operators must comply with the guidelines set by The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection under licencing conditions set by Ofcom. Ofcom can enforce compliance, including the requirement to meet public EMF limits and maintain records demonstrating compliance.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires operators declare that proposed sites comply with ICNIRP guidelines when submitting planning applications. As best practice, operators should provide self-certification statements with all applications confirming adherence to ICNIRP guidelines. The NPPF is the responsibility of Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to introduce mandatory third-party verification of ICNIRP compliance for telecoms mast installations above a specified power threshold.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is not responsible for public health considerations related to radio waves, nor for monitoring or measuring mobile network operators’ compliance with their existing obligations in this area. In the United Kingdom, the Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises the Government on health impacts of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and monitors emerging evidence.

Wireless network operators must comply with the guidelines set by The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection under licencing conditions set by Ofcom. Ofcom can enforce compliance, including the requirement to meet public EMF limits and maintain records demonstrating compliance.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires operators declare that proposed sites comply with ICNIRP guidelines when submitting planning applications. As best practice, operators should provide self-certification statements with all applications confirming adherence to ICNIRP guidelines. The NPPF is the responsibility of Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the accuracy of ICNIRP self-certification declarations submitted by telecommunications operators in respect of public exclusion zones for new and existing masts.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is not responsible for public health considerations related to radio waves, nor for monitoring or measuring mobile network operators’ compliance with their existing obligations in this area. In the United Kingdom, the Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises the Government on health impacts of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and monitors emerging evidence.

Wireless network operators must comply with the guidelines set by The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection under licencing conditions set by Ofcom. Ofcom can enforce compliance, including the requirement to meet public EMF limits and maintain records demonstrating compliance.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires operators declare that proposed sites comply with ICNIRP guidelines when submitting planning applications. As best practice, operators should provide self-certification statements with all applications confirming adherence to ICNIRP guidelines. The NPPF is the responsibility of Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what guidance she has issued to local planning authorities on verifying ICNIRP self-certification against actual site conditions and public access restrictions.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is not responsible for public health considerations related to radio waves, nor for monitoring or measuring mobile network operators’ compliance with their existing obligations in this area. In the United Kingdom, the Health Security Agency (UKHSA) advises the Government on health impacts of electromagnetic fields (EMF) and monitors emerging evidence.

Wireless network operators must comply with the guidelines set by The International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection under licencing conditions set by Ofcom. Ofcom can enforce compliance, including the requirement to meet public EMF limits and maintain records demonstrating compliance.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires operators declare that proposed sites comply with ICNIRP guidelines when submitting planning applications. As best practice, operators should provide self-certification statements with all applications confirming adherence to ICNIRP guidelines. The NPPF is the responsibility of Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support collaboration between Government-funded bodies and private-sector researchers following the identification on 4 December 2025 of multiple biological pathways implicated in ME by the LOCOME study.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The LOCOME study, led by Precision life, was funded by Innovate UK through the Advancing Precision Medicine programme. Reporting more than 250 core genes associated with ME, including 76 shared with long COVID, and dozens of drug repurposing opportunities, these findings have important implications for future ME and long COVID research, diagnosis and treatment development. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) actively fosters collaboration with the private sector by combining the expertise of Innovate UK, which is fully business-focused, with the knowledge exchange expertise of Research England, and disciplinary expertise of their research councils. Innovate UK is well-positioned to collaborate with private-sector researchers on the findings of the LOCOME study.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she has taken to improve computer literacy rates amongst elderly people in a) England and b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We know there are lower computer literacy rates amongst older people and this can lead to digital exclusion - with statistics showing 86% of adults aged 60+ are online, compared to 95% of all UK adults in 2025 (2025 Consumer Digital Index report).

That’s why the Government is committed to helping more older people build these skills and confidence including through the Government’s digital entitlement. This gives eligible adults, including elderly people, access to fully funded basic digital skills courses and qualifications.

The Government £11.7 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund is also funding projects directly helping more older people build the skills and confidence to get online - for example the £139,000 trial to co-design targeted strategies to improve digital inclusion for older people across England and London.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she has taken to reduce the rate of digital exclusion among elderly people in a) England and b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and some demographics are more likely to be digitally excluded than others, including older people – with statistics showing 86% of adults aged 60+ are online, compared to 95% of all UK adults in 2025 (2025 Consumer Digital Index report).

That’s why in February we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the immediate steps we are taking to help more people benefit from being online.

Since then, we have launched the £11.7 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support community-led projects across the UK. This includes 80 projects across England which will meet the specific and diverse needs of digitally excluded people – including older people - to get online with confidence.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to increase spending on research and development in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT will invest a record £58.5 billion in R&D from 2026/27 to 2029/30, part of the £86 billion announced by the Chancellor—the largest government R&D investment ever.

UKRI investment in Lincolnshire increased by 43% between 2022/23 and 2023/24. Investment in the East Midlands also rose by 19%, reaching £596 million.

Lincolnshire and the East Midlands can bid for up to £20 million through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, to grow their high-potential innovation clusters. The fund empowers partnerships across the UK to target local R&D investment and aims to generate at least £1 billion of private co-investment across the programme.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks posed by the development of superintelligent AI.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

There is considerable debate and uncertainty around Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI), but the possibility of their development must be taken seriously. The increasing capabilities of AI may exacerbate existing risks and present new risks, for which the UK need to be prepared.

The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base on these risks, so the government is equipped to understand them. AISI focuses on emerging AI risks with serious security implications, including the potential for AI to help users develop chemical and biological weapons, and the potential for loss of control presented by autonomous systems.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has considered the potential merits of the mitigation of potential future risks from non-human, autonomous AI systems which may evade human oversight and control.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

AI systems have the potential to pose novel risks that emerge from models behaving in unintended ways. The possibility that this unintended behaviour could lead to loss of control over advanced AI systems is taken seriously by many experts and warrants close attention.

The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base on these risks, so the government is equipped to understand them. One of the Institute’s research priorities is tracking the development of AI capabilities that could contribute towards AI’s ability to evade human control.

That is why the Institute launched the Alignment project - a funding consortium distributing up to £15m for research projects to carry out foundational research on methods for building AI systems, ensuring they reliably align with human values across multiple technical disciplines.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the level of use of virtual private networks since July 2025.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government and Ofcom continue to monitor the use of VPNs since the Child Safety Duties commenced in July.

After these duties came into force, UK users of VPN apps temporarily doubled to around 1.5 million. Ofcom has since reported that VPN app usage dropped to around 900,000 by the end of November.

There remains limited evidence on how many children use VPNs and the government is working to address this gap. We will ensure any future interventions are proportionate and driven by the evidence.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if her Department will convene a cross-government summit with key tech companies and trade unions to discuss the future impact of AI and ASI on jobs, the economy and society.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We are starting to witness AI’s impact within the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones. But there is uncertainty over the future scale of AI’s impact on the labour market, particularly over the next few years. Given the recent rapid pace of AI development, government is planning against a range of plausible future outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help track if we are heading towards any of these outcomes.

The Government routinely brings together departments, industry, academics, and trade unions to discuss AI’s impact on the labour market and wider economy—including DSIT‑hosted roundtables – to inform Government’s approach to policy and analysis.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that content relating to women’s health is not inappropriately restricted or shadow-banned on social media platforms; and whether her Department has issued to platforms on safeguarding access to educational health information.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act does not set out to prevent adults from seeking out legal content, nor does it decide what legal content companies should or should not allow on their platforms. Platforms will not be able to arbitrarily remove content, and users will have access to effective complaints procedures when content is unduly taken down. Ofcom, the independent regulator, is working to ensure services understand how to comply with the new requirements.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department has taken to identify sectors of the economy in which AI should not replace human productivity or experience.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We are starting to witness AI’s impact within the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and augmenting old ones. But there is uncertainty over the future scale of AI’s impact on the labour market, particularly over the next few years. Given the recent rapid pace of AI development, government is planning against a range of plausible future outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help track if we are heading towards any of these outcomes. This includes identifying the contexts in which AI will complement and augment human activity—helping people work more efficiently.

Furthermore, to ensure that AI benefits everyone, the UK is investing in responsible AI to boost productivity, improve public services, advance healthcare innovation, and drive economic growth. AI Growth Zones, and expanded compute will support workers and industry, ensuring AI adoption strengthens national renewal and broadens opportunity.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to create a cross-department, nation-wide AI strategy in the next 12 months.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government takes a coordinated, cross‑departmental approach to the opportunities and risks presented by AI. The UK‑commissioned AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we can harness AI to boost economic growth, improve public services and create new job opportunities, and our cross‑HMG response outlines the steps we are taking forward across the UK. My Department works closely with colleagues across Whitehall to ensure our approach remains aligned and responsive to developments.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to introduce technological standards on the use of AI.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The use of AI varies by sector, and sector specific standards are starting to take shape, for example self-driving cars will now be in the UK from next year thanks to new standards from DFT.

The Government supports the development and adoption of technical AI standards through international processes such as the ISO and IEC, driven by an inclusive multistakeholder community, in a way that can provide practical guidance for organisations deploying AI, reduce barriers to innovation and help unlock the opportunities AI offers.

At the same time, some AI systems are more general-purpose. For these AI systems, we have built a strong AI group in DSIT, including the world-class AI Security Institute that tests frontier AI models before release.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the safety of children online in South Suffolk constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act requires services to protect children in the UK, including South Suffolk, from illegal and harmful content online.

Services regulated by the Act are required to use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from encountering the most harmful content including pornography, and put in place age-appropriate protections from other harmful content, including violence and bullying. These protections have been in force since July 2025. We continue to monitor the Act’s effectiveness and will not hesitate to take further action to protect children online if evidence shows this is necessary.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to lead international efforts to establish agreed standards for AI safety and ethics in fraud prevention; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK's on shaping global AI policies to combat scam operations.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The UK is leading international efforts to raise AI safety standards. Through the AI Security Institute we are building world-first public capabilities to test advanced AI systems and share methodologies internationally. We also work with our international partners across several multilateral organisations and standard bodies, including the G7, G20, UN, OECD, and GPAI to address a range of AI related issues.

Domestically, the Online Safety Act requires major platforms and search services to assess and mitigate fraud risks, including those amplified by AI, and take swift action to remove scam content on their platforms.

In addition, the Home Office will continue to ensure that Law Enforcement have the capabilities they need to tackle perpetrators who exploit the use of AI, while working closely with international partners and in partnership with the tech industry to build resilience and protect UK public and businesses.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 9 December to Question 96093, what steps the Government is taking to safeguard individuals from non-sexually explicit deepfakes, digital impersonation, and the misuse of personal identity.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Solutions that help to determine what media is real and what is AI-generated are key to tackling a range of AI risks. The government is undertaking work to explore the potential methods for detecting AI-generated content.

The UK’s Online Safety Act has introduced duties on in scope services to tackle digital impersonation where it amounts to an existing offence, including false statements about a candidate's character or conduct ahead of or during an election.

The UK also has strong data protection laws to help tackle the misuse of personal identity, through the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. These laws require that any personal data processing is lawful, fair and transparent.

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Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to exemptions to the proposed ban on ransomware payments for operators of critical national infrastructure.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Protecting the UK from cyber threats is a top priority for this Government. Ransomware measures are being considered as part of a wider all-of-Government approach to reduce cyber threats, alongside the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill by DSIT.

It is long-standing Government advice, and that of the National Cyber Security Centre, to not pay ransoms as there is no guarantee of a return to business-as-usual provision. .

We have consulted on this, and as published in the Government response to ransomware legislative proposals: reducing payments to cyber criminals and increasing incident reporting (accessible) - GOV.UK, there was split feedback regarding whether a targeted ban should have an exceptions(/exemptions) process. 43% of respondents agreed, 40% disagreed, 17% didn’t know. Qualitative responses cited national security and public safety as reasons for the need.

As with all feedback provided in the consultation response, the Government is considering the most appropriate and proportionate course of action and developing the policy in collaboration with industry and the relevant Government departments. No final decision has yet been made, and the Government is looking very carefully at all options.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in his Department.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Direct ministerial appointments are published on GOV.UK in line with Cabinet Office best practice.

Current direct ministerial appointments in the department are:

Appointees are listed alphabetically by surname.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what formal guidance, policies and risk assessments he has issued to research institutions, NHS bodies and private genomics companies on the sharing of genomic data with foreign entities.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy (BSS) sets out how the country is strengthening resilience to a spectrum of biological threats. As part of the BSS, DSIT is ensuring the UK is a world leader in responsible innovation in engineering biology – working closely with academia and industry to improve shared awareness of security risks, and ensuring any measures to mitigate risks (including those related to genomic data) remain proportionate.

All organisations holding health data (including genomics data) must comply with GDPR. To comply with GDPR, DSIT and DHSC require safeguards to be in place when health data is transferred outside the UK, including a risk assessment for countries not recognised as offering an equivalent level of data protection by the UK.

On behalf of DSIT, the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), have developed the Trusted Research campaign to advise academia on international collaborations, by informing them of the threat and helping them make decisions about research and research partners. NPSA and NCSC have also developed the Secure Innovation campaign to help new start-ups in the emerging and critical technology sectors think carefully about their partners and investment.

Alongside this work, DSIT’s Research Collaboration Advice Team offers the research sector tailored advice on managing the risks of international research collaboration. DSIT also engages in a two-way dialogue with policymakers, academia and industry on the responsible use of engineering biology and life sciences, through the Responsible Innovation Advisory Panel.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to develop standards to help with procurement and encourage AI adoption amongst SMEs.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In July, the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce published ten recommendations to help the UK’s SMEs become the most digitally capable and AI confident in the G7 by 2035. We are now working to deliver these recommendations.

We have already partnered with Google on a series of events to help SME leaders around the UK explore how AI can help them.

DSIT has published AI Management Essentials to help SMEs implement responsible AI governance practices.

Also, we are prioritising SMEs in our new system to give them a fair chance at public contracts, with departmental targets and a new SME Procurement Education programme.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that switchovers of legacy technology, such as digital terrestrial television, support uptake and inclusion amongst digitally excluded citizens.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Digital inclusion is a priority for this Government. It is foundational to delivering on our five Missions and essential to unlocking economic growth.

The Department is leading a project to assess the future of TV distribution and we are committed to maintaining access for all, regardless of how audiences receive their television. Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is protected until at least 2034, safeguarding access for millions of households.

The project is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to ensure that any opportunities to support digital inclusion is at the heart of policy development.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of electricity demand from AI-related data centres on electricity prices.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is committed to ensuring electricity networks can meet rising electricity demand, including from data centres, and to protecting consumer bills. Locating data centres where there is excess renewable generation could lower constraint costs, thereby reducing overall system costs and consumer bills. The Government has set up the AI Energy Council jointly chaired by the Secretary of State for DESNZ and Secretary of State for DSIT to look strategically at the energy case for AI and data centres across the UK.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to replicating the Office for Investment: Financial Services model for other key strategic sectors identified in the Science and Technology Framework.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

The OfI: Financial Services is a bespoke concierge service partnership involving HM Treasury, the OfI, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority, and the City of London Corporation. It was created to address the particular investment-related needs of the FS sector but was deliberately branded as the OfI to reflect its commonality with the OfI’s remit of sourcing and securing transformational investment. Whilst the Government will always consider the optimum approach to attracting investment, the OfI remains the single front door investment delivery body for the UK. The OfI works closely with DSIT to maximise investment in the Tech sector.

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