Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the value for money of its contract with Fujitsu Services Ltd for the GDS Digital Service Platforms One Login project prior to agreeing that contract in July 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GOV.UK One Login programme is subject to regular scrutiny and reporting to assess and ensure project objectives have been met, including through the Government Major Projects Portfolio. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority has provided positive reviews of GOV.UK One Login for the last three years. The programme is also working with the Evaluation Task Force to publish a comprehensive evaluation plan which will assess the programme’s key objectives.
The GOV.UK One Login programme has not had a contract with Fujitsu Services Ltd.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of research and development on the Government's growth agenda.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
R&D is fundamental to achieving the Government’s mission of kickstarting economic growth and we know businesses grow faster because of science and innovation. In the 6 years after receiving their first R&D grant funding, employment increases in the average business by 21% and turnover grows by 23%.
That is why the government is investing record amounts into R&D, with total government investment in R&D rising to a record £20.4 billion in 2025/26. This investment also supports our research base and underpins the innovations and technological advancements that will help the UK boost productivity and create high-paid jobs.
We are ensuring R&D supports the government’s five missions, via such vehicles as the R&D Missions Programme. Through this, R&D is at the heart of our agenda to boost growth and improve lives by maximising the potential of science and technology.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the role of science and innovation in the defence sector.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Cutting-edge science, innovation and technology are central to modern defence and UK national security. DSIT is working closely with MOD to input into its Strategic Defence Review, to help MOD leverage the strengths of the UK S&T ecosystem to achieve its ambitions. This includes investments in future research breakthroughs and innovation to grow our technology sector, which also supports future defence needs. DSIT’s teams regularly engage with cross-Government colleagues including Defence on the opportunities and risks of new technologies and are integrated into the relevant board structures for defence-related R&D. DSIT's Secretary of State speaks frequently to cabinet colleagues on issues of mutual importance.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with (a) industry, (b) civil society and (c) other relevant stakeholders on facilitating the end of animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting alternative methods to the use of animals in science and the Labour Manifesto included a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing.” The Government has already held roundtables with stakeholders from businesses, regulators and across Government on how to best support the uptake, validation and development of alternative methods, and further discussions with civil society organisations will take place in December.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to paragraph 4.94 of of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC295, published on 30 October 2024, whether any of the core research funding will be used for projects that involve experimenting on animals.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Alternative methods cannot currently replicate the complexity of an intact biological system, so the use of animals remains essential both in basic and translational medical research and in preclinical testing. Currently 32% of Medical Research Council-funded research programmes involve some use of animals licensed under the ASPA (Animals Scientific Procedures Act). The manifesto committed the Government to partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing. This is a long-term goal, and it will likely take many years of scientific and technical advancement and validation to reach this point.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of science and innovation on job creation in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Science and innovation are vital to our mission to kickstart economic growth and create jobs in every part of the country.
For example, Research England invested £5 million into the HyDEX programme, which Keele University leads on behalf of the Midlands-based Energy Research Accelerator. This is helping build a Midlands hydrogen economy by working with established national businesses and accelerating local SMEs’ work.
Through the Strength in Places Fund, UKRI invested £18.3 million in the “Midlands Advanced Ceramics for Industry 4.0” programme led by Staffordshire company Lucideon. This led the Applied Materials Research, Innovation, & Commercialisation Company to be established.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to paragraph 4.94 of of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC295, published on 30 October 2024, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of human-specific technologies such as organ-on-a-chip.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government funds research through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and many programmes, including those on organoids, cell behaviour or AI, may eventually lead to the development of human-specific technologies that can replace the need for the use of animals. The Government also funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research through the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs). Since its launch in 2004, the NC3Rs has committed over £100 million through its research and innovation to provide new 3Rs approaches for scientists in academia and industry to use
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in each year since 2021.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT was created by a Machinery of Government (MOG) change on 7 February 2023, we have not provided data prior to DSIT becoming a fully operational department. Departmental Group consultancy spend in financial year 23-24, as disclosed in 2023-24 Annual report & Accounts (ARA), was £24.0 million.
We recognise the Government is committed to restoring the public finances and delivering value for the taxpayer. As part of this wider mission, the Government has pledged to reduce wasteful spend on non-essential and expensive consultants in order to save over £1.2 billion by 2026.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he intends to meet with the Advertising Standards Authority to discuss the advertising of part-copper broadband as fibre.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I refer the right Hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton to the answer of 21 November to question UIN 14700.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 14940 on Project Gigabit and Shared Rural Network, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the minimum signal strength to support remote working.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom reports that a 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speed connection is needed to support video calls and a consistent connection to the internet, and our expectation is that this would support remote working. Most networks in the UK, including those delivered by Project Gigabit, offer much higher performance.
The mobile signal strength thresholds Ofcom set for the Shared Rural Network are based on Ofcom’s assessment of what constitutes “good” mobile coverage which has been in place for several years and which broadly equates to successfully making a 90 second call and getting a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s. Whether this is sufficient to support remote working will depend on a number of factors, including the nature of the work being undertaken and the level of congestion on the network. We have asked Ofcom to keep under review what constitutes good 4G and 5G connectivity.
In response to my letter to their Chief Executive, Ofcom is considering how to incorporate different signal strength thresholds in its reporting on the availability of mobile networks.