Asked by: Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 27 March (HL5777), whether they will now answer the question put; namely, how many (1) charities, (2) campaign organisations, and (3) survivors, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has met regarding adult non-consensual intimate image abuse since 5 July 2024; and how many such meetings they have held in total and on which dates they have taken place.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders about issues related to online harms, including adult non-consensual intimate image abuse.
Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on GOV.UK.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make £20 million available each year to fund research into alternatives for animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. The Government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year. Any future funding allocations are subject to the outcome of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will meet with organisations representing older people to discuss the potential impact of the transition to digital telecommunications infrastructure on (a) older and (b) vulnerable people.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are always happy to meet - as the Government has met several times - with organisations representing older people several times to discuss the impact of the industry-led analogue to digital migration on older and vulnerable people.
Following engagement with multiple organisations representing older people across the UK, the Government in November 2024 published a definition of vulnerable customers who may require additional support during the migration. This definition includes those who are telecare users and those dependent on their landlines. Any customer, including the elderly, can also self-identify as requiring additional support.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of the UK copyright framework for creatives in the context of AI-generated content.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Copying protected material in the UK infringes copyright unless it is licensed, or an exception to copyright applies.
The Government recently consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI).
This consultation closed on 25th February. The Government is reviewing the responses to the consultation, it will continue to engage extensively on this issue and its proposals will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to commission external reviews of digital compliance regulations.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government's independent regulators regularly review regulations and provide their independent recommendations to the Secretary of State to ensure that these regulations are effective and support businesses within the sector.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how frequently his Department reviews compliance costs for the technology sector.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Sections 28–31 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 set the legislative requirements for the inclusion of statutory review provisions in secondary legislation, including that a report of the first review must be published within five years of the relevant legislation's commencement date and subsequent reports published at intervals not exceeding five years. In the absence of a review provision, the post-implementation review statutory guidance made under section 31 of the act states that policies should still be subject to proportionate monitoring, evaluation and non-statutory review, where appropriate.
Asked by: Andrew Ranger (Labour - Wrexham)
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 ensure equal access to digital skills training and technology.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is taking action in both these areas. The Digital Inclusion Action Plan sets out how we have, for example, launched a device donation pilot scheme in partnership with The Digital Poverty Alliance to refurbish end-of-life government laptops from three departments and get them to those that need them most.
The government is also supporting digital upskilling, for example through Essential Digital Skills (EDS) provisions funded by the Department for Education’s Adult Skills Fund. We will also be enhancing support for the EDS framework, which supports businesses and individuals to get the digital skills they need.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to publish a response to the Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, published on 19 March 2025; and whether he plans to issue guidance to Departments on implementing the recommendations in the report.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government has now published the independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender commissioned by the previous government.
Individual departments are considering the findings in light of ongoing policy work in this area.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 32047 on Space Debris, what the nature is of the regulatory reform that will help mitigate the risks from space debris.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Following the May 2024 Space Regulatory Review, the new government is implementing a package of space regulatory reforms to achieve seven outcomes, including ensuring a safe, secure and sustainable space environment. Government is undertaking research into the impacts of several technical options to help mitigate the risks from space debris, such as reducing post-mission disposal timelines. Government is also supporting the development of independent British standards for space sustainability and has conducted an innovative regulatory sandbox for rendezvous and proximity operations to provide greater clarity and certainty in enabling regulation for future missions which could de-orbit debris.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which of the recommendations from the 2019 Online Harms White Paper his Department has implemented.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Harms White Paper set out a vision for a new regulatory framework for online services to tackle online harm, which would be overseen by an independent regulator with a suite of enforcement powers.
The Online Safety Act realises this vision. On 17 March 2025, illegal harms codes of practice came into effect, enabling Ofcom to take robust enforcement action against platforms failing to protect users from illegal content. Services are also required to conduct risk assessments for content harmful to children later this month, with the child safety duties expected to be enforceable by Summer 2025.