Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what requirements they have placed on BT to consult customers about the implementation of the Digital Voice rollout, particularly for vulnerable customers or those in rural areas.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is determined to ensure that any risks arising from the industry-led migration of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for all customers across the UK.
Major communication providers, including BT, signed a voluntary charter in December 2023 to protect vulnerable customers. A definition of vulnerable customers who may require additional support in the context of the PSTN switch-off was published in November 2024. It includes the landline-dependent and those living in rural areas. In November 2024, providers agreed to additional safeguards in the Non-Voluntary Migrations Checklist. This includes requirements for timely and repeated communication with customers ahead of their non-voluntary migration.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
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 improve the availability of cellular networks in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from reliable, high quality mobile coverage. We continue to work with Ofcom to ensure that their coverage reporting is as accurate as possible to allow us to reliably and accurately identify underserved areas.
4G geographic coverage from at least one mobile operator has now reached over 95% of the UK landmass, and we continue to work with the industry to deliver 4G mobile connectivity to places where there is either limited or no coverage.
Our ambition is to go further, and for all populated areas, including rural communities, to have access to higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030. We continue to work closely with the mobile network operators and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment and competition in the market.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to establish minimum standards for battery back-up of Digital Voice services during power outages; and what assessment they have made of whether these minimum standards are sufficient for rural areas.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is determined to ensure that any risks arising from the industry-led migration of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for all customers across the UK.
In November 2024, providers agreed to safeguards in the Non-Voluntary Migrations Checklist including requirements to provide resilience solutions (e.g., battery back-up) for vulnerable customers, including the landline-dependent and those living in rural areas, to enable access to emergency organisations for at least one hour in a power outage. After discussions with government ministers, a number of communication providers have gone beyond this minimum, providing battery back-ups of 4-7 hours.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps he has taken to phase out animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto commits 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 invests £10m annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to accelerate the development and adoption of 3Rs approaches. A significant amount of research funding in the UK also goes to underpinning technologies that have the potential to deliver the 3Rs, driving forward innovation.
The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to consult with private sector digital identification providers about the future development of the UK digital identification ecosystem, including the Gov.uk digital wallet and the mobile driving licence.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders including digital verification service providers, civil society, regulators, and other experts from academia and think tanks.
With regard to the GOV.UK Wallet and the mobile driving licence, OfDIA and the Government Digital Service have an event on 14 May 2025 to engage with digital verification providers on how the GOV.UK Wallet can work with and alongside private sector solutions to offer users the best experience and appropriate choice. This will be followed by technical engagement with providers in the coming months.
Asked by: Baroness Alexander of Cleveden (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to facilitate US-based academics and researchers who may wish to consider relocating to the UK's higher education sector.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government recognises and values the US as a key partner in R&D and look forward to continuing our collaboration on shared priorities to drive economic growth and technological advancement. Both the UK and US are committed to facilitating the exchange of talent and students to enhance R&D capabilities.
The government is committed to ensuring the UK is the top destination for globally mobile research talent based anywhere in the world. The UK boasts a world-leading science base, supported by top universities and research institutions, and has an ambitious funding offer through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Academies, which offer prestigious fellowships and professorships.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop UK sovereign AI capacity; and on what timeframe.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The AI Opportunities Action Plan, launched in January, outlines 50 actions to drive AI development and deployment. The government has committed to taking forward all recommendations, including the establishment of a new, sovereign AI unit with a clear mandate to maximise the UK's stake in frontier AI.
Building sovereign capabilities will enable the UK to harness the economic potential of advanced AI whilst safeguarding our national security, in the context of rapid AI development. The government has already partnered with leading AI companies, such as Anthropic, to explore AI opportunities in the UK. More details of the sovereign AI programme will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
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 Ofcom on physical infrastructure access pricing for full fibre broadband.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom’s Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) framework supports market entry and expansion by alternative network operators via access to Openreach’s ducts, poles, and other utility infrastructure.
Ofcom has powers to impose access conditions on electronic communications networks, enabling third party infrastructure access on fair and reasonable terms, conditions and charges, and without undue discrimination.
My officials meet with Ofcom on a regular basis to discuss a range of regulatory issues including PIA. The Government supports this framework but will not intervene in independent Ofcom decisions regarding fee pricing structure or the adequacy of the current level of fees.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
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 adequacy of the current level of Physical Infrastructure Access fees.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ofcom’s Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) framework supports market entry and expansion by alternative network operators via access to Openreach’s ducts, poles, and other utility infrastructure.
Ofcom has powers to impose access conditions on electronic communications networks, enabling third party infrastructure access on fair and reasonable terms, conditions and charges, and without undue discrimination.
My officials meet with Ofcom on a regular basis to discuss a range of regulatory issues including PIA. The Government supports this framework but will not intervene in independent Ofcom decisions regarding fee pricing structure or the adequacy of the current level of fees.
Asked by: Steve Race (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with industry stakeholders on the remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022; and what further consultations he has planned.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Discussions on the remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 have focused on the Government’s intention to commence the provisions, and to hold public consultations. Stakeholders have also been asked to provide data on the cases affected.
A technical consultation on draft regulations to commence Sections 61 – 64 of the Act, dealing with certain Renewal agreements, was published on 7 May 2025.
The Government is considering the best approach to commencing Section 70, relating to complaints procedures.
The other outstanding provisions relate to court jurisdiction and unresponsive landowners. Work is underway to commence these provisions.