Lord Clement-Jones

When procuring cloud services, departments should use the Technology Code of Practice principles and follow the government Cloud First policy. They should also follow NCSC security guidance and the Information Commissioner's Office’s guidance on adequacy of a country’s level of data protection. These policies and guidance provide clear guidelines of the things a department should consider, including security classification and best value for the taxpayer.

The reported SolarWinds compromise is a complex, global cyber incident, and the Government is working with international partners to understand its scale and assess any UK impact. This work is ongoing.

The National Cyber Security Centre has published guidance on their website.

The reported SolarWinds compromise is a complex, global cyber incident, and the Government is working with international partners to understand its scale and assess any UK impact. This work is ongoing.

The National Cyber Security Centre has published guidance on their website.

The reported SolarWinds compromise is a complex, global cyber incident, and the Government is working with international partners to understand its scale and assess any UK impact. This work is ongoing.

The National Cyber Security Centre has published guidance on their website.

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is currently reviewing cross government cloud policy and guidance, including the Cloud First policy. This includes reviewing the cloud hosting market and associated regulatory environment.

GDS is currently undertaking a risk assessment of all of its services and products (including GOV.UK) in relation to cross-border data flows. The new ECJ judgment will be considered as part of this assessment. The assessment will identify relevant data flows and make sure appropriate mitigation is implemented if necessary, following updates and guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). GDS has engaged with other government departments via data advisory groups and data protection networks to ensure consistent mitigation.

Ultimately, however, it is a decision for individual government organisations where and how to store their data, provided it is done in a secure way and offers good value for money.

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is currently reviewing cross government cloud policy and guidance, including the Cloud First policy. This includes reviewing the cloud hosting market and associated regulatory environment.

GDS is currently undertaking a risk assessment of all of its services and products (including GOV.UK) in relation to cross-border data flows. The new ECJ judgment will be considered as part of this assessment. The assessment will identify relevant data flows and make sure appropriate mitigation is implemented if necessary, following updates and guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). GDS has engaged with other government departments via data advisory groups and data protection networks to ensure consistent mitigation.

Ultimately, however, it is a decision for individual government organisations where and how to store their data, provided it is done in a secure way and offers good value for money.

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is currently reviewing cross government cloud policy and guidance, including the Cloud First policy. This includes reviewing the cloud hosting market and associated regulatory environment.

GDS is currently undertaking a risk assessment of all of its services and products (including GOV.UK) in relation to cross-border data flows. The new ECJ judgment will be considered as part of this assessment. The assessment will identify relevant data flows and make sure appropriate mitigation is implemented if necessary, following updates and guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). GDS has engaged with other government departments via data advisory groups and data protection networks to ensure consistent mitigation.

Ultimately, however, it is a decision for individual government organisations where and how to store their data, provided it is done in a secure way and offers good value for money.

The UK Government is a significant advertiser on Facebook. Social media platforms enable departments and agencies to connect with citizens and businesses to communicate about important policies and help drive behaviour change, including in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Government is in correspondence with Facebook seeking reassurances and action on various points. Individual departments are responsible for their own advertising expenditure delivered in line with a centrally agreed approach coordinated by the Cabinet Office.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office. This is the prerogative of individual departments.

The Government has no objections to digital media companies running political advertising, provided it is transparent, and we are bringing forward proposals to increase transparency in this area.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office. This is the prerogative of individual departments.

The Government has no objections to digital media companies running political advertising, provided it is transparent, and we are bringing forward proposals to increase transparency in this area.

The UK has strict laws that require that all consumer products must be safe before being placed on the UK market, either online or the high street.

The UK product regulator, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), has prioritised activities to target unsafe products sold by third party sellers online, including toys. Activities include checks on goods entering through borders, test purchasing and assessment of goods available online. OPSS is tackling the most serious cases by requiring recalls and takedowns and where necessary, taking enforcement action to prevent unsafe products from being made available to UK consumers. My colleague Minister Hollinrake and senior officials have held meetings with the major online marketplaces demanding they take more action to fulfil their responsibilities for supplying safe goods.

The Government is reviewing the product safety framework. Following its Call for Evidence, a consultation, including proposals to ensure that supply chain responsibilities are clear and concerns about the sale of unsafe products online are addressed, is being finalised and will be published shortly.

The Product Safety Review consultation is currently being finalised and will be published shortly.

The UK’s product safety regulatory framework, as regulated by the Office for Product Safety and Standards, provides a high level of protection to consumers. Any trade negotiations seek to achieve growth in the economy while also ensuring the safety of UK consumers.

Communication Providers, including BT, have a range of solutions available for Digital Voice customers, particularly those who require extra support. For most customers with additional needs who live in an area with 4G mobile coverage, mobile remains the best way of making calls in the event of a power loss. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is working with industry to extend mobile coverage through projects such as the Shared Rural Network, and also to improve resilience of the mobile network.

Customers who do not have, or do not want, a mobile phone can request a hybrid phone with a built-in battery that switches automatically to the mobile network in the event of a power outage. This device looks and feels like a normal landline handset. For Digital Voice customers who live in an area without mobile signal and are identified as vulnerable, BT will provide a battery back-up unit free of charge. For customers without a fixed broadband connection, BT are also looking at developing a device which functions in the same way as the landline but uses the mobile network instead.

Ofcom estimates that less than 1% of BT landline customers have insufficient 4G mobile coverage in their area to make an emergency call. This number will drop as BT provides further investment to continue expanding its network – since March 2020 EE, part of BT Group, has improved 4G coverage in over 1,500 locations across the UK and expects to improve coverage in hundreds of further locations by June 2024.

We encourage customers who have questions about their power supply to contact their energy provider as Communications Providers do not provide a solution for customers without access to mains power.

Communication Providers, including BT, have a range of solutions available for Digital Voice customers, particularly those who require extra support. For most customers with additional needs who live in an area with 4G mobile coverage, mobile remains the best way of making calls in the event of a power loss. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is working with industry to extend mobile coverage through projects such as the Shared Rural Network, and also to improve resilience of the mobile network.

Customers who do not have, or do not want, a mobile phone can request a hybrid phone with a built-in battery that switches automatically to the mobile network in the event of a power outage. This device looks and feels like a normal landline handset. For Digital Voice customers who live in an area without mobile signal and are identified as vulnerable, BT will provide a battery back-up unit free of charge. For customers without a fixed broadband connection, BT are also looking at developing a device which functions in the same way as the landline but uses the mobile network instead.

Ofcom estimates that less than 1% of BT landline customers have insufficient 4G mobile coverage in their area to make an emergency call. This number will drop as BT provides further investment to continue expanding its network – since March 2020 EE, part of BT Group, has improved 4G coverage in over 1,500 locations across the UK and expects to improve coverage in hundreds of further locations by June 2024.

We encourage customers who have questions about their power supply to contact their energy provider as Communications Providers do not provide a solution for customers without access to mains power.

Communication Providers, including BT, have a range of solutions available for Digital Voice customers, particularly those who require extra support. For most customers with additional needs who live in an area with 4G mobile coverage, mobile remains the best way of making calls in the event of a power loss. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is working with industry to extend mobile coverage through projects such as the Shared Rural Network, and also to improve resilience of the mobile network.

Customers who do not have, or do not want, a mobile phone can request a hybrid phone with a built-in battery that switches automatically to the mobile network in the event of a power outage. This device looks and feels like a normal landline handset. For Digital Voice customers who live in an area without mobile signal and are identified as vulnerable, BT will provide a battery back-up unit free of charge. For customers without a fixed broadband connection, BT are also looking at developing a device which functions in the same way as the landline but uses the mobile network instead.

Ofcom estimates that less than 1% of BT landline customers have insufficient 4G mobile coverage in their area to make an emergency call. This number will drop as BT provides further investment to continue expanding its network – since March 2020 EE, part of BT Group, has improved 4G coverage in over 1,500 locations across the UK and expects to improve coverage in hundreds of further locations by June 2024.

We encourage customers who have questions about their power supply to contact their energy provider as Communications Providers do not provide a solution for customers without access to mains power.

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is privately-owned and the decision to upgrade it has been taken independently by the telecoms industry. However, the government and Ofcom are working together to ensure consumers and sectors are protected and prepared for the migration to Voice-over-internet Protocol (VoIP).

All Communications Providers have obligations under the Communications Act 2003, implemented under Condition A3 of Ofcom’s General Conditions of Entitlement (available on their website), to provide a Public Emergency Call Service for the numbers 999 and 112 in the UK. Ofcom places a regulatory obligation on Communications Providers to take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency organisations for their customers, and these obligations will continue post migration.

Ofcom has issued guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil their regulatory obligation to ensure that VoIP customers have continued access to the emergency services in the event of a power outage. The guidance states that at least one solution must be available for a minimum of one hour that enables access to emergency organisations in the event of a power cut. Any solution must be made available free of charge to customers who providers determine are reliant on their landline to make emergency calls during a power cut. These are minimum standards, and in practice many providers are offering solutions which exceed them.

The Government has asked Ofcom to review how all communications providers are meeting the needs of their customers by fulfilling their obligations during power outages, because it falls within Ofcom’s remit to determine the terms of its General Conditions as an independent regulator.

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is privately-owned and the decision to upgrade it has been taken independently by the telecoms industry. However, the government and Ofcom are working together to ensure consumers and sectors are protected and prepared for the migration to Voice-over-internet Protocol (VoIP).

All Communications Providers have obligations under the Communications Act 2003, implemented under Condition A3 of Ofcom’s General Conditions of Entitlement (available on their website), to provide a Public Emergency Call Service for the numbers 999 and 112 in the UK. Ofcom places a regulatory obligation on Communications Providers to take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency organisations for their customers, and these obligations will continue post migration.

Ofcom has issued guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil their regulatory obligation to ensure that VoIP customers have continued access to the emergency services in the event of a power outage. The guidance states that at least one solution must be available for a minimum of one hour that enables access to emergency organisations in the event of a power cut. Any solution must be made available free of charge to customers who providers determine are reliant on their landline to make emergency calls during a power cut. These are minimum standards, and in practice many providers are offering solutions which exceed them.

The Government has asked Ofcom to review how all communications providers are meeting the needs of their customers by fulfilling their obligations during power outages, because it falls within Ofcom’s remit to determine the terms of its General Conditions as an independent regulator.

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is privately-owned and the decision to upgrade it has been taken independently by the telecoms industry. However, the government and Ofcom are working together to ensure consumers and sectors are protected and prepared for the migration to Voice-over-internet Protocol (VoIP).

All Communications Providers have obligations under the Communications Act 2003, implemented under Condition A3 of Ofcom’s General Conditions of Entitlement (available on their website), to provide a Public Emergency Call Service for the numbers 999 and 112 in the UK. Ofcom places a regulatory obligation on Communications Providers to take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency organisations for their customers, and these obligations will continue post migration.

Ofcom has issued guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil their regulatory obligation to ensure that VoIP customers have continued access to the emergency services in the event of a power outage. The guidance states that at least one solution must be available for a minimum of one hour that enables access to emergency organisations in the event of a power cut. Any solution must be made available free of charge to customers who providers determine are reliant on their landline to make emergency calls during a power cut. These are minimum standards, and in practice many providers are offering solutions which exceed them.

The Government has asked Ofcom to review how all communications providers are meeting the needs of their customers by fulfilling their obligations during power outages, because it falls within Ofcom’s remit to determine the terms of its General Conditions as an independent regulator.

The UK’s transition from the Public Switched Telecoms Network (PSTN) to IP-based telephony services (such as BT’s Digital Voice programme) is an industry-led migration. While Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) meets regularly with telecom providers to discuss their progress, we do not assess individual companies’ programmes given each provider has their own schedule and plans for the upgrade.

Openreach, as the subsidiary of BT Group responsible for operating and maintaining the digital network, is working closely with other communications providers and industry bodies to collectively work through any migration challenges. In 2018, Openreach conducted a consultation towards communication providers to inform its strategy for the PSTN migration.

Separately, BT’s consumer division has reformed its approach to migrating residential customers. For instance, they have introduced the Digital Voice Advisory Group, an association made up of charities and representative groups that has been advising on the needs of customers most affected by the switch. DSIT meets regularly with both Openreach and BT Consumer counterparts to monitor their progress and discuss particular issues.

Customers with limited broadband connectivity will not be adversely impacted by the PSTN migration. In order to function correctly, Voice over IP requires a minimum stable connection speed of just 0.5 Mbps, and for current landline-only customers it will be possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing an internet connection.

Furthermore, the PSTN migration does not affect the universal service obligations set in the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 which require the designated providers (namely BT Group and KCOM) to offer telephony services throughout the UK. BT Group and KCOM will still be required to provide access to a range of telephony services.

This government remains committed to extending good quality mobile coverage across the UK. The Shared Rural Network programme will increase 4G mobile coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by the end of 2025, underpinned by licence obligations. Furthermore, through the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, we have announced a new ambition of nationwide coverage of standalone 5G to all populated areas by 2030.

The UK’s transition from the Public Switched Telecoms Network (PSTN) to IP-based telephony services (such as BT’s Digital Voice programme) is an industry-led migration. While Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) meets regularly with telecom providers to discuss their progress, we do not assess individual companies’ programmes given each provider has their own schedule and plans for the upgrade.

Openreach, as the subsidiary of BT Group responsible for operating and maintaining the digital network, is working closely with other communications providers and industry bodies to collectively work through any migration challenges. In 2018, Openreach conducted a consultation towards communication providers to inform its strategy for the PSTN migration.

Separately, BT’s consumer division has reformed its approach to migrating residential customers. For instance, they have introduced the Digital Voice Advisory Group, an association made up of charities and representative groups that has been advising on the needs of customers most affected by the switch. DSIT meets regularly with both Openreach and BT Consumer counterparts to monitor their progress and discuss particular issues.

Customers with limited broadband connectivity will not be adversely impacted by the PSTN migration. In order to function correctly, Voice over IP requires a minimum stable connection speed of just 0.5 Mbps, and for current landline-only customers it will be possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing an internet connection.

Furthermore, the PSTN migration does not affect the universal service obligations set in the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 which require the designated providers (namely BT Group and KCOM) to offer telephony services throughout the UK. BT Group and KCOM will still be required to provide access to a range of telephony services.

This government remains committed to extending good quality mobile coverage across the UK. The Shared Rural Network programme will increase 4G mobile coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by the end of 2025, underpinned by licence obligations. Furthermore, through the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, we have announced a new ambition of nationwide coverage of standalone 5G to all populated areas by 2030.

The UK’s transition from the Public Switched Telecoms Network (PSTN) to IP-based telephony services (such as BT’s Digital Voice programme) is an industry-led migration. While Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) meets regularly with telecom providers to discuss their progress, we do not assess individual companies’ programmes given each provider has their own schedule and plans for the upgrade.

Openreach, as the subsidiary of BT Group responsible for operating and maintaining the digital network, is working closely with other communications providers and industry bodies to collectively work through any migration challenges. In 2018, Openreach conducted a consultation towards communication providers to inform its strategy for the PSTN migration.

Separately, BT’s consumer division has reformed its approach to migrating residential customers. For instance, they have introduced the Digital Voice Advisory Group, an association made up of charities and representative groups that has been advising on the needs of customers most affected by the switch. DSIT meets regularly with both Openreach and BT Consumer counterparts to monitor their progress and discuss particular issues.

Customers with limited broadband connectivity will not be adversely impacted by the PSTN migration. In order to function correctly, Voice over IP requires a minimum stable connection speed of just 0.5 Mbps, and for current landline-only customers it will be possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing an internet connection.

Furthermore, the PSTN migration does not affect the universal service obligations set in the Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003 which require the designated providers (namely BT Group and KCOM) to offer telephony services throughout the UK. BT Group and KCOM will still be required to provide access to a range of telephony services.

This government remains committed to extending good quality mobile coverage across the UK. The Shared Rural Network programme will increase 4G mobile coverage to 95% of the UK landmass by the end of 2025, underpinned by licence obligations. Furthermore, through the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, we have announced a new ambition of nationwide coverage of standalone 5G to all populated areas by 2030.

BT’s Digital Voice rollout relates to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration. The PSTN is a privately-owned network and the upgrade to digital voice services is an industry-led process. Consumers will be migrated to digital voice services by 2025. We remain engaged with Communications Providers including BT to monitor their migration processes. We want to ensure that consumers including the most vulnerable are protected and prepared for the upgrade.

Copper switch off, or the retirement of fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband services, is a separate process. Ofcom, the UK’s telecommunications regulator, will monitor and oversee the withdrawal of copper services. FTTC broadband services will continue to operate after the PSTN has been replaced.

In Volume Three of Ofcom’s Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review 2021-26 (WFTMR), it set out some criteria by which it will allow Openreach to decommission the copper-based network in future, however Ofcom has also decided it is currently too early in the migration process to define the conditions that will trigger the complete deregulation of the copper network. Ofcom will set out further details on this process in the next market review period.

BT’s Digital Voice rollout relates to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration. The PSTN is a privately-owned network and the upgrade to digital voice services is an industry-led process. Consumers will be migrated to digital voice services by 2025. We remain engaged with Communications Providers including BT to monitor their migration processes. We want to ensure that consumers including the most vulnerable are protected and prepared for the upgrade.

Copper switch off, or the retirement of fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) broadband services, is a separate process. Ofcom, the UK’s telecommunications regulator, will monitor and oversee the withdrawal of copper services. FTTC broadband services will continue to operate after the PSTN has been replaced.

In Volume Three of Ofcom’s Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review 2021-26 (WFTMR), it set out some criteria by which it will allow Openreach to decommission the copper-based network in future, however Ofcom has also decided it is currently too early in the migration process to define the conditions that will trigger the complete deregulation of the copper network. Ofcom will set out further details on this process in the next market review period.

BT’s PSTN migration process is called the Digital Voice Program. Following their decision to pause their residential migrations in March 2022, BT announced this month their intention to restart their Digital Voice Program in Summer 2023. Since pausing, BT has taken several steps to identify and develop solutions for their customers. BT conducted a detailed internal customer analysis to identify at-risk customers which includes the chronically sick and disabled. These cohorts will receive additional support from BT during their migration process. BT’s planned restart will be prioritising customers with existing full fibre broadband services, little or no landline usage and no identified vulnerabilities.

Consumers who are landline-only customers won’t be required to take a paid broadband service from BT if they do not wish to. They will be provided with a dedicated internet connection specifically for their landline service at no extra cost. Customers without access to broadband or mobile coverage will still be able to use their landline for calls, but the technology that underpins it will be different. They will not be migrated to Digital Voice until they have the connectivity they need to make the switch.

Public call boxes or “pay phones” will also undergo the upgrade process. Pay phones will continue to work in the same way as they do today, but the technology which underpins them will change.

BT has created a Digital Phone Advisory Group which comprises charities and representative groups to advise on how best to support and engage with at-risk customer groups including the digitally excluded. When BT will migrate these customers, they will work closely with local authorities and other local stakeholders to help them make the move as effectively as possible.

BT’s PSTN migration process is called the Digital Voice Program. Following their decision to pause their residential migrations in March 2022, BT announced this month their intention to restart their Digital Voice Program in Summer 2023. Since pausing, BT has taken several steps to identify and develop solutions for their customers. BT conducted a detailed internal customer analysis to identify at-risk customers which includes the chronically sick and disabled. These cohorts will receive additional support from BT during their migration process. BT’s planned restart will be prioritising customers with existing full fibre broadband services, little or no landline usage and no identified vulnerabilities.

Consumers who are landline-only customers won’t be required to take a paid broadband service from BT if they do not wish to. They will be provided with a dedicated internet connection specifically for their landline service at no extra cost. Customers without access to broadband or mobile coverage will still be able to use their landline for calls, but the technology that underpins it will be different. They will not be migrated to Digital Voice until they have the connectivity they need to make the switch.

Public call boxes or “pay phones” will also undergo the upgrade process. Pay phones will continue to work in the same way as they do today, but the technology which underpins them will change.

BT has created a Digital Phone Advisory Group which comprises charities and representative groups to advise on how best to support and engage with at-risk customer groups including the digitally excluded. When BT will migrate these customers, they will work closely with local authorities and other local stakeholders to help them make the move as effectively as possible.

BT’s PSTN migration process is called the Digital Voice Program. Following their decision to pause their residential migrations in March 2022, BT announced this month their intention to restart their Digital Voice Program in Summer 2023. Since pausing, BT has taken several steps to identify and develop solutions for their customers. BT conducted a detailed internal customer analysis to identify at-risk customers which includes the chronically sick and disabled. These cohorts will receive additional support from BT during their migration process. BT’s planned restart will be prioritising customers with existing full fibre broadband services, little or no landline usage and no identified vulnerabilities.

Consumers who are landline-only customers won’t be required to take a paid broadband service from BT if they do not wish to. They will be provided with a dedicated internet connection specifically for their landline service at no extra cost. Customers without access to broadband or mobile coverage will still be able to use their landline for calls, but the technology that underpins it will be different. They will not be migrated to Digital Voice until they have the connectivity they need to make the switch.

Public call boxes or “pay phones” will also undergo the upgrade process. Pay phones will continue to work in the same way as they do today, but the technology which underpins them will change.

BT has created a Digital Phone Advisory Group which comprises charities and representative groups to advise on how best to support and engage with at-risk customer groups including the digitally excluded. When BT will migrate these customers, they will work closely with local authorities and other local stakeholders to help them make the move as effectively as possible.

BT’s PSTN migration process is called the Digital Voice Program. Following their decision to pause their residential migrations in March 2022, BT announced this month their intention to restart their Digital Voice Program in Summer 2023. Since pausing, BT has taken several steps to identify and develop solutions for their customers. BT conducted a detailed internal customer analysis to identify at-risk customers which includes the chronically sick and disabled. These cohorts will receive additional support from BT during their migration process. BT’s planned restart will be prioritising customers with existing full fibre broadband services, little or no landline usage and no identified vulnerabilities.

Consumers who are landline-only customers won’t be required to take a paid broadband service from BT if they do not wish to. They will be provided with a dedicated internet connection specifically for their landline service at no extra cost. Customers without access to broadband or mobile coverage will still be able to use their landline for calls, but the technology that underpins it will be different. They will not be migrated to Digital Voice until they have the connectivity they need to make the switch.

Public call boxes or “pay phones” will also undergo the upgrade process. Pay phones will continue to work in the same way as they do today, but the technology which underpins them will change.

BT has created a Digital Phone Advisory Group which comprises charities and representative groups to advise on how best to support and engage with at-risk customer groups including the digitally excluded. When BT will migrate these customers, they will work closely with local authorities and other local stakeholders to help them make the move as effectively as possible.

The proposal will provide safeguards which include the requirement for lawful access to works, allowing measures to ensure stability of systems, and a restriction over the further use of copies.

The proposed exception will be targeted to limit negative impacts, and the Government welcomes further views from rights holders on additional safeguards to achieve this.

The Government asked questions about impact in the consultation on AI and IP but received limited quantitative evidence. An impact assessment will be published alongside the legislation when laid. The proposed exception will be targeted to limit negative impacts, and the Government welcomes further evidence from rights holders, including performers, on how to best achieve this.

The UK was unable to implement the Beijing Treaty in its own right while it was a member of the EU. Since leaving, it has committed to doing so as a sovereign nation. The Government has analysed responses to the recent Call for Views and expects to consult on specific options for implementation shortly.

An effective intellectual property system is a fundamental driver for creativity and innovation and is central to a modern, vibrant economy. Any reforms to UK copyright law aim to effectively balance the copyright framework for both rights holders and users and comply with our international obligations. The Government reviews aspects of copyright law, when appropriate, in light of its priorities. The decision on text and data mining followed one such review. We do not plan to consequently amend wider policies or to conduct a wider review of copyright law.

The Government supports an effective international intellectual property framework which supports creative and innovative businesses at home and abroad. The UK has recently agreed trade deals with countries including Japan, Australia and New Zealand which commit them to higher standards on copyright. We will continue to advocate for and uphold high international standards for intellectual property, and any reforms to UK copyright law will comply with our international obligations.

Of the responses to the consultation on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property, 16 indicated that option 4 for a broad text and data mining exception was their preferred option; their joint-preferred option; or one of the preferred options within a mixed membership. 3 had a general preference for an exception, 17 preferred another type of data mining exception, 21 preferred no change, and 20 preferred changes to licensing.

The Government recently consulted on AI and its relationship with copyright and patents. Equity was among 88 organisations and individuals who responded to this consultation. The Government will publish its response in due course.

The UK’s intellectual property framework, which includes strong protections for performers’ rights, is consistently rated among the best in the world and the Government intends for this to continue. The law is kept under constant review to ensure it meets the challenges of modern technology as part of the usual policy process and as guided by the evidence.

The UK is a world leader in Mathematics. British mathematicians publish a large volume of highly regarded work. When compared to international colleagues, British mathematicians have the 5th largest share of publications in the world. When looking at the top 1% of most cited publications, UK mathematicians are responsible for the third largest share.

Between Financial Year 2015-2016 and September 2021, UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) council the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) committed £259.9m to research grants Mathematical Sciences. This includes commitment from the Additional Funding Programme.

Following the Government’s announcement in January 2020 to invest additional funding into Mathematical Sciences, UKRI has awarded around £104 million of additional funding to the discipline, over and above EPSRC’s core Mathematical Sciences Theme budget. The additional funding has covered institutes, small and large research grants, fellowships, doctoral studentships and postdoctoral awards.

On the 27 October 2021, the Government announced the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review. BEIS and UKRI will now set out how we meet the commitment to invest additional funding into Mathematical sciences in forthcoming years, as part of the allocations process.

Responsibility for investigating individual and market-wide competition issues, including breaches of competition law, falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as the UK’s independent competition authority.

In July 2020, the CMA published the final report of its market study into online platforms and digital advertising. In the recent Government response to the market study, we agreed with the CMA’s findings that Google and Facebook are dominant in the search and social media markets and that this is leading to higher prices for goods and services, less innovation, and less choice for consumers.

We also announced the Government’s intention to establish and fund a Digital Markets Unit (DMU) within the CMA from April 2021, to operationalise a new pro-competition regime for digital markets. We will consult on the form and function of the DMU in early 2021, and legislate to put it on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.

The Government supports Artist’s Resale Right (ARR), both domestically and internationally. It is provided for in UK law and after the transition period, the UK will continue to comply with its international obligations relating to ARR.

The final details of a future trade relationship between the UK and the EU will depend on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations.

The Office for National Statistics reports that 82% of businesses that responded to its latest COVID-19 business impacts survey stated that they were continuing to trade between 4 May and 17 May 2020; while 18% reported they had temporarily closed or paused trading.

Of the sectors that the Office for National Statistics’ survey covered, the ‘arts, entertainment and recreation’ and ‘accommodation and food service activities’ sectors had the largest proportion of businesses who were not currently trading.

We recognise the challenges faced by businesses across the country at this challenging time, which is why we have made a significant package of support available to businesses, including:

• grants such as through the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHGLF) and the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) available to eligible businesses
• government-backed loans through schemes such as the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)
• access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to furlough workers, which will continue in its current form until 31 July and then in a more flexible form from August until 31 October
• a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses for the 2020 to 2021 tax year
• the option to defer VAT payments due between 20 March and 30 June until 31 March 2021

In addition, the Government has issued practical guidelines to make workplaces safe, and to give those people who cannot work from home during the coronavirus pandemic, confidence to go back to work. This guidance covers eight workplace settings, from outdoor environments and construction sites to factories and takeaways, which are allowed to be open.

The Government is aware that this is an important issue for stake holders, in particular UK-based patent and trade mark attorneys.

Officials at the Intellectual Property Office are having ongoing conversations with representative bodies over how to best address this matter once the transition period ends.

Her Majesty’s Government’s negotiation approach to intellectual property in the future UK-EU relationship has been discussed in many cross-departmental fora, both bilaterally and as part of multi-departmental groups. This includes but is not limited to engagement between: the Intellectual Property Office (the lead executive agency), the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Number 10 Taskforce Europe, Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Department for International Trade, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the Office for Life Sciences. Discussions have also taken place at ministerial committees considering the UK-EU future relationship negotiation approach.

The Minister for Intellectual Property will be meeting with the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys and other IP stakeholders to discuss this and other topics later this month.

The UK’s transition from the Public Switched Telecoms Network (PSTN) to IP-based telephony services (such as BT’s Digital Voice programme) is an industry-led migration and does not result or benefit from any government decision or investment. The decision to upgrade the PSTN was taken as the technology it relies upon is now outdated and companies are finding it increasingly difficult to source the spare parts needed to repair it. Whilst BT is subject to the Universal Service Obligation, which requires it to provide telephony services to any premises that requests them, this obligation can be met using any technology.

Despite this, the government recognises the unique importance of the fixed telephone network in the UK, in particular to elderly or vulnerable users and customers of telecoms enabled care services. As a result, the government works closely with telecoms providers and Ofcom to ensure such users are protected and that where possible, customer disruption is minimised. DCMS receives regular updates from telecoms providers about the progress of their migration and any emerging challenges they face.

Ofcom is responsible for ensuring telecoms providers adhere to their regulatory obligations throughout the migration process. It has published guidance on the matter of vulnerable consumers, which states that providers must take steps to identify and protect at-risk consumers throughout the upgrade process. This guidance is available on Ofcom’s website.

In addition, with regard to the issue of network and power resilience, in 2018 Ofcom conducted a consultation with the general public, Ofgem and the wider telecoms sector to assess the impact of the migration on access to the emergency services in the event of a power outage. In light of its findings, Ofcom has stipulated that telecom providers must provide digital voice customers with access to 999 services for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power cut. This is a minimum standard and many providers offer additional resilience options.

The motivations behind BT’s decision to pause its rollout are a private matter for the company. The Government meets regularly with BT to discuss a range of matters including the migration from PSTN to VoIP and DCMS ministers frequently share any concerns they have received from members of the public.

The telecoms sector has proven itself to be extremely robust and there are statutory obligations on telecoms providers to maintain the availability of services and report significant outages to Ofcom. DCMS works closely with the telecommunications industry and Ofcom to ensure the sector remains resilient to all risks that may affect services, including technological transformation. The Government works together with the telecoms industry through the Electronic Communications Resilience & Response Group to agree methods to strengthen telecoms resilience and establish best practice across the sector.

The Department is working through its Arm’s-Length Bodies, Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to list, preserve, and restore historic buildings of significance to the suffrage movement.

As 2018 marked the centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, Historic England sought, with help from researchers and the public, to commemorate the centenary by highlighting and listing places that played a part in the struggle for suffrage and subsequent gender equality through its ‘HerStories’ campaign. These can be found on Historic England’s website.

Historic England have been engaging with the Local Authority, to help secure the necessary repairs to the historic building of Dorset Hall. Historic England established what essential works were required and provided specialist support and advice to ensure that these identified works were satisfactorily completed by Spring 2022.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has also supported a range of projects related to the suffragette movement. These include a partnership project led by the East End Women’s Museum to tell the story of the suffragettes in London’s East End; the Rebellious Sounds Archive’s creation of the first oral archive of women’s activism stories in the South West and Rooms of Our Own, an ongoing project being delivered to uncover the history of the Pankhurst Centre, the former home of Emmeline Pankhurst and the place from where the suffragette movement was born.

We welcome the Ada Lovelace Institute’s review of public attitudes to regulating data-driven technologies, and agree that this is a pressing issue. The findings reflect those of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation’s (CDEI’s) public engagement research and highlight key questions that the CDEI’s current and planned work addresses.

We agree that it is vital to understand people’s experiences and perspectives in order to align data policy and governance with societal values and needs: this is embedded at the CDEI through a dedicated Public Attitudes Insight team. The CDEI has shared its insights into public perceptions of data use in the recently-published, world-first Public Attitudes to Data and AI Tracker Survey which has already been widely used across the public and private sector.

The CDEI and the Cabinet Office’s Central Digital and Data Office have also been at the forefront of creating an algorithmic transparency standard for the public sector, which has the needs and expectations of the public at its core, and has since been adopted as a pilot with several public sector organisations. This is a key example of how public engagement can be translated into trustworthy data practices – a recommendation from the Ada Lovelace Institute’s review.

The CDEI will continue to work closely with the Ada Lovelace Institute to monitor the public’s attitudes towards data-driven technologies and data regulation, and consolidate and apply the findings to the Government’s work on data-sharing. Research into public attitudes is fundamental to the Government’s efforts to create a trustworthy data-driven technology ecosystem.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are a well-known type of cyber attack, used by a range of attackers against a range of targets across the world. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published guidance to help organisations understand and mitigate this type of attack. The NCSC can also work with organisations affected by DDoS attacks to provide the necessary advice and support, and victims can refer incidents to the National Crime Agency for consideration of a criminal investigation.

More widely, the Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK’s telecommunications networks and services. That is why we introduced the Telecommunications (Security) Bill which will establish a new telecoms security framework, including new duties and requirements on public telecommunications providers to identify and prevent the risk of a wide range of security compromises, such as those resulting from DDoS attacks. Small and medium-sized telecommunications providers will be subject to those duties and requirements.

The Advisory Group’s June 2021 final report made a number of recommendations aimed at Government, Ofcom, industry and trade bodies to encourage the take-up of gigabit broadband services. The Government welcomes the Advisory Group’s report.

Action is already planned by the respective bodies to whom some of the recommendations were directed at. Ofcom plans to work with industry to improve the consistency of broadband terminology in the market, and to develop information to help consumers understand the benefits of gigabit broadband. BDUK plans to develop a 'Gigabit toolkit' to support local bodies in raising awareness and understanding of the benefits of gigabit connectivity among local residents and businesses. BDUK plans to work closely with local bodies and other key sector stakeholders.

We are considering the wider recommendations in the report and will continue to look at what more can be done to best support take-up of gigabit services.

The British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) age ratings are used by a number of video on demand providers and although adoption is voluntary, we welcome their use. On 1 December 2020, we were pleased to see Netflix become the first video on demand platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings.

The UK’s Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2020, which transposed the revised EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, were made and laid in Parliament on 30 September 2020. Following Parliament’s approval, the video sharing platform regime, for which Ofcom is the regulator, came into force on 1 November 2020. UK-established video sharing platforms must now take appropriate measures to protect the public, including minors, from illegal and harmful material.

Under this regime, video sharing platforms are not currently mandated to adopt BBFC ratings, nor is it expected that they will be mandated to do so. However, in order to comply with the regime, age assurance measures and measures such as age ratings and parental controls, may be adopted by video sharing platforms. Age assurance measures comprise a broad range of technical measures which can be used by a service to establish the age of their users. The BBFC is engaging actively with both Ofcom and video sharing platforms to share their expertise and discuss the applicability of content ratings on those platforms.

In line with the government’s commitment to keep children safe online, the government is working at pace to prepare the Online Safety Bill, which will be ready this year.

On 22 February the Prime Minister set out the roadmap gradually ending the current lockdown for England.

Amateur activity will be permitted from Step 3 which will begin no earlier than 17 May. The performing arts guidance will be updated in advance of each step of the roadmap.

The timings outlined in the roadmap are indicative, and the Government will be led by data, rather than fixed dates. Before taking each step, the Government will review the latest data and will only ease restrictions further if it is safe to do so. The indicative, ‘no earlier than’ dates in the roadmap are all contingent on the data and subject to change.

The Government recognises the importance of the creative and cultural sectors, and is fully committed to assist them to navigate the new rules under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The Agreement ensures there will be zero tariffs or quotas on trade between the UK and the EU, where goods meet the relevant rules of origin, and includes provisions to facilitate trade and address non-tariff barriers for UK exports to the EU and vice versa.

The Government appreciates that leaving the European Union and the Customs Union will mean changes and new processes, and companies having to adapt to new rules of origin procedures.

We will continue engagement to understand the circumstances of companies in the cultural and creative sector, and to support them to adapt to new trading arrangements with the EU.

Touring is a vital part of the careers of musicians, performers and their support staff, providing not only an important income stream, but also enriching opportunities for cultural exchange across the world. Being outside the European Union does not change this. It does, however, mean practical changes on both sides of the Channel that will require understanding and adaptation.

We are now working urgently across government and in collaboration with the music and wider creative industries, including through a new working group, to help understand and address these issues so that touring in Europe can resume with ease as soon as it is safe to do so.

As part of this work DCMS is working with the Foreign Office and others across government to consider how best to take forward engagement with EU Member States on these issues. It is within Member States’ gift to improve their arrangements and we will engage with bilateral partners to find ways to make life easier for those working in the creative industries in countries across the EU.

Touring is a vital part of the careers of musicians, performers and their support staff, providing not only an important income stream, but also enriching opportunities for cultural exchange across the world. Being outside the European Union does not change this. It does, however, mean practical changes on both sides of the Channel that will require understanding and adaptation.

We are now working urgently across government and in collaboration with the music and wider creative industries, including through a new working group, to help understand and address these issues so that touring in Europe can resume with ease as soon as it is safe to do so.

As part of this work DCMS is working with the Foreign Office and others across government to consider how best to take forward engagement with EU Member States on these issues. It is within Member States’ gift to improve their arrangements and we will engage with bilateral partners to find ways to make life easier for those working in the creative industries in countries across the EU.

Touring is a vital part of the careers of musicians, performers and their support staff, providing not only an important income stream, but also enriching opportunities for cultural exchange across the world. Being outside the European Union does not change this. It does, however, mean practical changes on both sides of the Channel that will require understanding and adaptation.

We are now working urgently across government and in collaboration with the music and wider creative industries, including through a new working group, to help understand and address these issues so that touring in Europe can resume with ease as soon as it is safe to do so.

As part of this work DCMS is working with the Foreign Office and others across government to consider how best to take forward engagement with EU Member States on these issues. It is within Member States’ gift to improve their arrangements and we will engage with bilateral partners to find ways to make life easier for those working in the creative industries in countries across the EU.

We are aware of Openreach’s plans to modernise its telecoms network to deliver telephone services over Internet Protocol technology and migrate customers from copper to fibre broadband. As part of this, it is undertaking trials in Salisbury and Mildenhall to test approaches to migration. Openreach has consulted on its plans for the trials and has publicly set out timings. In addition, Ofcom has consulted on changes to regulations in these areas to allow the trials to go ahead. Openreach hopes to complete full migrations in these areas by the end of 2022.

DCMS regularly engages with the telecoms industry, Ofcom, and other Government departments to discuss these upgrades, including Openreach’s trials. Discussions include the impact these upgrades will have on consumers, business and public services. In addition, DCMS has engaged with other Government departments to ensure they are aware of the trials and relevant local government services are prepared.

The retirement of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and its replacement with Internet Protocol technology, is being led by Openreach and Virgin Media, as the relevant infrastructure owners. Openreach and Virgin Media have publicly set out their plans to withdraw these services by the end of 2025. The migration is likely to affect all fixed exchange lines, of which there are 31.3 million in the UK.

Ofcom estimates that 81% of UK households have a landline service, with 4% of UK adults living in a home with a landline and no mobile phone and 3% of UK households having only a landline without any broadband. The Government, Ofcom, and industry are working to ensure that the needs of vulnerable consumers are considered and Ofcom regularly monitors how communication providers are taking steps to ensure they identify and protect vulnerable customers.

In June 2020, the Broadband Stakeholder Group, a government advisory forum on telecoms policy, launched the ‘Future of Voice’ website. This consumer-facing website is designed to inform the public and businesses of the PSTN switchover process. The website has been developed with the support of telecoms companies, Ofcom and DCMS.

The Government will also continue to work closely with various stakeholders, including the telecoms industry, Ofcom, and other Government departments to ensure the country is prepared for the withdrawal of the PSTN, and will continue to consider the best course of action to prepare for the migration.

The retirement of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and its replacement with Internet Protocol technology, is being led by Openreach and Virgin Media, as the relevant infrastructure owners. Openreach and Virgin Media have publicly set out their plans to withdraw these services by the end of 2025. The migration is likely to affect all fixed exchange lines, of which there are 31.3 million in the UK.

Ofcom estimates that 81% of UK households have a landline service, with 4% of UK adults living in a home with a landline and no mobile phone and 3% of UK households having only a landline without any broadband. The Government, Ofcom, and industry are working to ensure that the needs of vulnerable consumers are considered and Ofcom regularly monitors how communication providers are taking steps to ensure they identify and protect vulnerable customers.

In June 2020, the Broadband Stakeholder Group, a government advisory forum on telecoms policy, launched the ‘Future of Voice’ website. This consumer-facing website is designed to inform the public and businesses of the PSTN switchover process. The website has been developed with the support of telecoms companies, Ofcom and DCMS.

The Government will also continue to work closely with various stakeholders, including the telecoms industry, Ofcom, and other Government departments to ensure the country is prepared for the withdrawal of the PSTN, and will continue to consider the best course of action to prepare for the migration.

The retirement of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and its replacement with Internet Protocol technology, is being led by Openreach and Virgin Media, as the relevant infrastructure owners. Openreach and Virgin Media have publicly set out their plans to withdraw these services by the end of 2025. The migration is likely to affect all fixed exchange lines, of which there are 31.3 million in the UK.

Ofcom estimates that 81% of UK households have a landline service, with 4% of UK adults living in a home with a landline and no mobile phone and 3% of UK households having only a landline without any broadband. The Government, Ofcom, and industry are working to ensure that the needs of vulnerable consumers are considered and Ofcom regularly monitors how communication providers are taking steps to ensure they identify and protect vulnerable customers.

In June 2020, the Broadband Stakeholder Group, a government advisory forum on telecoms policy, launched the ‘Future of Voice’ website. This consumer-facing website is designed to inform the public and businesses of the PSTN switchover process. The website has been developed with the support of telecoms companies, Ofcom and DCMS.

The Government will also continue to work closely with various stakeholders, including the telecoms industry, Ofcom, and other Government departments to ensure the country is prepared for the withdrawal of the PSTN, and will continue to consider the best course of action to prepare for the migration.

The Government remains committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Our programme for gigabit-capable broadband has made dramatic progress. More than a third of UK premises now have access to gigabit-capable connections, up from nine per cent when the government took office in July 2019. By next year, more than half of all premises will have access. We are working with industry to target a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025 but will seek to accelerate rollout further to get as close to 100% as possible.

We remain committed to investing £5bn in bringing gigabit coverage to the hardest to reach areas and will continue to work with suppliers to accelerate this investment.

Her Majesty’s Government has no plans to amend Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 to require intermediaries providing commercial services for online businesses to undertake due diligence measures for the verification of the identities of those conducting digital business services.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with organisations on a range of issues, including the challenge of fraud and anonymity online. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.

The Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, published in December 2020, sets out expectations on companies to keep their users safe online. This includes a proposed legal duty of care on companies and the appointment of a new communications regulator, Ofcom, to ensure that new laws are enforced.

There are many legitimate reasons why an individual would not wish to identify themselves online. Whistleblowers, victims of modern slavery and survivors of domestic abuse may wish to stay anonymous, to protect their identity online. Our proposals strike the right balance between protecting users’ rights online, while preserving freedom of expression. The Online Safety Bill will be introduced next year.

We are committed to taking action to protect businesses and users from the potential harms associated with substantial and enduring market power in digital platform markets.

Earlier this year, we accepted all the strategic recommendations of the Furman Review and established the cross-regulator Digital Markets Taskforce to advise on the design and implementation of a new pro-competition regime for digital markets.

On 27 November we confirmed the establishment of a new pro-competition regime for tech giants. A Digital Markets Unit (DMU), housed in the Competition and Markets Authority, will be set up to begin to operationalise the new regime. It will work closely with key regulators, including the ICO and Ofcom, to ensure that the new regime is effective and coherent. The Taskforce has advised us that the DMU should prioritise firms active in particular activities, including app stores. We will consider the expert advice and respond in due course. Government will legislate to put the DMU on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows, following consultation in early 2021.

Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda, and wider government priorities. Our Online Harms proposals will deliver a higher level of protection for children than for the typical adult user.

Age assurance is the term used to describe the broad range of technical measures that can be used by a service to establish the age of their users. Age verification is a form of age assurance that provides the highest level of confidence in a user’s age. Currently age verification measures require a user's age to be established through a full identity verification process, for example through passport or credit card data..

We expect companies to use a proportionate range of tools, including both age assurance and age verification technologies, to prevent children accessing age-inappropriate content such as online pornography and to protect them from other harms.

We will be setting out further details on our approach for protecting children, including the use of age assurance, in the full government response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, which will be published this year. We will follow this with legislation, which will be ready early next year.

While adoption of the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) best practice age ratings by online platforms is currently voluntary, we welcome their adoption by Video on Demand platforms.

For example, Netflix has committed to work towards complete coverage of its content under the BBFC’s ratings and support the BBFC’s drive to encourage other Video On Demand platforms to follow suit. By doing so, industry will provide consumers with well recognised age ratings and consumer advice.

We will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review and will continue to engage with industry on the issue.

Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda, and wider government priorities. The government has worked hard to ensure content is filtered in public places where children are likely to be, as well as at home.

The BBFC provides an independent framework for mobile network operators and defines content that is unsuitable for customers under the age of 18 based on their Classification Guidelines for film and video. Like current device level filters, and the filters used by every school in the country, filter software is provided to Internet Service Providers by well-established web filtering companies. There are no plans to require other providers of family friendly filters to use the BBFC’s framework.

Our forthcoming online harms proposals will deliver a higher level of protection for children than for the typical adult user. We expect companies to use a proportionate range of tools, including age assurance and age verification technologies, to prevent children accessing age-inappropriate adult content and to protect them from other harms.

Industry and Government engage regularly with a wide range of leading experts in the creative industries through the Creative Industries Council (CIC), a forum for Government and Industry to convene and share information, discuss concerns and opportunities and muster action. The CIC is formed of a broad range of representative bodies across the sub-sectors of the creative industries.

As outlined in our response to the above named report, we would need clear and robust evidence from the sector as to the purpose of the Creator’s Council and why it would be different from the existing CIC.

The Information Commissioner’s Office is an independent public body and is the UK’s independent regulator for data protection and freedom of information. The UK Government does not speak on its behalf.

Information on the powers available to the Information Commissioner and how they are used is available in the Regulatory Action Policy published on the Information Commissioner’s Office website. The ICO will consider any complaints from individuals that are concerned about their rights in connection with international transfers.

The UK Government’s statement on the Schrems II judgment is available on Gov.UK and the Information Commissioner’s Office have published their most recent statement on their website, which sets out the approach to be taken following the Schrems II judgement.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE, announced the publication of the framework National Data Strategy and its accompanying consultation on the 9th September 2020. The consultation is on a UK-wide basis and we are keen to hear from a representative cross section of society, ensuring diversity, and inclusion. The consultation will be open to all on gov.uk until the 2nd December, with alternative methods of responding to the consultation provided.

The retirement of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and its replacement with Internet Protocol technology, is being led by Openreach and Virgin Media, as the relevant infrastructure owners. As this process is being led by industry, the department has no current plans to regularly update parliament on their progress.

Openreach and Virgin Media have publicly set out their plans to withdraw these services by the end of 2025. On 14 July, the UK Government announced measures relating to Huawei following the additional US sanctions placed on the company by the US Department of Commerce. The Government advised full fibre operators to transition away from purchasing new Huawei equipment. It will be for the operators themselves to make the commercial decisions necessary to comply with the Government’s decision.

In June this year, the Broadband Stakeholder Group launched the ‘Future of Voice’, a consumer-facing website to inform the public of the PSTN switchover process. The website has been developed with the support of DCMS, Ofcom, and telecoms companies.

DCMS regularly engages with the telecoms industry, Ofcom, and other Government departments on PSTN withdrawal, to discuss the impact this will have on consumers, business and public services and plans for migration to Internet Protocol technology.

The UK Government recognises the ongoing importance of the telecommunications industry at this critical time. Now, more than ever, the country is reliant on fixed line and mobile communications networks. DCMS has worked with the telecoms sector to ensure extensive plans are in place, including support and guidance during the pandemic to maintain the availability of networks.

In March, the government announced a £330bn package to support businesses, including the telecoms sector, during the coronavirus pandemic. This included among others, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).

The retirement of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and its replacement with Internet Protocol technology, is being led by Openreach and Virgin Media, as the relevant infrastructure owners. As this process is being led by industry, the department has no current plans to regularly update parliament on their progress.

Openreach and Virgin Media have publicly set out their plans to withdraw these services by the end of 2025. On 14 July, the UK Government announced measures relating to Huawei following the additional US sanctions placed on the company by the US Department of Commerce. The Government advised full fibre operators to transition away from purchasing new Huawei equipment. It will be for the operators themselves to make the commercial decisions necessary to comply with the Government’s decision.

In June this year, the Broadband Stakeholder Group launched the ‘Future of Voice’, a consumer-facing website to inform the public of the PSTN switchover process. The website has been developed with the support of DCMS, Ofcom, and telecoms companies.

DCMS regularly engages with the telecoms industry, Ofcom, and other Government departments on PSTN withdrawal, to discuss the impact this will have on consumers, business and public services and plans for migration to Internet Protocol technology.

The retirement of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and its replacement with Internet Protocol technology, is being led by Openreach and Virgin Media, as the relevant infrastructure owners. As this process is being led by industry, the department has no current plans to regularly update parliament on their progress.

Openreach and Virgin Media have publicly set out their plans to withdraw these services by the end of 2025. On 14 July, the UK Government announced measures relating to Huawei following the additional US sanctions placed on the company by the US Department of Commerce. The Government advised full fibre operators to transition away from purchasing new Huawei equipment. It will be for the operators themselves to make the commercial decisions necessary to comply with the Government’s decision.

In June this year, the Broadband Stakeholder Group launched the ‘Future of Voice’, a consumer-facing website to inform the public of the PSTN switchover process. The website has been developed with the support of DCMS, Ofcom, and telecoms companies.

DCMS regularly engages with the telecoms industry, Ofcom, and other Government departments on PSTN withdrawal, to discuss the impact this will have on consumers, business and public services and plans for migration to Internet Protocol technology.

The retirement of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and its replacement with Internet Protocol technology, is being led by Openreach and Virgin Media, as the relevant infrastructure owners. As this process is being led by industry, the department has no current plans to regularly update parliament on their progress.

Openreach and Virgin Media have publicly set out their plans to withdraw these services by the end of 2025. On 14 July, the UK Government announced measures relating to Huawei following the additional US sanctions placed on the company by the US Department of Commerce. The Government advised full fibre operators to transition away from purchasing new Huawei equipment. It will be for the operators themselves to make the commercial decisions necessary to comply with the Government’s decision.

In June this year, the Broadband Stakeholder Group launched the ‘Future of Voice’, a consumer-facing website to inform the public of the PSTN switchover process. The website has been developed with the support of DCMS, Ofcom, and telecoms companies.

DCMS regularly engages with the telecoms industry, Ofcom, and other Government departments on PSTN withdrawal, to discuss the impact this will have on consumers, business and public services and plans for migration to Internet Protocol technology.

We recognise the crucial role that individuals play in making our arts and creative industries world-leading. As a result of these grants and loans, organisations will be more able to resume cultural activity, albeit in a socially distanced way, which will increase employment opportunities for freelancers, including visual artists.

We are working closely with the DCMS Arm’s Length Bodies to develop guidance indicating who can apply for the different elements of this funding, and we will publish detailed guidance as soon as possible in July.

Furthermore, this package complements the announcement made last week by the Arts Council England to reopen their project grants competition and make £59m funding available to support creativity, in particular from freelancers, creative practitioners and independent organisations.

Self-employed visual artists are among the millions of people who are able to benefit from the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The SEISS has been extended, with applications opening in August, for a second and final grant. The grant will operate in the same way as the existing scheme, with self-employed workers eligible for a single payment covering three months, at a level of 70% of average monthly earnings up to a maximum of £6,570.

Alongside this, DCMS has worked closely with its arm’s-length bodies to deliver tailored support packages at speed, including the £160m Emergency Funding Package announced by Arts Council England (ACE) in March. This includes £20 million of financial support for individuals, including visual artists, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. More than 9000 individuals and organisations have been successful in applying for this emergency funding.

On 5 July, the government also announced a major £1.57 billion package to provide support for key organisations across the cultural, heritage and creative sectors. As a result of these grants and loans, organisations will be more able to resume cultural activity, thereby increasing work opportunities for freelancers and self-employed practitioners.

The government launched the Digital Identity Call for Evidence on 19th July 2019 and will shortly be publishing a response. The call for evidence provided the government with a wide evidence base in support of digital identity policy-making. We will continue to use a variety of ways to seek input from interested parties including formal engagement if the need arises.

We are aware of, and monitor, examples of support for the music industry in other countries. The UK Government has put in place an unprecedented support package for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including:

• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

• The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme

• The Bounceback Loan Scheme

• Expanding eligibility for the business rates reliefs

As well as this, to support the safe re-opening of cultural and creative sectors, DCMS has launched the Cultural Renewal Taskforce. This includes several working groups to develop practical guidance on how the music production and performance sectors can operate safely with social distancing measures in place. As well as establishing these working groups, we will continue to work with the music industry to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and recovery.

The £160 million Arts Council England funding was allocated across three programmes as follows:

• £20 million available for individual practitioners, including £4 million distributed by seven benevolent funds supporting individuals working in arts and culture

• £50 million made available for organisations outside the Arts Council’s National Portfolio

• £90 million made available for the Arts Council’s National Portfolio Organisations and Creative People and Places organisations.

Individuals and organisations outside the Arts Council’s National Portfolio, including those from the commercial music sector were eligible to apply for the first two programmes. Applicants were required to have a track record of working in the publicly-funded culture sector within the last three years, but were still eligible even if they did not have prior direct contact with Arts Council England.

Whilst we have not completed a specific survey for the music sector, we have analysed the wider Creative Industries sector through the DCMS Coronavirus Impact Business Survey, which provides information on the effects of the pandemic on DCMS’ sectors. Results for DCMS sectors as a whole are published on gov.uk and further analysis of the responses will be available in the coming weeks. As the music industry is a vital part of the UK’s creative economy, the Government has put in place an unprecedented support package for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including:

• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

• The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme

• The Bounceback Loan Scheme

• Expanding eligibility for the business rates reliefs

We continue to speak with HM Treasury colleagues to ensure that the full spectrum of government support reaches the UK's world-leading music industry. To support the safe re-opening of cultural and creative sectors, DCMS has launched the Cultural Renewal taskforce. This includes several working groups to develop practical guidance on how the music production and performance sectors can operate safely with social distancing measures in place. As well as establishing these working groups, we will continue to work with the music industry to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

DCMS has conducted a survey of businesses in relevant sectors. The survey aims to collect data on the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak on respondents, and their engagement with the available government support packages, including CLBILS and CBILS. Results will be published in due course. DCMS is also working with other government departments to access and analyse administrative data on the use of government support packages where appropriate.

The Chancellor has announced measures to protect the self-employed. So long as they fulfil the criteria for these measures, freelancers and the self employed in the music industry benefit from these measures.

The Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will support self-employed individuals (including members of partnerships) whose income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The scheme will provide a grant to self-employed individuals or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

HMRC will use the average profits from tax returns in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 to calculate the size of the grant.

Individuals should not contact HMRC now. HMRC will use existing information to check potential eligibility and invite applications once the scheme is operational. HMRC will then pay the grant directly to eligible claimants’ bank account. HMRC is urgently working to deliver the scheme; grants are expected to start to be paid out by beginning of June 2020.

Last week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced additional measures to support businesses and organisations that have been impacted by the pandemic. So long as they fulfil the criteria for these measures, businesses in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors will benefit from these measures.

This includes the Government stepping in to help pay people’s wages – a scheme which is one of the most generous of any in the world – and paying grants to support as many jobs as necessary. Any employer in the country who promises to retain their staff can apply for a grant to cover most of the cost of paying people’s wages. Government grants will cover 80 per cent of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 a month, with this limit set well above the median income. The cost of wages will be backdated to 1st March and will be open for at least three months. The Government will consider extending the scheme for longer if necessary.

We are also deferring the next three months of VAT, a direct injection of £33 billion of cash to employers which means no business will pay any VAT in March, April or May; and they will have until the end of the financial year to repay those bills.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will now be interest free for twelve months, an extension from the initial announcement of six months. We have already introduced and announced an extension to the Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which is for small and medium-sized businesses. On 17 March, the Chancellor expanded the amount that can be borrowed from £1.2 million to £5 million.

The Chancellor has also announced measures to protect the self-employed. As long as they fulfil the necessary criteria, freelancers and the self-employed in the sectors in question will benefit from these measures. The Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will support self-employed individuals (including members of partnerships) whose income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The scheme will provide a grant to self-employed individuals or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

It is in everyone’s interests that the unrestricted exchange of personal data between EU Member States and the UK continues. The EU has an established mechanism to allow the free flow of personal data to countries outside the EU, called adequacy decisions. The EU has committed in the Political Declaration to the Commission beginning its adequacy assessment of the UK as soon as possible after the UK leaves the EU, endeavouring to adopt adequacy decisions by the end of December 2020 if the applicable conditions are met.

The UK has already taken steps to ensure that, if adequacy is not secured, there will be no additional restrictions on transfers of personal data from the UK to the EU.

In addition to adequacy decisions, there are a number of alternative mechanisms which allow the legal transfer of personal data from the EU to a third country. The most common alternative transfer mechanism for companies is standard contractual clauses (SCCs). SCCs are pre-approved by the European Commission and can be inserted into contracts to provide a legal basis for transferring personal data from the EU to a third country.

We are working with the Information Commissioner Office (ICO) to raise awareness and help businesses comply with the rules when we leave the EU. The ICO has produced guidance and resources for organisations, which can be found on the ICO's website at www.ico.org.uk.

In the Withdrawal Agreement the government and the EU have committed to use their best endeavours to negotiate a future relationship. The free flow of personal data is an important underpinning feature of this future relationship for both economic and security purposes and therefore it is in everyone’s interests that the exchange of personal data between EU Member States and the UK continues. The EU has an established mechanism to allow the free flow of personal data to countries outside the EU, called adequacy decisions.

The EU has committed in the Political Declaration to the Commission beginning its adequacy assessment of the UK as soon as possible after the UK’s withdrawal, endeavouring to adopt adequacy decisions by the end of December 2020 if the applicable conditions are met. The UK will in the same timeframe take steps to ensure the comparable facilitation of transfers of personal data to the EU. Data will be able to flow freely between the UK and the EU during the Implementation Period. The Political Declaration also states that the UK and the EU should make appropriate arrangements for cooperation between the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and EU Data Protection Authorities.

In the Withdrawal Agreement the government and the EU have committed to use their best endeavours to negotiate a future relationship. The free flow of personal data is an important underpinning feature of this future relationship for both economic and security purposes and therefore it is in everyone’s interests that the exchange of personal data between EU Member States and the UK continues. The EU has an established mechanism to allow the free flow of personal data to countries outside the EU, called adequacy decisions.

The EU has committed in the Political Declaration to the Commission beginning its adequacy assessment of the UK as soon as possible after the UK’s withdrawal, endeavouring to adopt adequacy decisions by the end of December 2020 if the applicable conditions are met. The UK will in the same timeframe take steps to ensure the comparable facilitation of transfers of personal data to the EU. Data will be able to flow freely between the UK and the EU during the Implementation Period. The Political Declaration also states that the UK and the EU should make appropriate arrangements for cooperation between the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and EU Data Protection Authorities.

The Government set out its plans for collaborating with the EU on issues relating to cyber security and data in the Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the UK and EU. On cyber security, the UK is committed to cooperation with the EU to deepen our shared capabilities and uphold our shared values. The Declaration sets our agreement to continue to exchange information on a voluntary, timely and reciprocal basis to help protect the United Kingdom and the EU from common threats.

Regarding data transfers, the Declaration commits the European Commission to beginning its adequacy assessment of the UK as soon as possible after the UK’s withdrawal, endeavouring to adopt Adequacy Decisions by the end of December 2020 if the applicable conditions are met. The UK will in the same timeframe take steps to ensure the comparable facilitation of transfers of personal data to the EU. It also states that the UK and the EU should make appropriate arrangements for cooperation between the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and EU Data Protection Authorities. The UK remains committed to working with international partners to promote the free flow of data across borders where it is adequately protected.

The Government’s Online Harms White Paper set out comprehensive proposals on a range of topics, including countering ‘fake news’ or disinformation. These proposals will make companies more responsible for their users’ safety online, especially children and other vulnerable groups, and will help to build trust in digital markets. The Government will seek to work with international partners to build consensus, and identify common approaches to keep citizens safe online, including on countering disinformation.

Any patient can opt out from the sharing of their data for secondary use purposes in line with the National Data Opt-Out policy. This can be done at any time through the NHS App, online, by phone, email or post. Implementation of the National Data Opt-Out policy has been mandatory for health and adult social care organisations since 31 July 2022.

The procurement process for the Federated Data Platform has not yet commenced. Once operational, data will be treated in accordance with the provisions set out in the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation. Opted out data will be separated from non-opted out data prior to the commencement of secondary use.

All regulated healthcare professionals are required to register with the relevant professional regulator, such as the General Medical Council, in order to practice in the United Kingdom. These regulators determine the standards which registered professionals must meet and the professional values, knowledge, skills and behaviours required. Regulators are independent bodies and can take action to restrict the practise of healthcare professionals who fail to meet the expected standards.

No specific assessment has been made. The Toolkit is made available by the Institute of General Practice Management, Indigo Gender Service, Practice Index and Pride in Practice. It is designed to improve the knowledge of general practice teams when providing inclusive and equitable care to transgender and non-binary patients.

No formal risk assessment has been made.

NHS England is continuing its review of the guidance ‘Delivering same-sex accommodation’. The revised guidance will be published once the review has been completed.

The Government continues to consider emerging data and research on the experiences of non-binary people to understand how future policy can be developed. In general, the National Health Service identifies individuals as male or female via NHS numbers and medical records. This aligns with the Gender Recognition Act 2004 which refers to two sexes: male and female. NHS bodies must always consider any legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights in respect of those who identify as non-binary.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 provides additional rights and safeguards for those with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), such as making it an offence to disclose protected information. This includes information pertaining to the previously recorded sex of a person who holds a GRC where that information has been obtained in an official capacity and the person has not consented to its disclosure, subject to limited exceptions.

The Gender Identity Toolkit for General Practice is made available by the Institute of General Practice Management, Indigo Gender Service, Practice Index and Pride in Practice. However, it is not Government guidance. The Toolkit provides voluntary information to general practices on the administration of changes to medical records and makes reference to the Gender Recognition Act.

No specific assessment has been made as the General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator responsible for operational matters. On the registration of new identities, the GMC states that it follows an established process for doctors who are transitioning and wish to change their gender identity. This ensures there is a maintained internal link between a doctor’s previous and new identity on the medical register.

No formal assessment has been made.

The Gender Identity Toolkit for General Practice provides guidance on the process for creating a new patient record when a person requests a change to their recorded gender. It supports general practice teams to continue to provide inclusive and equitable care to trans and non-binary patients when their records change, such as the need to transfer medical records and recalling patients for appropriate sex-specific screening programmes. A copy of the toolkit is attached. The treating medical professional is responsible for the individual’s clinical outcomes.

No record of a formal risk assessment is held, either on the mandatory introduction of National Health Service numbers in 1997 or following the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act in 2004.

When a patient changes gender, they are given a new NHS number. When a patient informs their general practice that they wish to change gender, the practice must inform the patient that this will involve a new NHS number being issued, which is not reversible.

If a patient is issued with a new NHS number, they will not automatically be recalled for certain sex-specific screening programmes. The online only guidance ‘NHS population screening: information for trans and non-binary people’ provides advice to transgender and non-binary people in England on the NHS screening programmes available in England and the processes for inviting people to screening.

The cloud security suite of documents is currently being reviewed as part of NHS Digital’s regular management cycle and is due for re-issue before the end of the year. NHS Digital is currently awaiting updated guidance following the judgement by the European Court of Justice from the Information Commissioner's Office. Once received it will be incorporated into its guidance for the health and social care sector.

No assessment has been made.

On 8 June 2020, the National Cancer Director and the National Clinical Director for Cancer issued a further letter of guidance to National Health Service cancer services on Second phase of NHS response to COVID-19 for cancer services. The letter notes that the work for local systems and Cancer Alliances to identify ring-fenced diagnostic and surgical capacity for cancer should now be well advanced, so that referrals, diagnostics and treatment can be brought back to pre-pandemic levels at the earliest opportunity to minimise potential harm, and to reduce the scale of the post-pandemic surge in demand. The new guidance is based on three key principles: capacity, fairness and confidence. Cancer Alliances should work with their regional teams to provide such services.

All community pharmacies in England providing NHS services are required to provide electronic repeat dispensing (eRD) as an essential service. We are encouraging general practitioner (GP) practices to use eRD where clinically appropriate and Academic Health Science Networks have been supporting this. As well as reducing GP workload and being more convenient for patients, eRD preserves medicine supplies and makes better use of pharmacists in managing patients’ repeat medication. During COVID-19 we have put in place arrangements to convert electronic prescriptions to eRD where clinically appropriate. Temporary changes to the need for patient consent to enable increased use of electronic repeat dispensing were announced on 4 June 2020.

Building on the foundations delivered under the Integrating Pharmacy across Care Settings programme, we are working with NHSX and NHS Digital to further expand and enhance the digital integration of community pharmacy. Community pharmacies already receive referrals from 111 (telephony or 111 online) to deliver the Community Pharmacy Consultation Service and we are considering how this capability can be extended to incorporate referrals from other areas, for example, general practice. In addition, we are developing the standards and technical requirements for IT system suppliers to develop the interoperability to support the transfer of information between community pharmacy and general practice systems. The priority data sets for this work include flu vaccinations and the emergency supply of medicines.

The majority of personal protective equipment (PPE) continues to be sourced by care providers themselves from wholesalers and as part of our commitment to ensure that the sector receives the PPE it needs, we are ensuring that wholesalers are equipped with the PPE needed for onward sale.

As part of our PPE distribution strategy we are exploring the most effective distribution routes for each provider type, including the potential expansion of the portal’s coverage to other sectors and types of provider.

The PPE Portal acts as an emergency top-up route for providers that cannot obtain sufficient PPE through their usual wholesaler routes. The Department has now invited around 21,000 general practitioners and small social care providers to register and order through the PPE Portal, delivering more than 13 million items of PPE.

The advice and expertise of the Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) is crucial to everything we do and will continue to guide development of the app by identifying, defining, and examining the key ethical considerations, including consideration of the interests of citizens. Their advice will extend to policies and other documents under development by NHSX on the contact tracing application. This will be provided regularly and formally to the App Oversight Board. Advice may be both on questions set by the App Oversight Board, as well as issues which the EAB has proactively identified. This may include verbal advice as well as tabled papers. Minutes from EAB meetings will be published periodically and board members originating from the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation are providing direct and ongoing policy support to the App Probity Team.

The Ethics Advisory Board has met seven times since Thursday 2 April and minutes from these meetings will shortly be made publicly available - subject to being agreed by the App Oversight Board.

The NHSX COVID-19 contract tracing application is considered Class IIa under the Medical Devices Regulations (2002).

The legal requirements relating to clinical investigations are set out in the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (section 16 and section 29) and the Medical Devices Directive (Annexes VIII and X).

A clinical investigation of a non-CE-marked device must be designed to establish that the performance claimed by the manufacturer can be adequately demonstrated, and that the device is judged to be safe to use on patients taking into account any risks associated with the use of the device when weighed against the expected benefits.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency reviewed an application made by NHSX and authorised the supply of the non-CE-marked NHSX COVID-19 contact tracing app for a pilot on the Isle of Wight in the interests of the protection of public health under Regulation 12(5) of the Medical Devices Regulations 2002.

The Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) is an advisory body and does not approve documentation. Notwithstanding, and in the interests of transparency, an early draft of the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) was shared with the EAB on 29 April and subsequently developed.

Further DPIAs will meet the best practice guidance set out by the Information Commissioner’s Office and will be iterated for every stage of the rollout.

The Isle of Wight phase is intended to improve our understanding of how the different components of our COVID-19 response fit together and how parts of the healthcare system interact with each other. It is also an opportunity to test that the underlying technologies and systems work. Our evaluation of the Isle of Wight phase is designed to provide us with answers on the health behaviours of people who use the app and those who do not, the attitude of individuals to the contact tracing app and their experience of using it, how successfully the app fits in to the wider health service processes, and the app’s influence on wider health seeking behaviours. The Ethics Advisory Board is an advisory body and does not approve documentation. Notwithstanding, and in the interests of transparency, an early version of our evaluation questions was shared with them for advice and constructive challenge.

The Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) of the National Health Service COVID-19 app published a letter to the Secretary of State on 24 April which sets out its thinking on the COVID-19 contact tracing application.

In its letter, the EAB sets out six principles that must be upheld to ensure the NHS COVID-19 app achieves that balance. Given the importance of securing and maintaining public trust around this issue, these principles are based around maintaining public trust in the use of data; they include ensuring value, impact, security, accountability, transparency and control.

These principles have been accepted by the Secretary of State and the Board will continue to meet regularly to provide its advice on the app’s progress.

On 23 March the Government stepped up measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. To reduce social contact, the Government has ordered businesses and venues to close, except those with exemptions. With regard to music venue exemptions, small group performances for the purposes of live streaming could be permissible where Public Health England guidelines are observed, and no audience members attend the venue.

Further social distancing measures have also been enacted with the banning of all mass gatherings.

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will help those adversely affected by COVID-19 and means the UK will have one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world.

Those in any industry who have recent gaps in their earnings for whatever reason could still be eligible for the SEISS. For example, if an individual is self-employed but is taking a break from their trade because of a new baby or adoption, or have done since 6 April 2019, they may still be eligible because HMRC will treat the individual as still trading. Individuals may also be eligible for the grant if they are self-employed and are non-resident in the UK, but will have to confirm to HMRC that their UK trading profits are at least equal to their other worldwide income.

Self-employed individuals, including eligible deaf and disabled individuals, can make a claim for Universal Credit while they wait for the grant. The grant may affect the amount of Universal Credit they get, but it will not affect claims for earlier periods.

It has not been possible to include those who began trading after the 2018-19 tax year in the SEISS. This was a very difficult decision and it was taken for practical reasons. Unlike for employees, self-employed income is not reported monthly, but at the end of each tax year on the individual’s Income Tax Self Assessment return. This means that the most reliable and up-to-date record of self-employed income is from the 2018-19 tax returns, which were due at the end of January 2020. The Government recognises that those who started trading more recently will not have submitted a tax return for the 2018-19 tax year, and it considered alternative approaches. However, HMRC would not be able to distinguish genuine self-employed individuals who started trading in 2019-20 from fake applications by fraudulent operators and organised criminal gangs seeking to exploit the SEISS.

Those who are not eligible for the SEISS could be eligible for other significant financial support announced for UK businesses, including the Bounce Back Loans Scheme for small businesses, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments.

It is possible for individuals to benefit from both the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) if they meet the individual criteria for both schemes. For the CJRS, this will depend on furloughing decisions by the employer. For the SEISS, it will depend on whether an individual has at least 50% of their total income from trading profits in either 2018/19, or an average of the (up to) three years between 2016/17 and 2018/19. Further details can be found on GOV.UK.

The new Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will help those adversely affected by COVID-19. It means the UK will have one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world. Full guidance on how HMRC work out trading profits and non-trading income for the SEISS can be found on GOV.UK.

Individuals who receive a grant through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme can continue to work, start a new trade or take on other employment including voluntary work, or duties as an armed forces reservist. Full guidance on the SEISS can be found on GOV.UK.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is only open to individuals who were employed on 19 March 2020 and on their employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020. Individuals who are not eligible for the CJRS may be able to access the other support the Government is providing.

The new Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will allow eligible individuals to claim a grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profits, paid in a single instalment covering 3 months, and capped at £7,500 altogether. Self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, are eligible if they have submitted their Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, continued to trade and have been adversely affected by COVID-19. Full details can be found on GOV.UK.

Individuals who are not eligible for the CJRS or the SEISS may be able to access other support the Government is providing to support individuals through the outbreak, including an increase to the Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element, and a relaxation of the UC minimum income floor for all self-employed UC claimants affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19.

Some 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment could be eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), based on 2017-18 data. The scheme, including the £50,000 threshold, is designed to be targeted at those who need it the most, and who are most reliant on their self-employment income. The self-employed are a very diverse population. They have a wide mix of turnover and profits, with monthly and annual variations even in normal times. Some may see their profits unaffected by the current situation, while others have substantial alternative forms of income: for example, those who had more than £50,000 from self-employment profits in 2017-18 had an average total income of more than £200,000. The self-employed can also offset losses against profits in other years and other forms of income.

Income from dividends is a return on investment in the company, rather than wages, and is not eligible for support. Under current reporting mechanisms it is not possible for HM Revenue and Customs to distinguish between dividends derived from an individual’s own company and dividends from other sources, and between dividends in lieu of employment income and as returns from other corporate activity. Expanding the scope would require HMRC to collect and verify new information. This would take longer to deliver and put at risk the other schemes which the Government is committed to delivering as quickly as possible.

Individuals who are not eligible for the SEISS may be able to access other support Government is providing, including the Bounce Back Loans Scheme for small businesses, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available on GOV.UK.

The Age Verification Sandbox trials have now concluded. Evaluation of these trials is currently taking place and we aim to publish a report as soon as possible.

There are currently no plans to introduce digital age verification for alcohol sales. We are, however, exploring what is permissible within the Licensing Act 2003 and whether the legislation should be amended. Any change would reflect a wider cross-government position on the use of digital ID for the sale of age-restricted products, including as set out in the Digital Trust Framework which the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport is developing.

The Government is aware of the harms caused by identity theft and that criminals will use this to commit and enable a range of offences.

Existing legislation is in place to protect people’s personal data and prosecute those that commit crimes enabled by identity theft. These include the Fraud Act 2006, the Identity Documents Act 2010 and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Separately, the Government is firmly committed to making the UK the safest place to be online, and we will bring forward legislation to do so as soon as possible

The High Court found in September 2019 that there is a clear and sufficient legal framework for police use of live facial recognition technology. The framework includes police common law powers to protect the public, data protection and human rights legislation and the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice.

The Government has no plans to formally respond to the Information Commissioner’s Office’s report.

The High Court found in September 2019 that there is a clear and sufficient legal framework for police use of live facial recognition technology. The framework includes police common law powers to protect the public, data protection and human rights legislation and the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice.

The Government has no plans to formally respond to the Information Commissioner’s Office’s report.

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) remains the appropriate forum to address the challenges associated with the use of autonomy in weapon systems. The CCW Review Conference renewed the mandate of the Group of Government Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) and the UK will continue to play an active role in it, working with the international community to agree norms and positive obligations to ensure the safe and responsible use of autonomy.

We regularly engage with a wide range of stakeholders on lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS), including those - such as the International Committee of the Red Cross - that believe a new legally binding instrument on LAWS is necessary. The UK does not support calls for a legally binding instrument on LAWS. Our view remains that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) provides a robust, principle-based framework for the regulation of weapons development and use, and we will continue to engage at the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons seeking to clarify the prohibitions and positive obligations around the use of autonomous weapon systems under IHL.

The deployment in armed conflict of any weapon system - including one with autonomous functions - which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians would be contrary to International Humanitarian LAW (IHL) and therefore unlawful. We strongly believe that AI and autonomy within weapon systems can and must be used lawfully and ethically. Autonomous systems have the potential to support the better application of IHL by improving the evidence, analysis and timeliness of decision making.

Our position on fully autonomous weapon systems is clear and unchanged. The UK does not possess fully autonomous weapon systems and has no intention of developing them.

When deploying autonomous weapon systems we will always ensure meaningful and context-appropriate human involvement across the system lifecycle from development to deployment, ensuring human responsibility for outcomes.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to developing and deploying AI-enabled systems responsibly and promoting responsible use worldwide.

The UK will work with allies and partners to address the issue of proliferation of advanced military technologies such as AI-enabled autonomous capabilities. This will include reinforcement of the disarmament and export control regimes, treaties and organisations; development of the means of preventing AI proliferation or misuse; and monitoring the risks of AI exacerbating existing counter-proliferation and arms control challenges. This will ensure that the opportunities gained from the development and integration of new technologies are balanced with appropriate controls.

The Defence AI Strategy is in the final stages of review. We expect to publish the strategy in spring 2022. This Strategy has been informed by consultations with key AI industry leaders, UK academia, and our Allies.