Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the timeline for introducing the codes of practice under the Online Safety Act 2023 to combat fraudulent advertising.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
DSIT regularly engages with Ofcom on the implementation of the Online Safety Act. The Act will help tackle online fraud, including fraudulent advertising. Since 17 March 2025, all services are required to take measures to tackle illegal fraud.
Further fraudulent advertising duties on Category 1 and 2A services will come into effect once the register of categorised services and the relevant codes are in place. Ofcom plans to publish the register this summer and then consult on the draft codes of practice for the remaining duties by early 2026. We anticipate the duties will come into force around a year later.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Ofcom regarding the implementation of measures in the Online Safety Act 2023 to combat fraud.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
DSIT regularly engages with Ofcom on the implementation of the Online Safety Act. The Act will help tackle online fraud, including fraudulent advertising. Since 17 March 2025, all services are required to take measures to tackle illegal fraud.
Further fraudulent advertising duties on Category 1 and 2A services will come into effect once the register of categorised services and the relevant codes are in place. Ofcom plans to publish the register this summer and then consult on the draft codes of practice for the remaining duties by early 2026. We anticipate the duties will come into force around a year later.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take in response to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and Office for National Statistics report Data-sharing: The beating heart of a successful public sector, published on 14 February; and how they intend to address the specific recommendations on defining "the public good" and legislating for access, given that these seem to diverge from the approach taken in the Data Usage and Access Bill.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
GDS is working to ensure public sector data is fit for purpose, trusted and available via interoperable architecture. Work is ongoing to ensure we can identify our most critical data assets and ensure they are managed and reused to maximise their value for public good within the scope of public sector activities, regardless of the individual departmental source. An initiative trialled across central government departments has already identified approximately 200 assets which will be made discoverable for reuse within the public sector with plans to make them more broadly available. What we learn from this will inform programmes such as the National Data Library.
All departments must follow UK data protection laws and requirements, including on impact assessments, legal agreements, and privacy notices. The Digital Economy Act 2017 supports secure, lawful data sharing with safeguards to protect personal data, while enabling better public services and policy-making. The register of information sharing agreements under this Act supports transparency.
Any proposals to develop changes to data sharing legislation for the public good will be subject to open policy making and full public consultation.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure proper governance of data-sharing initiatives across departments; and what plans they have to introduce additional safeguards to protect public data when working with private sector partners.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All departments must adhere to the UK data protection legislation, which requires data protection impact assessments, legally binding agreements and contracts, and privacy notices to ensure transparency and the protection of personal information. This requirement extends to data shared under the Digital Economy Act (DEA) Public Service Delivery power as outlined in the DEA Code of Practice. The register of information sharing agreements under the Digital Economy Act aims to support transparency.
To further reinforce these practices Government Digital Service is developing a trust framework for data sharing, which aims to align with public and stakeholder expectations, ensure compliance with UK data protection laws and best governance practices, and establish an accountable, standardised, secure, and transparent approach to the use of public data assets.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue guidance to public sector procurement authorities to mitigate the anti-competitive effects of restrictive cloud licensing practices.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As part of the Government’s blueprint for modern digital government published in January the government has committed to streamline the procurement of cloud services. We will also continue our work to negotiate whole-of-public-sector agreements and contracting once for a limited number of high value cases, including platform services such as cloud.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to discourage the use of excessive egress fees in public sector contracts for cloud services, to foster competition in the cloud services market.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As part of the Government’s blueprint for modern digital government published in January the government has committed to streamline the procurement of cloud services. We will also continue our work to negotiate whole-of-public-sector agreements and contracting once for a limited number of high value cases, including platform services such as cloud.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what role the National Security Online Information Team played in responding to the 2024 summer riots.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
During last summer’s unrest, the National Security and Online Information Team identified mis and disinformation themes and trends which resulted from the tragic events in Southport. It worked with wider government and major social media platforms to understand emerging risks and tackle content contributing to the subsequent disorder. This included proactively referring content within the team’s remit for platforms to independently assess and act on in line with their terms of service.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment the have made of the impact of the delay in implementing sections 61 to 65, 67 and 70 to 74 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 upon (1) mobile connectivity, (2) data poverty, and (3) regional digital inclusion; and how they plan to mitigate such impacts.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.
Most provisions have already been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. The Department will bring forward a consultation on the implementation of sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the specific causes for the delay in implementing sections 61 to 65, 67 and 70 to 74 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022; and what steps are being taken to address them.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.
Most provisions have already been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. The Department will bring forward a consultation on the implementation of sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to implement sections 61 to 65, 67 and 70 to 74 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to implementing all remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 as soon as possible. These measures will help deliver the benefits of advanced digital connectivity.
Most provisions have already been implemented. Those remaining are complex and technical. The Department will bring forward a consultation on the implementation of sections 61 to 64, including transitional provisions, as soon as possible.