Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what his planned timetable is for completing the transfer of the (a) Government Digital Service, (b) Central Digital and Data Office and (c) Incubator for AI from the Cabinet Office to his Department.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the Honourable Member to the statement made by the Prime Minister about Machinery of Government changes on 24 July 2024. Preparations for the planned Machinery of Government change between the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Cabinet Office are underway. This includes the move of Government Digital Service, Central Digital and Data Office and Incubator for AI into Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The planned timetable and details for completing the transfer of staff as part of this Machinery of Government change has not yet been confirmed and we will advise in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what funding has been allocated to transfer the (a) Government Digital Service, (b) Central Digital and Data Office and (c) Incubator for AI from the Cabinet Office to his Department.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the Honourable Member to the statement made by the Prime Minister about Machinery of Government changes on 24 July 2024. Preparations for the planned Machinery of Government change between the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Cabinet Office are underway. This includes the move of Government Digital Service, Central Digital and Data Office and Incubator for AI into Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. The planned timetable and details for completing the transfer of staff as part of this Machinery of Government change has not yet been confirmed and we will advise in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had recent discussions with his European counterparts on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, EU Regulation 2024/1689.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I am pleased that we committed in the King's Speech to a targeted approach to AI regulation. As we develop these regulations, we recognise the need to engage with a range of international partners. This includes engaging with the EU, who are a key science and technology partner, to discuss our respective approaches, as well as working alongside them and other partners in the G7, OECD, UN, and other international fora.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on artificial intelligence.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As set out in the King’s Speech, we will establish appropriate legislation to ensure the safe development of AI models by introducing targeted requirements on a handful of companies developing the most powerful AI systems. We will work with other departments and consult publicly on the details of these proposals before legislation is brought forward.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has commissioned research on the level of airborne particulate matter on the A283 in Storrington.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has not commissioned research on the level of airborne particulate matter on the A283 in Storrington. However, the Environment Agency does record air quality in Storrington as part of the national air quality monitoring network on behalf of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps National Highways is taking to help reduce congestion at the A27 Crossbush junction.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This government is committed to maintaining and renewing our road networks to ensure they work for all road users and to future investment on the Strategic Road Network. However, as the Chancellor has said, we face the worst set of circumstances since the Second World War. She has committed to presenting to Parliament, before the summer recess, an assessment of the state of the new Government’s spending inheritance and has made clear that she will not shrink from difficult choices.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people admitted to hospital with covid-19 (a) had not received a covid-19 vaccination, (b) had received a single covid-19 vaccination and (c) had received both vaccinations in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
What steps his Department is taking to strengthen Northern Ireland’s place in the UK.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has always stressed the importance of the Union. This year is the centenary of Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom as we know it today, and the Government is committed to levelling up across all four nations of the UK.
The £400m New Deal and the £562m in City and Growth Deals will boost economic growth, with Deals covering the whole of Northern Ireland. This includes the Derry-Londonderry and Strabane City Deal that the Government signed Heads of Terms for in February.
Northern Ireland will also benefit from the Community Renewal Fund, the Levelling Up Fund and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We will continue working tirelessly for our family of nations going forward.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) laptops and (b) other remote learning devices his Department has provided to West Sussex schools during covid-19 closures since March 2020; and what estimate his Department has made of the value of those devices.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. As of Monday 8 February 2021, this includes over 980,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities.
All schools, academy trusts and local authorities have now been given the opportunity to order devices. Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities to lend to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.
Figures on the number of devices delivered, broken down by local authority and academy trust are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data.
Where schools need additional devices above their allocations they should contact the Department’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of disadvantaged pupils in Years 3 to 11 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.
The Department is also able to supply routers and mobile data through this scheme. We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. We are grateful to EE, O2, Sky Mobile, Smarty, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, Vodafone, BT Mobile and Lycamobile for their collaboration. We are currently engaged with additional mobile network operators and continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
The Department has delivered 54,000 4G wireless routers for pupils and care leavers without connection at home, have secured an additional 19,000 routers which we are distributing now and will be procuring more in the next few weeks.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support victims of domestic abuse in Sussex.
Answered by Alex Chalk
On 1st February, the Government announced an additional £40m for victims’ services. This funding will include £9.7m for Domestic Abuse, £16m to further expand the availability of Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers and this funding will be available for two years, and £800k for Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors (FLOWS), a digital tool that helps victims of domestic abuse to apply for emergency protection from the courts.
In 2020/21, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provided £1.85m in core grant funding to the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Sussex, for local commissioning of support services for victims of crime, including Domestic Abuse. In addition, MoJ provided £842,538 in emergency COVID-19 funding last year to Sussex PCC to provide additional support for Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence service providers. It is not possible to disaggregate spending on victims of Domestic Abuse from the total funding, as victims of Domestic Abuse are supported by specific providers as well as providers offering a range of services. PCCs also spend money from other sources outside of the MoJ grant on victims’ services including Domestic Abuse.
For 2021/22, the MoJ has committed to match the same levels of funding for the Core Victims Grant for PCCs to ensure that victims of Domestic Abuse continue to receive the support they need.