Baroness Uddin

We do not comment on security matters or individuals.

We believe the use of cyber espionage tools against civil society and political groups is unacceptable. Expert advice and support have been provided by the National Cyber Security Centre. It’s essential that nation states and other cyber actors use capabilities in a way that is legal, responsible and proportionate and to ensure cyberspace remains free, open, peaceful and secure. Where a law has been broken, HMG will work with law enforcement to bring those responsible to account. The UK and its allies are committed to ensuring key technologies are not abused and their trade is tightly controlled.

The Government commissioned research with the National Centre for Social Research, which was published in December 2022, to review evidence on the prevalence and impact of harmful content and activity to children, including pornography. The evidence in this report indicates that exposure to pornography may impact children’s perceptions of sex and relationships, and may lead to replication of practices found in pornography, increased likelihood of engaging in sexual activities and harmful or aggressive behaviour, and reduced concern for consent from partners.

That is why the Online Safety Bill will deliver comprehensive protections for children from pornography. The Bill will cover all online sites that offer pornography, including commercial pornography sites, social media, video sharing platforms, forums and search engines. These companies will have to prevent children from accessing pornography or face enforcement action. In addition, the Bill will require all in-scope providers to take preventative action to protect all users, including children and young people, from illegal content such as extreme pornography and revenge pornography.

The Government announced (on 11 May) and updated (on 14 June) comprehensive guidance for shops and branches, which employers can deploy. We have also published (on 23 June) new guidance for close contact services and restaurants, pubs and bars. This supports my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement (on 23 June) for their reopening from 4 July where they can do so in a safe and COVID-secure way.

Enforcement bodies, such as the Health and Safety Executive and Local Authorities, have put measures in place to support the implementation of the safer workplaces guidance. Government will consider if a stronger approach is needed and will take appropriate action as necessary.

The Government have engaged with hospitality businesses to discuss various issues around reopening, including financial issues. This Department’s ministerial team are in weekly contact with the industry.

We have now published new guidance for pubs, restaurants, and bars which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19. This supports my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement on 23 June for their reopening from 4 July. The guidance was developed following consultation with representatives from the industry.

The Government has also conducted a comprehensive review of the 2m social distancing rule and from 4 July, our advice is changing to state that people should either stay 2m apart or ‘1m plus’ – which is one metre plus mitigations.

Where businesses need to operate at 1m to be viable they should do so, provided they put in place the appropriate mitigations.

The Government has regular contact with the hospitality industry, and one of my Ministerial colleagues has spoken with the Bangladesh Caterers Association. The Department’s ministerial team will continue to engage with a variety of representatives from the sector to develop safe ways for the sector to reopen.

We recognise the challenges the hospitality industry faces during this time, which is why we have been providing extensive support for businesses, including specific grants for the sector, as well as our furlough scheme which has been extended until October, 100% business rates holidays, and tens of billions of pounds’ worth of business loans and guarantees.

There is a significant package of support currently available to businesses in restaurant and takeaway sectors. These include:

• 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 order to support businesses wishing to remain open, the Government has also changed regulations to enable restaurants, cafes and pubs to offer delivery and food takeaways without going through the normal planning process.

The government is committed to ensuring that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a world class computing education.

The department introduced computing as a statutory National Curriculum subject in 2014, to replace the subject of information and communications technology (ICT), widely regarded as outdated. The computing curriculum ensures that pupils are taught the principles of information and computation, how computers work and take instructions, and how to put this knowledge to use through programming and algorithms. This starts from primary school, where pupils learn how to design and debug simple programmes and learn about the wider impact of technology, including how search engine results are ranked.

The computing curriculum is intentionally broad to allow flexibility in how content is taught, to reduce the risk that it will become outdated, given the speed of innovation. It was designed to prepare pupils with foundational knowledge that allows them to understand and respond to new and emerging technologies. The computer science GCSE is designed to equip pupils with the foundational knowledge they will need for the technological jobs of the future, including those in artificial intelligence (AI).

The department recently published a statement, ‘Generative AI in education’, setting out its position on the use of generative AI, including large language models like ChatGPT or Google Bard, in the education sector. This statement is attached. The statement is informed by the government's White Paper on a pro-innovation approach to AI regulation and follows the government's recent announcement to create a Foundation Model Taskforce. The White Paper is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-regulation-a-pro-innovation-approach/white-paper, and the Foundational Model Taskforce announcement is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/initial-100-million-for-expert-taskforce-to-help-uk-build-and-adopt-next-generation-of-safe-ai.

AI, the metaverse, and emerging new technologies all present both potential benefits and threats to young people. E-safety is embedded within the computing curriculum, across all Key Stages, with progression in content to reflect the different and escalating risks that young people may encounter. They are taught how to use technology safely, responsibly, respectfully and securely, how to keep their personal information private, how to recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and where they can go for help and support on content they come across on the internet, or via other online technologies.

The department is seeking views, through a call for evidence, on how generative artificial intelligence is being used across education in England, including the opportunities and risks it presents. The call for evidence is available at:
https://consult.education.gov.uk/digital-strategy/generative-artificial-intelligence-in-education/.

To ensure that the curriculum is taught to a high standard, the department has invested over £100 million in the creation of a National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE). To date, the NCCE’s achievements include managing a computing hub network and providing high quality training and resources to teachers, equipping over 7,900 teachers with the subject expertise they need to confidently teach the computer science GCSE.

The department does not collect information with regard to the language development of children in pre-school. However, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework requires early years providers in England, ordinarily schools, to complete the EYFS Profile assessment at the end of the academic year in which children turn five years old, which is usually their reception year.

Each child’s level of development is assessed against 17 early learning goals (ELGs) across all 7 areas of learning in the EYFS, including communication and language. For each ELG, practitioners must assess whether a child is meeting the level of development expected at the end of the EYFS, or if they are not yet reaching this level and should be assessed as ‘emerging’.

The EYFS Profile results for the 2021/22 academic year show that 74.3% of boys were at the expected level of development in the ELGs within the communication and language area of learning, compared to 85.0% of girls. These results can be found in the attached document.

The statistics also include breakdowns by major ethnicity grouping and gender for the ELGs within the communication and language area of learning and the literacy area of learning. These statistics are available in the attached document.

To provide support for children’s early language development, particularly for those most disadvantaged, the government is investing over £28 million to provide targeted, intensive and evidence-based support to help parents chat, play and read with their young children. This investment is being delivered through the new 3 year family hubs programme which is being rolled out in 75 local authorities, with priority given to families that will benefit the most. This is supported by online resources that provide evidence-based, yet highly accessible advice and ideas for parents about literacy and early language activities for children at every stage between birth and five years old. These resources can be found at: https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/learning-to-talk/learning-to-talk-0-to-6-months/.

Additionally, the department is providing a package of up to £180 million for workforce training, qualifications, expert guidance and targeted support for the early years sector to address the impact of the pandemic on the youngest and most disadvantaged children. As part of this, the Professional Development Programme Phase 3 (PDP3) has been made available to all local authorities in England and will train up to 10,000 early years professionals in communication and language. The department is also investing in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), improving the language skills of reception age children who need it the most. The programme targets children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help them make around three months of additional progress. The department estimates that the programme will reach at least 90,000 children.

The department does not collect information with regard to the language development of children in pre-school. However, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework requires early years providers in England, ordinarily schools, to complete the EYFS Profile assessment at the end of the academic year in which children turn five years old, which is usually their reception year.

Each child’s level of development is assessed against 17 early learning goals (ELGs) across all 7 areas of learning in the EYFS, including communication and language. For each ELG, practitioners must assess whether a child is meeting the level of development expected at the end of the EYFS, or if they are not yet reaching this level and should be assessed as ‘emerging’.

The EYFS Profile results for the 2021/22 academic year show that 74.3% of boys were at the expected level of development in the ELGs within the communication and language area of learning, compared to 85.0% of girls. These results can be found in the attached document.

The statistics also include breakdowns by major ethnicity grouping and gender for the ELGs within the communication and language area of learning and the literacy area of learning. These statistics are available in the attached document.

To provide support for children’s early language development, particularly for those most disadvantaged, the government is investing over £28 million to provide targeted, intensive and evidence-based support to help parents chat, play and read with their young children. This investment is being delivered through the new 3 year family hubs programme which is being rolled out in 75 local authorities, with priority given to families that will benefit the most. This is supported by online resources that provide evidence-based, yet highly accessible advice and ideas for parents about literacy and early language activities for children at every stage between birth and five years old. These resources can be found at: https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/baby/learning-to-talk/learning-to-talk-0-to-6-months/.

Additionally, the department is providing a package of up to £180 million for workforce training, qualifications, expert guidance and targeted support for the early years sector to address the impact of the pandemic on the youngest and most disadvantaged children. As part of this, the Professional Development Programme Phase 3 (PDP3) has been made available to all local authorities in England and will train up to 10,000 early years professionals in communication and language. The department is also investing in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), improving the language skills of reception age children who need it the most. The programme targets children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help them make around three months of additional progress. The department estimates that the programme will reach at least 90,000 children.

In March 2023, the government published its plan to cement the UK’s position as a Science and Technology superpower. As part of this, the department identified five critical technologies to deliver prosperity and security for the UK, including artificial intelligence (AI). The plan can be found in the attached document.

To support this ambition, the department is working on a cross-government action plan on science and technology talent and skills with the Home Office, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office. In 2023, the department is developing a departmental Skills Dashboard to understand the supply and demand of science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills for critical technologies, including AI.

Digital and computing skills will play an important role in this work. The department has made progress in recent years, for example this year’s provisional entries for Computer Science GCSEs and A levels show 12% and 14% growth respectively, the highest of all sciences. However, we recognise that there is more work to be done.

This is why the department has overhauled the outdated Information and Communications Technology (ICT) curriculum and replaced it with computing. The department has also invested over £100 million in the National Centre for Computing Education to inspire the next generation of computer scientists.

The department is also investing more in technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of our reforms. Digital T Levels, Higher Technical Qualifications, Apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps are ensuring we meet the skills needs for our priority technologies, including those increasingly needed for AI.

The department is building on these initiatives through the Digital and Computing Skills Education Taskforce which brings together government and external expertise to increase the numbers of individuals taking digital and computing qualifications in mainstream and tertiary education, and to attract individuals into digital jobs.

The Digital Strategy announced by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy on the 13 June, is the roadmap we will follow to further strengthen our global position as a science and technology superpower.

The Digital Strategy will lead to new jobs, skills and services that benefit and level up the whole of the UK. It will bring tech leaders together in a new Digital Skills Council to tackle the skills gap and to carry out a review of the UK’s large-scale computer processing capabilities. The group will look at the issue of digital skills from schools through to lifelong learning and at ways the industry can inspire the next generation of talent from a wide range of backgrounds to consider a digital career.

As an illustration of our commitment to this, we announced that the Office for Students (OfS) will be providing 2,000 scholarships to ensure we has more of the advanced digital skills needed to maintain the country’s leading position in cutting-edge AI and data science. The OfS allocate up to £23 million to universities to fund scholarships starting in 2023. Funding will be available for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds as well as black, women and disabled students to ensure the AI built and used in the UK reflects the make-up of our society.

In this new landscape, businesses will be critical to supporting our ambitions. The Innovation Strategy, published by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in July 2021, focuses on how the government supports businesses to innovate by making the most of the UK’s research, development and innovation system.

As part of this UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will ramp up its investment in the technologies of the future including Artificial Intelligence, digital, and advanced computing, working with businesses to crowd-in investment and create world leading sectors and job-rich industries. Over the spending review period UKRI allocation for the 2022/25 financial year is £25.1 billion and will reach its highest ever level in the 2024/25 financial year (over £8.8 billion).

The UK is at the forefront of the global response to COVID-19, through our diplomatic efforts and the provision of £744 million of UK aid to counter the health, humanitarian, and economic impacts.

UK aid is supporting Bangladesh’s efforts in fighting COVID-19 across the country. The UK has allocated around £21 million so far to support the priorities set out in the Government of Bangladesh's National Preparedness and Response plan. This includes more than £7 million to support the national health systems and £3 million to the UN Development Programme to reach at least 2.16 million of the poorest inhabitants. More than £10 million has been allocated to existing UN and NGO partners to prepare for COVID-19 and maintain critical humanitarian services in the Rohingya refugee camps. Furthermore, DFID and Unilever are collaborating on a mass global handwashing campaign, which will run across TV, radio and print, social and digital media to help change people’s behaviour in countries across Africa and Asia, including Bangladesh. Messages will be tailored to communities in these countries to ensure they are effective.

The UK does not have a bilateral aid programme in Sri Lanka but through our support to the UN and other international bodies, UK aid will indirectly support Sri Lanka in tackling COVID-19. The UK has also adapted our Conflict, Security and Stability Fund work in Sri Lanka to respond to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable and conflict affected communities.

The UK is a significant contributor to the IMF Catastrophe Fund which Liberia has accessed for debt relief. DFID is aware of the existing levels of poverty and fragile economy in Liberia and is therefore working to address the impacts that COVID-19 will have. In order to do this, we are prioritising our health response as well as the provision of social protection.

The UK’s support to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in the Rohingya and host communities in Cox’s Bazar since 2017 has helped more than 12,000 individuals receive GBV case management support. In the current situation, while camp operations have been limited to minimise the risk of COVID-19 exposure to refugees, protection services are still being provided. Child Protection Focal Points, GBV case workers, and the Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Network (led by the Inter-Sectoral Coordination Group) continue to play a critical role and ensure continuity despite reduced humanitarian staff presence in the camps. This includes monitoring, coordination, referral and immediate support for survivors. Anti-trafficking awareness raising is also ongoing. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the heightened risks as a result of the current restrictions and – through our partners – will monitor this closely and respond as best as possible within the constraints faced.

Refugees are amongst the most vulnerable to the COVID 19 pandemic, with women and girls disproportionately affected. That is why the UK is pushing for greater support to women and girls across the international response.

To date, the UK has committed £744 million in the international fight against COVID-19. That includes significant support to the United Nations Population Fund to address the needs of women and girls, with regards to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

The UK is also supporting the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide essential services for refugees including tackling GBV and child protection, as well as emergency cash assistance to survivors and women-at-risk. Displaced women are actively involved in delivery of assistance, informing their communities about the risks of violence and providing information on prevention and protective health measures.

Whilst the current crisis inevitably has had an impact on access and movement, aid workers remain very much engaged in refugee camps around the world. We are pushing to ensure humanitarian access is maintained and assistance is targeted to those most in need. Humanitarian organisations are also working through local partners on the frontlines of the response including women-led and women’s rights organisations.

We are very concerned by the apparent disproportionate number of people from minority ethnic backgrounds who have died, both within the National Health Service and overall. We have asked Public Health England to complete a rapid review to understand how COVID-19 may be having an impact on different ethnic groups, and other groups of concern. The terms of reference will be announced in due course.

To complement this rapid review, the National Institute for Health Research and UK Research and Innovation issued a joint call on 22 April for research proposals to investigate emerging evidence of an association between ethnicity and COVID-19 incidence and adverse health outcomes.

Public Health England (PHE) has created a number of easy read versions of the public health advice on COVID-19 for people with learning difficulties, which is available to the public and organisations. An example of an easy read guide on COVID-19 is attached.

There are also a number of British Sign Language resources for the public on PHE’s campaign resource centre including the television advert with the Chief Medical Officer. PHE has provided links from its public facing guidance web page to the wide range of content available in sign language. This includes the guidance on staying at home and shielding vulnerable groups.

Public Health England (PHE) records reported outbreaks of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 in care homes. However, PHE does not hold data on the type of residents cared for. PHE is currently seeking advice from the Care Quality Commission on the range of types of care homes that care for people with a learning disability or autism in order to undertake an analysis of this issue and report back by mid-May.

The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a comprehensive emotional, psychological and practical support package for National Health Service staff during and following the COVID-19 response. This currently includes: free access to well-being apps; a dedicated support helpline and text service (in partnership with the Samaritans); and a separate helpline offering bereavement support (in partnership with Hospice UK). The Department is working with partners to extend both helplines to the social care workforce and will also be introducing an app and website aimed at providing timely information for the adult social care workforce.

We are looking very specifically at the impact COVID-19 is having on the black, Asian and minority ethnic population. We have commissioned Public Health England to look at this issue in detail and they are due to report before the end of May. The review will also analyse available data on health outcomes for National Health Service staff, to develop a better understanding of how the virus affects frontline workforce.

In advance of Public Health England’s review, and on a precautionary basis, NHS England and NHS Improvement have recommended that NHS employers should risk-assess staff at potentially greater risk and make appropriate arrangements accordingly.

We are working around the clock to ensure personal protective equipment is delivered as quickly as possible to all those on the frontline during this global pandemic for as long as it is required.