Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
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 Ofcom on increasing the four-hour minimum time requirement for power backup during power outages in the broadband phone network.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Communication providers have statutory responsibilities to take appropriate and proportionate steps to provide resilient networks and services. Ofcom published guidance in September 2024 on the measures that providers can take to meet those responsibilities, which sets out that power backup of at least four hours is good practice for active fixed access equipment in cabinets at the point of installation.
Ofcom also requires providers to ensure customers making calls over broadband are able to make emergency calls in the event of a power cut at their premises for a minimum of one hour. On 14 March, Vodafone, BT, KCOM and Zen Internet announced that they will introduce a Broadband Battery Backup capable of powering routers for four-to-seven hours. This follows the agreement of the Checklist for Non-Voluntary Migrations agreed by providers in November 2024.
Ofcom are reviewing the power resilience of mobile networks, and on 10 February announced work they may complete to review power outages affect broadband networks in the UK.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how he plans to measure the progress of the National Telecare Campaign in Ceredigion Preseli constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are very focused on making sure that the transition - which is industry-led - happens safely and securely. The objective of the National Telecare Campaign is to identify vulnerable customers. The campaign is one method of identifying vulnerable customers, by raising awareness among telecare users and their family and friends. In addition, communication providers are identifying vulnerable people through data sharing agreements with local authorities, including in Ceredigion Preseli, and private telecare providers.
The Government is monitoring the development of the campaign and the number of data sharing agreements made by communication providers to identify vulnerable customers.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to support the effective delivery of the National Telecare Campaign in Ceredigion Preseli constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is working with industry to support the industry-led and industry-funded National Telecare Campaign. The objective of this campaign is for telecare users to be identified so that they can be provided with additional support when their landlines are upgraded from analogue to digital.
It is important that the campaign reaches vulnerable customers across the UK. In Wales, a TV advert will be broadcast on ITV Wales, in English with Welsh subtitles. A mix of English and Welsh, and Welsh only will be used for printed adverts, video on demand, and social media.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of copyright law to ensure that creators are remunerated for the use of their work in training AI tools.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024.
Through this consultation, the Government aims to ensure that right holders in the creative industries can control and be remunerated for the use of their work, while supporting the development of world-leading AI models in the UK.
The Government recognises that this is a complex area and welcomes all views and evidence to help shape its thinking.
The consultation closes on 25 February.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the devolved Administrations on the AI Opportunity Action Plan.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are committed to building an AI sector that can scale and win globally, ensuring global AI companies want to call the UK home, and boosting the responsible adoption of AI across all parts of the economy.
The plan sets out our intention to deliver growth across the entire UK via collaboration with devolved and local governments, regional businesses and trade bodies to devise strategies best suited to the context of these regions. I have spoken with ministers from all the Devolved Administrations about the Action Plan, emphasising how important it is for the whole of the UK to benefit.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussion he has had with (a) Skills England and (b) the equivalent agencies in the devolved nations on the AI Opportunity Action Plan.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The AI Opportunities Action Plan government response commits to working with Skills England, as well as devolved and local governments, to assess the country’s AI and digital skills. This will expand education pathways into AI, ensure lifelong skills programmes are prepared for AI, and identify AI adoption opportunities to drive growth.
The Secretary of State engaged with all devolved administrations and key departments on the Action Plan. Skills England will collaborate with devolved administrations to boost growth and spread opportunities across the UK, addressing challenges within the UK skills system and establishing cross-border linkages to facilitate investment in skills.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure that that the skills needed for the implementation of the AI Opportunity Action Plan are developed across all four nations of the UK.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The AI Opportunities Action Plan will ensure the UK builds a strong and diverse talent pipeline, realising AI benefits across all UK nations.
Skills England will build highly trained workforces to meet national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade. Skills England will collaborate with devolved administrations, regional partners, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Education, aligning with devolution agreements and the Government’s commitment to simplify and devolve adult skills funding to Combined Authorities. Cross-UK collaboration will spread best practices and equip the four nations in boosting growth and spreading opportunity.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to provide university researchers with access to designated officials across government.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Most departments have a Chief Scientific Adviser responsible for delivering high-quality science advice. They directly advise ministers and colleagues and oversee mechanisms to ensure departments take account of, and commission, scientific and engineering evidence, including through Science Advisory Councils.
Government Office for Science (GOS) works with departments on Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) to improve access to academic advice in policy making. In September 2023 GOS, published a database of departmental ARIs, which includes contact information to enable researchers to engage with policy. GOS also work with learned societies and university policy teams to improve links between government and academia.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will meet with representatives of the Universities Policy Engagement Network to discuss the implications for Departments of the Ref 2028 requirement that universities demonstrate (a) impact and (b) engagement.
Answered by George Freeman
The design and implementation of the REF 2028 is being carried out by the devolved funding bodies of the UK nations, including Research England in England. During this process the funding bodies have engaged widely with stakeholders, including many of the members of the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN), on the design of the next REF. This engagement, including a currently open opportunity to provide written comments, will continue through the autumn and the final design of the REF will take full account of stakeholders’ contributions to the engagement process.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's announcement of £8 million to fund new satellite connectivity in up to 35,000 of the hardest to reach premises, whether she plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of including premises in Ceredigion constituency as part of that scheme.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government expects less than 100,000 premises to be unable to access a gigabit- capable connection via either a commercial or government funded rollout and require government intervention. These premises are described as Very Hard to Reach. The Capital Grant Scheme announced in April, will provide up to 35,000 premises with help to access low Earth orbit satellite equipment to improve their connectivity. The scheme will be open to premises that the department has identified as being unlikely to benefit from an improved fixed line, or fixed wireless access connection. This could be for one of several reasons including being in a remote location far from neighbouring premises. We expect premises to be located across the UK, and the government will publish a full list of eligible postcodes prior to the launch of the scheme, along with detailed eligibility criteria.