Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of effect of the monopolisation of broadband provision on developments where the broadband provider is owned by the property developer.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is responsible for regulating the telecoms sector, and it has a duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition.
Developers decide which network operators they would like present in their buildings and negotiate commercial agreements with those operators. Developers are free to approach as many network operators as they wish and to secure multiple connections on a voluntary basis. As regulator for the sector, it is for Ofcom to assess whether there is a competition issue with housing developments and put remedies in place as appropriate.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to prevent the monopolisation of broadband provision in developments where the broadband provider is owned by the property developer.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is responsible for regulating the telecoms sector, and it has a duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition.
Developers decide which network operators they would like present in their buildings and negotiate commercial agreements with those operators. Developers are free to approach as many network operators as they wish and to secure multiple connections on a voluntary basis. As regulator for the sector, it is for Ofcom to assess whether there is a competition issue with housing developments and put remedies in place as appropriate.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to tackle monopolistic practices amongst broadband providers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for regulating the telecoms sector with a duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition.
Where Ofcom determines a provider has significant market power (SMP) in a market, it can impose remedies as appropriate. In the wholesale fixed telecoms market, BT and KCOM were found to have SMP and a range of pricing and non-pricing remedies were imposed on the firms to promote network competition. Ofcom is in the process of updating its decisions through its Telecoms Access Review. Ofcom has not found any firm to have SMP in the retail telecoms sector.
In July, DSIT published a consultation on the draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services. The draft Statement sets out the government’s view on the importance of competition to support broadband deployment across the UK. We are currently reviewing responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help reduce public exposure to (a) fraud and (b) scams on social media platforms.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act (OSA) lists fraud as a priority offence; requiring companies prevent and mitigate scams on their platforms. The OSA also requires large social media companies (‘Category 1’) to have transparent routes for users to complain about fraud, and swift procedures to address those complaints.
Ofcom have robust powers to hold companies to account, including issuing fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying global revenue (whichever is higher).
The OSA is reducing public exposure to scams, but there is more to do. DSIT is working with the Home Office to deliver a new fraud strategy.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department taking to help tackle digital exclusion among elderly people.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and some demographics are more likely to be digitally excluded than others, including older people.
That’s why in February; we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the immediate actions we are taking on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, which includes older people.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure adequate accountability measures for telecom providers that help facilitate fraud.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Tackling fraud is a priority for the government and we recognise the impact that being a victim of fraud has on people. The Government works closely with Ofcom and industry and recently published the second Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter – actions in the charter include collaborative data sharing to tackle fraud and raising customer awareness.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator for telecoms, is also taking steps to ensure providers are taking the necessary steps to protect consumers from fraud. This includes a current consultation on protecting customers from international numbers which imitate UK mobile numbers.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
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 potential impact of the implementation of the Online Safety Act on the level of risk that private bodies could harvest sensitive data on UK citizens who seek out VPN services.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Organisations that process personal data, which could include VPN providers, are subject to requirements of the data protection legislation. This includes obligations to process people’s data fairly and lawfully and to ensure that any data collected is held securely. Organisations that fail to comply may face enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between UK and OpenAI on AI opportunities, published on 21 July 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure safeguards are in place to protect public data when working alongside a commercial company.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to transparency, security, and the responsible use of emerging technologies. The Memorandum of Understanding with OpenAI is voluntary and non-binding. It does not grant access to public data or commit the Government to any expenditure.
The UK has one of the most robust data protection regimes in the world, and all organisations are required to comply with our legislation to safeguard UK personal data.
The Information Commissioner’s Office retains powers to investigate and enforce action where necessary, and individuals maintain legal recourse if their data is misused.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with stakeholders on the risks artificial intelligence poses to children; and what steps he is taking to mitigate those risks.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of this issue. We engage with a range of stakeholders on the impact of AI, including child safety experts.
As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Alongside this, the strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children, requiring in-scope services to protect all users from illegal content and children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a cyber-security hub in Gloucestershire.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology recognises Gloucestershire as a national leader in cyber security. Home to GCHQ and a thriving cyber ecosystem, the region will benefit from the new National Cyber Innovation Centre in Cheltenham, which will drive collaboration and investment. The recently published Digital and Technologies Sector Plan acknowledges the potential of the Golden Valley development. Government continues to work with local partners, including CyNam and the University of Gloucestershire, to advance cyber skills and innovation, supported by the Cyber Growth Action Plan to unlock further regional and national growth.