Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent progress his Department has made on the implementation of the UK National Quantum Strategy.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Over the past year, we’ve taken major steps to support the quantum sector and deliver on the UK’s National Quantum Missions. This includes launching new research hubs, opening the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC), and funding research projects through Innovate UK.
We are strengthening international collaboration through initiatives like NMI-Q (announced at the G7) to advance global standards in quantum technologies.
Last month, we announced £670 million in quantum computing investment as part of the Industrial Strategy—including over £500 million for the Quantum Computing Mission and 10-year funding for the NQCC.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 effective coordination between Government departments to tackle (a) the spread of child sexual abuse (i) material and (ii) harmful algorithms and (b) other online harms to children.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government departments work together on a range of online safety matters, with child online safety and wellbeing being a particular priority.
The Online Safety Act gives user-to-user and search services new duties to safeguard children from illegal content and activity, including child sexual abuse material and harmful content. Platforms’ duties to tackle illegal content began in March.
The child safety duties will be fully in force from 25 July and require providers to establish significant protections for children, including requiring services to consider how algorithms and recommender systems impact children’s exposure to both illegal and harmful content.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve cyber resilience among (a) small businesses and (b) local authorities in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Cyber security is a priority for the government. We are taking action to protect businesses, citizens and essential services against cyber threats. The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will improve the UK’s cyber defences and ensure there are robust levels of cyber security in the digital services and infrastructure which small businesses and local authorities rely upon.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) offers a range of free guidance, training and tools to help small businesses improve their cyber resilience, including the Cyber Action Plan, Small Business Guide and Check Your Cyber Security Tool. The government’s highly effective Cyber Essentials scheme is available to help small businesses and local authorities get good technical measures in place which prevent common cyber attacks. Local authorities can use the Cyber Governance Code of Practice to manage their digital risks. The Northern Ireland Cyber Security Centre (NICSC), part of the Department of Finance, works in close partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to advance a variety of cyber initiatives aimed at strengthening cyber resilience among small businesses and local authorities across Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has held meetings with the Northern Ireland Space Office on the level of support for the region’s space sector.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State has not held meetings with the Northern Ireland Space Office on this topic, however regional growth is key to this Government's growth mission. Regional growth programmes, including for Northern Ireland, are therefore a priority for this Government.
The UK Space Agency works closely with the Northern Ireland Space Office to support the development of the region's space sector. Northern Ireland Space Office is a delivery partner of the Ecosystem Development Programme, which promotes regional strengths, attracts investment, and manages the local space cluster.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has held discussions with the UK Space Agency on helping to support the development of Northern Ireland’s space ecosystem.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State has not held specific discussions with the UK Space Agency on Northern Ireland's space ecosystem, however Ministers receive advice from officials as required on a wide range of topics, including regional growth.
The UK Space Agency supports regional growth, including in Northern Ireland, as a priority. UKSA has supported the Northern Ireland's space ecosystem through the Unlocking Space for Government programme, by funding a Northern Ireland-led project to explore how satellite data can improve public services in health, infrastructure, and the environment. UKSA has also delivered two Small Business Research Initiatives in partnership with Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) focused on detecting harmful algal blooms using satellite technology.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to cybersecurity training for small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Cyber security is a priority for the government. We are taking action to protect businesses, citizens and essential services against cyber threats. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) offers a range of free cyber security training, including a free online module for small organisations called ‘Top Tips For Staff’, a cyber incident management training package called ‘Exercise in a Box’, and training for boards and directors as part of the government’s cyber governance package to help organisations manage digital risks.
Cyber security training is also widely available on a commercial basis, including in Northern Ireland where there is a successful, growing cyber security sector with 128 cyber security providers supporting over £237 million direct GVA to the local economy and employing over 2,750 people.
SMEs are also encouraged to take advantage of the NCSC’s Small Business Guide to improve their resilience, and to create a Cyber Action Plan for a personalised list of actions to help businesses improve their cyber security.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of artificial intelligence on early diagnosis of (a) lung, (b) pancreatic and (c) other cancers.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology invests in cancer research via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the Department of Health and Social Care via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). UKRI and NIHR support research which explores the impact of AI on cancer diagnosis, including the £21 million AI Diagnostic Fund (using AI for faster lung cancer diagnosis). AI presents significant opportunities for improving outcomes and diagnosis for cancer patients and driving faster triage of patients with suspected symptoms. Evaluations of the impact of AI on cancer diagnosis are ongoing.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology what safeguards are in place to ensure that his officials do not input (a) sensitive and (b) classified information into artificial intelligence tools.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All civil servants are trained in appropriate information management practices for handling sensitive or classified information. We draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform our AI usage. For example the AI Playbook for the UK Government, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, and the generative AI framework on GOV.UK which includes a section on using generative AI safely and responsibly.
OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE information can safely be included in prompts to AI tools that are hosted within the DSIT IT eco-system, or by providers with whom the department has an agreement in place around the secure processing of such data. For example, DSIT has an enterprise agreement with Microsoft to provide all staff with secure access to Copilot Chat and 1,500 staff with licenses to the cross-government Microsoft 365 Copilot experiment. Additional tool-specific guidance is provided to individuals at the point-of-use.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to increase the resilience of telecommunications infrastructure in Northern Ireland, in the context of recent ransomware attacks in the last 12 months.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK's telecommunications infrastructure. The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 introduced a robust security framework throughout the United Kingdom and requires public telecoms providers to identify, reduce, and prepare for security and resilience risks, including ransomware attacks. Ofcom is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with this framework. The Government keeps its telecoms security and resilience policies under constant review to ensure evolving risks to UK telecommunications networks are effectively mitigated.