Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of officials in her Department on temporary contracts are women.
Answered by George Freeman
The proportion of officials in Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on temporary contracts that are women is 50%.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of officials in her Department that are (a) graded as senior civil servant 2 and (b) on full-time equivalent contracts are women.
Answered by George Freeman
The proportion of officials in Department for Science, Innovation and Technology that are graded as senior civil servant 2 is 1.4%.
The proportion of officials that are women, on a full-time equivalent basis is 52.5%.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will take steps to encourage Departments to donate electronic devices that are no longer in use the National Device Bank.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is committed to closing the digital divide and meeting the government’s commitment that nobody should be left behind in the digital age. Reflecting the four key pillars set out in the government’s Digital Inclusion Strategy, we recognise that access to safe and suitable devices remains a key barrier facing digitally excluded people. Device donation initiatives are a significant and valuable contribution to supporting people to overcome this obstacle and I would encourage all private and public sector organisations to consider the feasibility of doing this.
The Department has noted this particular recommendation in the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s report on digital exclusion and cost of living and will formally respond later this month.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to increase funding for digital inclusion and skills.
Answered by Paul Scully
Digital Skills
The Government recognises that digital skills are becoming ever more important in the economy. Last year, we launched the UK Digital Strategy, which set out our commitment to develop digital skills across the whole of the UK.
To grow the digital workforce in the UK, the government has introduced a range of interventions across the digital skills pipeline and at all levels. This includes ensuring there is a range of flexible courses available for people already in the workforce. As part of Skills for Life, the government launched Skills Bootcamps, which offer free, flexible courses lasting up to 16 weeks, with a guaranteed job interview at the end. The Department for Education is increasing investment to up to £150 million this year.
To provide people with the opportunity to develop specialised AI and data skills, even for those who have no previous experience, the government has made a £30 million investment via two phases in AI and Data science conversion courses. The government is committed to ensuring the tech sector is diverse, which is why the government has funded scholarships for underrepresented groups to earn a masters degree on these courses, and has supported the Tech Talent Charter (TCC) since 2017.
Digital Inclusion
The government is committed to closing the digital divide and meeting our commitment that nobody should be left behind in the digital age. This directly supports the UK’s Digital Strategy and its “vision to enable everyone, from every industry and across the UK, to benefit from all that digital innovation can offer.”
Supporting people to engage in an increasingly digitalised world involves overcoming the barriers to access, skills, motivation and trust identified in the government’s digital inclusion strategy. A range of departments support the government’s approach to removing these barriers.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is tackling these issues by continuing to invest in digital infrastructure to broaden gigabit-capable and mobile-network coverage. To support low income households stay connected, the Government continues to work with telecoms providers to ensure market provision of low-cost broadband and mobile tariffs.
The Department for Education are providing access to essential digital skills courses through the Essential Digital Entitlement and the Adult Education budget. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport are leveraging our national network of libraries to serve as an alternative point of internet access with in-person support. Department for Work and Pensions are referring claimants to essential digital skills courses to improve their chances of securing employment and supporting eligible claimants with the provision of devices and connectivity connection. Cabinet Office is setting an example by monitoring the accessibility of all public sector websites to make sure that everyone, including people with disabilities and impairments, can access public services.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is taking steps to increase public awareness of broadband social tariffs.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Information about social tariffs continues to be promoted through the Government’s Help for Households webpage and other promotional materials. We are also taking advantage of existing cross-government channels - including libraries, the school networks and jobcentre work coaches, to highlight social tariffs to eligible people directly.
The Department continues to work closely with Ofcom - who have a regulatory duty to monitor affordability in the telecoms market - to push operators to do more to promote their social tariff offers. On 7 July 2023, Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive of Ofcom, wrote to industry leaders to set out the regulator’s expectation that they take practical action to increase awareness.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to publish a revised Digital Inclusion Strategy.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is committed to closing the digital divide and meeting the government’s commitment that nobody should be left behind in the digital age. The 2014 Digital Inclusion Strategy, and the four pillars it sets out, remains as relevant today as it was when published. These principles were further echoed in the Government’s UK Digital Strategy published in 2022, and our vision to enable everyone from across the UK to benefit from all that digital innovation can offer.
The Department has noted this recommendation in the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s report on digital exclusion and cost of living and will formally respond this month.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department undertook a public consultation on procurement for upgrading the broadband network in the Glasgow area before the contract was awarded to CityFibre.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The UK Government has not awarded a contract to the supplier CityFibre to upgrade broadband infrastructure in the City of Glasgow, nor was it involved in a consultation or procurement process for any awarded contract.
I would advise contacting the local council, who may be able to provide further information.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what procurement processes were followed before the contract to upgrade the broadband network in the Glasgow area was awarded to CityFibre.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The UK Government has not awarded a contract to the supplier CityFibre to upgrade broadband infrastructure in the City of Glasgow, nor was it involved in a consultation or procurement process for any awarded contract.
I would advise contacting the local council, who may be able to provide further information.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect of the UK’s departure from the EU on the UK's status as a global science and technology superpower.
Answered by Paul Scully
Building on the UK’s trillion dollar tech industry, this government is creating an environment to grow and scale large globally competitive science and technology companies that drive growth in the economy and high-skilled employment opportunities for citizens
Our Science and Technology Framework sets out how we will do this, including attracting and retaining the brightest talent and leveraging post-Brexit freedoms to be at the frontier of setting standards and shaping regulations
There is no one metric that will determine whether the UK is a global science and technology superpower. We will monitor a range of indicators and international comparisons across the innovation system
We are working across Government and sectors to ensure progress against this Framework. By the end of 2023, we will publish an update setting out the progress that we have made, and the further action that must be taken on our path to being a Science and Technology Superpower by 2030.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken to conclude negotiations on association with the Horizon Europe programme on the science industry.
Answered by Paul Scully
The EU’s delays for over two years have caused serious and lasting damage to the UK R&D, fusion and Earth observation sectors. We established the Horizon guarantee to ensure there is no loss in funding for the UK sector. While the Government is engaging constructively with the EU, and hope that negotiations will be successful, the UK’s participation would have to be on fair and appropriate terms and address the lasting impact of the delays on UK participation rates across the programmes.