Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many alcohol industry representatives Ministers in his Department have met since July 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Data for the period of July to September 2024 will be published in due course
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether broadband access is classed as an essential utility.
Answered by Julia Lopez
There is no standard definition of what constitutes a utility, with gas, water, electricity, and telecoms all regulated differently. The UK telecoms market features strong competition both at wholesale and retail levels which sets it apart from gas, water and electricity, which are regulated in such a way as to address competition concerns. However, the Government recognises that access to the internet is increasingly essential for full participation in society.
The Government has taken action to ensure as many people as possible are able to access the internet. Since 2021, we have worked closely with telecoms operators to ensure social tariffs are available across 99% of the UK. Available to nearly 5 million households on Universal Credit as well as other means tested benefits, social tariffs are available from 28 individual providers (including BT, Sky, Virgin Media and Vodafone) and start at £10 per month.
Over 80% of the UK can now access gigabit-capable broadband from at least one provider, and the Government is investing £5 billion via Project Gigabit to bring fast, secure and resilient connections to those parts of the country unlikely to be reached by commercial roll-out.
In March 2020, The Broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) came into effect, giving consumers the right to request a decent broadband connection of at least 10Mbps download and 1Mbps upload. The USO is applicable in situations where access to decent broadband will cost more than £54 per month, the property isn’t due to be connected by an existing government scheme within 12 months and the cost of connection does not exceed a reasonable threshold of £3,400.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
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 increase the take up of social tariff broadband packages.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The Government continues to work closely with Ofcom on the issue of affordability of telecoms services, including social tariffs.
In December 2023, Ofcom’s Pricing Trends report showed that 380,000 UK households now take up a social tariff, an almost 160% increase from September 2022.
Social tariffs are low-cost, commercial products, but it is important to recognise that they may not represent the best value for money in every circumstance and should be considered alongside other commercial offers and bundled services.
The Government and Ofcom continue to press operators to do more to raise awareness of social tariffs so that eligible households make use of them. Ofcom’s report also showed that just 45% of eligible households were aware of low-cost broadband offers. In July 2023, Ofcom’s Chief Executive wrote to the sector to set out the regulator’s expectation that they should do more to promote awareness, such as by highlighting tariffs on bills and end-of-contract notifications.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
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 connect rural communities in Lancashire to broadband.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The Government is committed to improving broadband coverage in rural areas, with gigabit broadband coverage delivered through the £5 billion Project Gigabit. Alternative connectivity solutions are being investigated for very hard to reach premises.
According to the independent website thinkbroadband.com, 98% of premises in Lancashire have access to a superfast broadband connection, while 88% of premises can access a gigabit-capable connection. To further extend gigabit-capable coverage, Lancashire is included in Project Gigabit’s cross regional framework tender, launched in July 2023. We expect to announce this contract in the summer.
Less than 1% of premises are unable to access a decent broadband connection of 10Mbps download and 1Mbps upload and may be able to get an improved connection through the Broadband USO, which gives consumers the right to request a decent broadband connection if their current connection falls below these speeds.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how she measures digital inclusion.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue that spans social engagement, education, employment, access to services and many more elements of everyday life. Responsibility for relevant policies and activities, including monitoring and evaluation, sit across government.
Government draws on evidence from a variety of sources including the Office for National Statistics, regulators, and trusted partners and stakeholders from across the sector. Importantly, we seek to use such data and evidence to better understand the impact on day to day lives.
DSIT will continue to work with Government colleagues and with key external stakeholders from across the sector to better understand the impacts of overcoming digital exclusion and ensure that policy interventions are evidence driven. DSIT has also committed to exploring options for funding research to improve the Government’s evidence base on digital exclusion.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information Special Advisors in his Department have gathered on (a) the political views and (b) related social media posts of staff working in further and higher education settings; and how much money from the public purse has been expended on those activities.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
After concerns were raised about the social media activity of a member of a public body advisory panel, the Secretary of State requested information on whether other members of the group were posting in a manner that might come into conflict with the Nolan Principles. Minimal time was taken by special advisers to gather information already in the public domain.
Information is not gathered by special advisers on the views or social media of staff working in higher and further education, except in exceptional circumstances, such as this, where it supports the Secretary of State to reach an informed view on a serious matter.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, who authorised the reported gathering of information on (a) the political views and (b) related social media posts of members of the UKRI EDI board; and how much money from the public purse was expended in the process of gathering that information.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
After concerns were raised about the social media activity of a member of a public body advisory panel, the Secretary of State requested information on whether other members of the group were posting in a manner that might come into conflict with the Nolan Principles. Minimal time was taken by special advisers to gather information already in the public domain.
Information is not gathered by special advisers on the views or social media of staff working in higher and further education, except in exceptional circumstances, such as this, where it supports the Secretary of State to reach an informed view on a serious matter.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information officials in her Department have gathered on (a) the political views and (b) related social media posts of staff working in higher and further education settings; and how much money from the public purse has been expended on those activities.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
When individuals are recommended for an appointment in a public role, departments may carry out due diligence, which involves gathering publicly available information. This may include a search against the insolvency register, a search against the register of disqualified directors and some basic internet searches to check for any undeclared conflicts of interest or other issues around the suitability of the appointment that should be considered. In line with the Civil Service Code, there are no other circumstances where officials conduct investigations into the political views of individuals.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff working in higher and further education settings have had information gathered on them as part of investigations into their political views; and how much money from the public purse has been expended on such activities.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
When individuals are recommended for an appointment in a public role, departments may carry out due diligence, which involves gathering publicly available information. This may include a search against the insolvency register, a search against the register of disqualified directors and some basic internet searches to check for any undeclared conflicts of interest or other issues around the suitability of the appointment that should be considered. In line with the Civil Service Code, there are no other circumstances where officials conduct investigations into the political views of individuals.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions (a) she and (b) officials in her Department had with (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in (A) No. 10 Downing Street and (B) the Cabinet Office before issuing her letter to Dame Ottoline Leyser dated 30 October.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Ministers and officials at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology are in regular contact with our arm’s-length bodies and other government departments. To support effective policy development and to reduce administration, we do not routinely publish details of each of these conversations.
I refer the Hon. Member to the letter from my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology published on 28 October and the response from Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser sent on 30 October.
(https://twitter.com/michelledonelan/status/1718291791861182514; https://www.ukri.org/publications/ceo-response-to-the-open-letter-from-the-secretary-of-state/)