Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2023 to HL9736 on University of Cambridge: China, what advice the Research Collaboration Advice Team has given to universities on partnering with Chinese genomics companies.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government wants to enable collaborative international research, while ensuring universities engage with all companies, including Chinese genomics companies, in a way that takes account of national security concerns and is compliant with the UK’s security policies and regulations. As part of our proactive engagement with academia, the Research Collaboration Advice Team (RCAT) provides tailored advice to universities on national security risks in international collaborations. All advice is provided in confidence and is specific to the context and needs of each university. RCAT advice is informed by the NPSA's Trusted Research campaign and the UK Biological Security Strategy.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 inviting China to participate in the global summit on Artificial Intelligence on national security.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK’s approach to China is to protect our institutions and infrastructure, align with partners and engage where it is in the UK’s national interest.
The opportunities of Artificial Intelligence are transformational, but the pace of development necessitates an urgent international conversation about significant risks. The AI Safety Summit will focus on international collaboration to identify and mitigate safety risks from frontier AI – including misuse leading to biological or cyber-attacks.
We cannot keep the UK public safe from the risks of AI if we exclude one of the leading nations in AI tech. We have therefore determined that it is in our national interest to invite China to the Summit where we will encourage a global approach to addressing safety risks in frontier AI which are inherently international in nature.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2023 to Question 190396 on China: Genomics, when she plans for the programme of work on assessing how to minimise risks from biological data to be completed.
Answered by George Freeman
As part of the new UK Biological Security Strategy, the Government is undertaking a programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy, without stifling innovation, and build confidence in sharing personal data to improve health outcomes in the UK and across the world. The Government has begun this work, which is a ‘medium term’ commitment in the new UK Biological Security Strategy.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to take steps to help improve broadband infrastructure in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. By 2025, the Government is targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage. As of April 2023, 78% of premises in Horney and Wood Green have access to gigabit-capable networks, up from just 1.7% in April 2020.
Our pro-competition policies have made it as easy as possible for firms to build their networks in the UK by removing barriers to rollout and working with Ofcom to promote competition and investment. As a result, there is now a thriving market of over 80 providers investing nearly £35bn rolling out gigabit broadband all over the UK. This approach is the fastest and best value for the taxpayer as it allows us to focus government funding on the areas that would not otherwise be connected.
The scale at which operators choose to build their networks in urban areas such as Hornsey and Wood Green is a commercial decision, and the Government is unable to intervene as we are bound by competition law, though we expect the vast majority of premises in Hornsey and Wood Green to be connected by the 2025 target.
In order to further improve connectivity in Hornsey and Wood Green, we have published the Digital Connectivity Portal - extensive guidance to help local authorities facilitate broadband deployment. This includes technical information on the application of telecoms legislation, as well practical examples of best practice (such as the Street Works Toolkit for working in the country’s highways, and wayleave templates for telecoms operators to gain access to public sector land).
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology officials regularly facilitate meetings and workshops between local government and the broadband industry, to build relationships that foster more frictionless deployment. The four sub-regional partnerships across London have been vital in coordinating this work. For example, Local London, which represents the London Borough of Haringey, has worked with the Government on a number of initiatives.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to help ensure that all households have access to fibre to the premises broadband in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez
The Government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. By 2025, the Government is targeting a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage. As of April 2023, 78% of premises in Horney and Wood Green have access to gigabit-capable networks, up from just 1.7% in April 2020.
Our pro-competition policies have made it as easy as possible for firms to build their networks in the UK by removing barriers to rollout and working with Ofcom to promote competition and investment. As a result, there is now a thriving market of over 80 providers investing nearly £35bn rolling out gigabit broadband all over the UK. This approach is the fastest and best value for the taxpayer as it allows us to focus government funding on the areas that would not otherwise be connected.
The scale at which operators choose to build their networks in urban areas such as Hornsey and Wood Green is a commercial decision, and the Government is unable to intervene as we are bound by competition law, though we expect the vast majority of premises in Hornsey and Wood Green to be connected by the 2025 target.
In order to further improve connectivity in Hornsey and Wood Green, we have published the Digital Connectivity Portal - extensive guidance to help local authorities facilitate broadband deployment. This includes technical information on the application of telecoms legislation, as well practical examples of best practice (such as the Street Works Toolkit for working in the country’s highways, and wayleave templates for telecoms operators to gain access to public sector land).
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology officials regularly facilitate meetings and workshops between local government and the broadband industry, to build relationships that foster more frictionless deployment. The four sub-regional partnerships across London have been vital in coordinating this work. For example, Local London, which represents the London Borough of Haringey, has worked with the Government on a number of initiatives.