Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what his planned timetable is to decide whether to accept Ofcom’s advice on extending category 1 regulation of schedule 11 of the Online Safety Act 2023 to small online forums containing (a) racial hatred and (b) promotion of (i) suicide and (ii) eating disorders.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology is carefully considering Ofcom’s categorisation research and advice and will make Regulations as soon as reasonably practicable.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department provided funding for biomedical research using (a) live animals and (b) non-animal for (i) organ-on-a-chip, (ii) computer modelling and (iii) other technologies in the period between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Government funds biomedical and biological research using animals and non-animal methodologies and technologies, recognising that the highly regulated and limited use of animals in scientific procedures remains necessary for understanding how biological systems work, in the development of new medicines, treatments and technologies, and for testing chemicals to protect human health and the environment. UKRI funds research and innovation aimed at reducing or eliminating the use of animals in research, providing approximately £10m per annum for the world-leading National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research to drive the development and uptake of 3Rs technologies – including organ-on-a chip and computer modelling.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the Three-Vodafone merger.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ministers and Departmental officials regularly meet with Ofcom to discuss a range of telecoms issues.
It is the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority to assess the impact on consumers and competition in the market of the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three, with input from sectoral regulators.
The Government does not comment on specific mergers or acquisitions, which are subject to the UK’s stringent legal and regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what implications the Three-Vodafone merger will have on that department’s current contracts with Vodafone.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Ministers and Departmental officials regularly meet with Ofcom to discuss a range of telecoms issues.
It is the responsibility of the Competition and Markets Authority to assess the impact on consumers and competition in the market of the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three, with input from sectoral regulators.
The Government does not comment on specific mergers or acquisitions, which are subject to the UK’s stringent legal and regulatory requirements.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the cost of mobile phone contracts on (a) the affordability of such contracts and (b) connectivity; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor affordability and pricing in the telecoms market. Its most recent Pricing Trends report found that mobile prices have continued to fall. The average monthly cost of a mobile service (excluding handset cost), was 12% lower in real terms compared to 2020, despite an estimated 52% increase in the average consumption of mobile data.
We recognise that this is clearly a difficult time for families up and down the country who are struggling to pay their bills as a result of the global rise in the cost of living. While telecoms represents approximately 4% of a household's budget, Ofcom’s affordability tracker, updated in February, showed that 8% of individuals reported an issue with the cost of their mobile service in the month of January.
In June 2022, DCMS convened a roundtable with leaders of the UK’s major broadband and mobile operators, agreeing a set of industry commitments to support people through the global rise in the cost of living, including more low-cost mobile offers.
On 23 January, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport met with Chief Executives from major mobile providers and urged providers to think carefully about the need for these rises and the impact they have on households already struggling with the global rise in the cost of living.