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Written Question
Artificial Intelligence: Public Bodies
Tuesday 24th December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

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 increase the transparency in the use of artificial intelligence by public bodies.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) establishes a standardised way for public sector organisations to publish information about how and why they are using algorithmic tools. The ATRS is mandatory for government departments and arm’s-length bodies (ALBs), for algorithmic tools which have a significant influence on a decision-making process with public effect, or directly interact with the general public.


Written Question
Business and Universities
Monday 23rd December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the State of the relationship report 2024, published by the National Centre for Universities and Business on 5 December 2024, what steps he is taking to increase the number of interactions between businesses and universities.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government incentivises university-business interactions through funding for UKRI programmes. Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF), provided through Research England is the largest source of knowledge exchange funding to English universities, providing £280 million annually to support engagement with a range of partners, including businesses. HEIF includes a £20 million contribution specifically for university-business collaboration and commercialisation. Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)programme links businesses with technical experts in UK universities. Currently, around 800 businesses, 100 knowledge bases (universities and other research organisations) and over 800 graduates are involved in KTPs.


Written Question
Nigeria: Foreign Relations
Monday 23rd December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK-Nigeria joint communiqué, published on 6 November 2024, what support for humanitarian action is included in the new UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership.

Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

In the Financial Year 2024/25, UK humanitarian support to Nigeria totalled £33.5 million in life-saving assistance and has reached approximately 1 million people with our Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (HARP), reducing mortality and increasing resilience for people with the most severe humanitarian needs. This assistance is one part of our development partnership with Nigeria - an important component of the new UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership.


Written Question
Nigeria: Vaccination
Monday 23rd December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the expansion of immunisation programs in northern Nigeria.

Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK supports immunisation programmes in Nigeria through GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation), the public-private global alliance that has helped vaccinate more than half the world's children against some of the world's deadliest diseases. The UK's contribution to GAVI is £1.65 billion over five years (2021-2025). Nigeria will receive over $1 billion in funding from GAVI between 2018 and 2028, one of the largest of any country.   

The UK continues to work with the Government of Nigeria to strengthen health systems in Northern Nigeria, which are crucial for ensuring access to life-saving vaccinations for the poorest and most vulnerable.


Written Question
Food Supply
Friday 20th December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on the potential for joint working on the proposed food strategy.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The issues the food sector faces cut across the work of many Departments, and also of Devolved Governments. Development of the strategy will be led by Defra, but this work will require a whole-of-government effort with involvement from several other Government departments, including the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology.


Written Question
Government Departments: ICT
Friday 20th December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the oral evidence to the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee of 3 December 2024, HC 504, whether the moratorium on government IT procurement decisions over £1 million is still in place; and how many requests for IT procurement have been (a) considered, (b) approved and (c) rejected since the implementation of the moratorium.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The moratorium on government IT procurement decisions over £1m (now known as the Digital Assurance Gateway) is still in place. The Integrated Corporate Services Digital Assurance Team and Central Digital and Data Office have considered 11 spend requests for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and its Arm’s Length Bodies against the gateway criteria since it was introduced on 14 August 2024, and none were rejected.


Written Question
Proteins: Novel Foods
Friday 20th December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the National Food Strategy will include the role of (a) alternative proteins and (b) engineering biology in the food supply.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, and in doing so will consider elements of the food system that can contribute towards those outcomes.


Written Question
Science and Technology: New Businesses
Friday 20th December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) housing costs and (b) the cost of living on (i) start-ups and (ii) innovation in the (A) science and (B) technology sectors.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT supports startups and innovation across the UK, including through the UK’s innovation agency - Innovate UK. Over the last two years, Innovate UK has awarded £5.2 billion funding to more than 7,000 businesses across the UK.

Innovate UK published the State of Innovation 2024 report on 6 December. This draws on data from over 2,000 UK businesses, to provide a view of businesses’ innovation activities, challenges and plans for the year ahead.

The report does not specifically assess housing costs and cost of living, but assesses trends in barriers to innovation, including the cost of doing business, which will include these areas.


Written Question
Government Office for Technology Transfer
Friday 20th December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Government Office for Technology Transfer has a role in supporting his Department to provide digital expertise to other Government Departments.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

No. GOTT works with government departments and Arm’s Length Bodies to accelerate government’s innovations towards the market, through guidance, direct practical expert support, grant funding for specific opportunities, and access to networks.


Written Question
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Equality
Friday 20th December 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what training has been provided to civil servants in his Department on the public sector equality duty.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

In June 2024, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology published updated guidance on the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), available to all staff via the intranet. The guidance provides a clear framework on the principles of the duty, compliance expectations, and conducting equality impact assessments. Staff were encouraged to use this resource to support their work.

In addition, a PSED training video was included in the Policy Foundation Programme, run on DSIT's behalf by the Integrated Corporate Services. The first cohort took place on 18th November 2024.