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 assessment she has made of the impact of science and discovery centres' on (a) science communication, (b) public engagement and (c) the level of interest in STEM skills amongst school students; and what assessment she has made of trends in the level of financial resilience of these centres since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not conducted an assessment of interest in science and discovery centres among school students. The financial sustainability of Science and Discovery Centres was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as entrance fees are a significant income source. Sector surveys by the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, conducted in Spring 2024 and 2025, show that visitor numbers have since increased, with over 5.2 million last year—including school children, families and communities. Science and Discovery Centres engaged 37% of UK schools and offered programmes such as 'Thinking Doing Talking Science' to improve attainment, particularly among disadvantaged pupils.
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 his Department holds data on the number of vacancies in the science and technology sectors in London.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT does not hold vacancy data specifically for the Science and Technology Sectors in London.
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 steps to ensure that the proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill supports the establishment of common levels of cyber security with the UK's international partners.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will better safeguard UK national security by strengthening our cyber defences and ensuring the essential and digital services people and businesses rely on every day are better protected.
Cyber threats do not respect borders, and the nature of digital technology means we are all fundamentally interconnected. The UK is tackling similar challenges to those faced by governments across the globe. Businesses operating across borders are also reckoning with this threat and adjusting practices to comply with regulation in other jurisdictions as well as in the UK.
The Bill is being designed with these issues in mind and government is continuing to actively engage with our international partners on its development and on our shared cyber issues. We will continue to seek harmonisation and commonality in cyber security and risk mitigation where appropriate through the design and implementation of the Bill.
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 assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to require social media platforms to enable users to transfer their (a) data, (b) content and (c) connections between competing services, in the context of the Digital Choice Act in Utah, US.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Article 20 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) already provides individuals with a right to ‘data portability’. It applies where an individual has provided their personal data to one data controller based on consent or a contract and wants that organisation to transmit it directly to another data controller. The right only applies to personal data that is being processed by automated means and where the transmission would be technically feasible.
The Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s independent regulator for data protection, has published guidance for organisations on the right to data portability, which can be viewed at Right to data portability | ICO.
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 he plans to take steps through a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence to (a) mandate safety-by-design principles, (b) mitigate potential harms and (c) prevent AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs.
On Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) specifically, creating, possessing, or distributing AI-generated CSAM is illegal, and the Online Safety Act requires services to identify and remove it. We are also taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models which have been optimised to create CSAM.
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 the differences in remit are between the (a) AI Security Institute and (b) Alan Turing Institute.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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 the targeting of Iranian scientists by the IDF on British (a) science and (b) scientists.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Science, innovation and technology are inherently international. The UK continues to work closely with international partners to harness the power of science and tech for global benefit.
We remain focused on ensuring stability in the Middle East. It is crucial that we now de-escalate the situation, stabilise the region, and get all parties back around the table to negotiate.
We have taken all necessary measures to protect UK interests, UK personnel, and to work with our allies to protect their interests as well. We urge all British Nationals, including scientists, to register their presence and monitor FCDO Travel Advice.
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 his Department is taking to help tackle the emergence of deepfake videos depicting government ministers; and whether the forthcoming legislation on deepfakes will include specific provisions to protect public figures from impersonation and misinformation online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government takes the threat posed by harmful deepfakes very seriously. Deepfakes, and other manipulated media, are regulated by the Online Safety Act where they are shared on an in-scope service and constitute either illegal content or content which is harmful to children. For the largest user-to-user services, AI generated content is captured where it contravenes terms of service. The Data (Use and Access) Act, which received Royal Ascent on 19 June, introduces a new offence for the non-consensual creation of sexually explicit deepfakes. It is already a criminal offence to share, or threaten to share, such content without consent.
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 definition his Department uses for sovereign AI in the AI opportunities action plan.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government defines sovereign AI as the UK's ability to access, influence or control the development and deployment of critical capabilities to protect our national interests and unlock economic growth. This encompasses strengthening domestic capacity and capabilities, working in close partnership with the private sector and maintaining positive international collaboration.
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, which Government departments work with Meta to (a) identify and (b) remove misinformation.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is responsible for the government’s relationship with social media platforms, and leads HMG’s domestic mis- and disinformation policy while working closely with other departments. The Online Safety Act’s duties address mis- and disinformation where it constitutes illegal content or content harmful to children, and are now enforceable by Ofcom. DSIT engages with platforms and may refer content which is assessed as likely to violate terms of service and which sits within an agreed national security / public safety remit. Platforms then decide what action to take: government cannot compel platforms to remove legal content.