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 recent discussions (a) he has and (b) his officials have had with trade unions on the digitalisation of government.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I recently met Prospect Union to discuss our plans for digitising government. My officials met with representatives from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) several times to discuss the Blueprint for Modern Digital Government, both before and after publication. Myself and my officials in DSIT continue to explore opportunities for trade union engagement on emerging technologies and public sector digital transformation.
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, when he plans to complete the integration of the Government Gateway with the gov.uk one login system.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government Gateway is a separate, existing authentication and identity service for cross-government digital services and is managed by HMRC. There are no plans to integrate Government Gateway with GOV.UK One Login, but in time services that use Government Gateway will move over to using GOV.UK One Login instead.
GOV.UK One Login is the government’s sign-in and identity verification solution, enabling users to create an account, log in, and prove their identity to access government services. Our plan is to onboard all central government services during this Parliament, including those currently accessed through Government Gateway.
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 ensure the continuation of UK research in the higher education sector.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is protecting record levels R&D investment, allocating £20.4bn across departments in 2025/26. DSIT’s overall R&D budget will be £13.9bn in 2025/26, including £8.8bn for UKRI to support talent, infrastructure, and innovation. This funding ensures the continuation of research in higher education and supports key priorities such as building R&I talent, fostering student startups, and maintaining Quality-Related (QR) funding, which was around £2bn in 2024/25.
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 ensure that the right to object to targeted online advertising is upheld under consent-or-pay models; and whether his Department plans to provide updated guidance on this issue in the context of the Information Commissioner’s Office’s guidance on consent-or-pay.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) guidance on this matter states that pay and consent models can be implemented in accordance with the data protection legislation, so long as websites ensure that consent to targeted advertising is fully informed and freely given. The guidance sets out a framework of factors that are important to consider when assessing whether a “consent or pay” model meets the required standard of consent.
The Government will continue to engage with businesses, the ICO and other stakeholders to monitor operation of these models.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the capacity of local health committees to respond promptly to local clinical trial requests.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what role the Artificial Intelligence Directorate plays in supporting the digital transformation of local government services.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG’s Artificial Intelligence Directorate supports local government to harness the power of artificial intelligence, data analytics and other digital innovations so that their services are more responsive to the needs of their communities, provide better value for money and are secure. The directorate includes the Local Digital team, which has been working with local government since 2018 to improve digital transformation and cyber resilience across local government.
My officials are working closely with local government and key partners across government on this work including with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of access to internships and work placements by people from different socio-economic backgrounds.
Answered by Bridget Phillipson - Minister for Women and Equalities
Our Opportunity Mission will break down the barriers to opportunity for everyone, regardless of their socio-economic background. This means ensuring that everyone can access training opportunities, including internships and work placements, that support them to thrive in work and in life.That is why the Government is following through with our manifesto commitment for two weeks’ worth of work experience for all pupils in secondary school and has recently invested £18m in supported internships for those with SEND. We are embedding work placements within T Levels and we’ve also announced funding for 40,000 industry placements as part of the Construction Skills Package
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 assessment he has made of the potential risk that the proposed free trade agreement between the UK and Israel may result in Israel firms having access to British public procurement contracts which support Israeli firms involved in human rights abuses.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a leading advocate for human rights around the world. We remain committed to the promotion of universal human rights. We have taken action in the Procurement Act 2023 to strengthen the rules around excluding suppliers which may be unfit to bid for public contracts due to serious past misconduct.
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, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including a ban on data localisation in the proposed free trade agreement between the UK and Israel.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This government is committed to securing the best outcomes for the UK in our Free Trade Agreement negotiations. We are a strong supporter of modern and ambitious digital provisions which prevent unjustified data localisation requirements for UK businesses whilst protecting the UK's high standards for personal data protection.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people that have received negative asylum decisions have subsequently become homeless in Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not centrally held, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.