Damian Hinds

The Counter Disinformation Unit became the National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) in October 2023. The name more accurately reflects the team’s revised remit and function, which is to identify and understand information threats to UK audiences, focusing on those which present a public safety or national security risk.

The Secretary of State is required under section 178 of the Online Safety Act to review the regulatory framework between two and five years after the last of the provisions of Part 3 come into force. Part 3 of the Act includes key duties for regulated services, including the additional duties for categorised services which are not yet in force. These timelines ensure the review takes place once the regime is fully operational and its impact can be properly assessed. Additional monitoring and evaluation work is already underway to ensure we have robust evidence on the Act’s effectiveness and impact.

The Online Safety Act provides clear requirements for the Committee’s responsibilities: advising Ofcom on how providers should address mis- and disinformation, and how Ofcom should exercise their transparency powers and fulfil their statutory duty to promote media literacy in relation to mis- and disinformation.

How Ofcom approaches the design of the committee, providing that it is compliant with these legislative requirements, is for it to decide as an independent regulator. The terms of reference for the new Online Information Advisory Committee have now been published and confirm that these duties remain at the heart of its function.

The government has high expectations there will be significant change in online experiences for children, as services start to comply with their duties under the Online Safety Act. Ofcom stands ready to act against services who fall short in protecting users.

Ofcom’s final child safety codes outline over 40 measures that providers should consider to protect children online. Ofcom considered parental controls as part of the evidence base that informed these codes.

Ministers have regular meetings with stakeholders, including social media companies, to discuss protecting children online. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on gov.uk.

In 2024, the ICO updated its Age assurance opinion for the Children’s code, with guidance on what online services must do if they are likely to be accessed by children. We welcome the ICO’s ongoing work to assess how services are applying age assurance measures to identifying child users and through the Data (Use and Access) Bill we are taking steps to require the ICO to have regard to the fact that children merit specific protection.

Under the Online Safety Act services in scope must use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from encountering the most harmful content. Additionally, services which have a minimum age limit must specify in their terms of service how these restrictions are enforced and apply these terms consistently. Ofcom must publish a report on services’ use of age assurance within 18 months of child safety duties coming into effect.

The Information Commissioner’s Office enforces the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Organisations that process personal data through algorithmic recommender systems are subject to the requirements of the data protection legislation.

Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom can require social media providers to take proportionate steps relating to the design of their service, to help keep users safe. This includes steps relating to content recommender systems.

Both regulators have various audit and enforcement tools, such as the ability to request information from individuals and issue monetary penalties for non-compliance.

The Department does not hold this specific information on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Ofcom’s Connected Nations (2024) report (published 5 December 2024) states: “In the year to July 2024, 1.8 million residential customers who previously had a PSTN line migrated to a VoIP service. 53% (970,000 lines) of these were as a result of a provider-led migration, while the remaining 47% (870,000 lines) were as a result of customer-led migrations.”

The Department separately holds some information on the number of remaining PSTN lines and the number of migrations per quarter for the larger communications providers. As of December 2024, there were circa 6.5 million active PSTN lines remaining.

The government is committed to supporting a pro-competition environment in the broadband sector.

The transition to VOIP is being led by industry. The Department is engaging with Ofcom to ensure that the long-term process does not have an adverse impact on wholesale competition.

The Online Advertising Taskforce last met on May 6th 2025, and is expected to meet again in Autumn. Its six industry-led working groups are delivering a programme of work to help tackle illegal advertising, and minimise children being served advertising for products and services illegal to be sold to them. A progress report was published in November 2024, updating on progress to date and planned next steps. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-advertising-taskforce-progress-report-2023-24

Since the publication of this report, working groups have continued to set further targets to improve advertising trust, transparency and accountability, and a new AI-focused working group has been established.

The Action Plan also referred to the passage of legislation at the time and to other government initiatives to support a reduction in advertising harms, including fraudulent advertising. This includes the Online Safety Act 2023 and Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Digital Marketing, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which restates the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and applies from 6 April 2025. The Government committed to introducing an expanded Fraud Strategy in our manifesto, covering the continued and modern-day threats our society faces. Development of the strategy has begun, and we are considering all harms, including fraudulent online advertising.

The Online Advertising Programme was an initiative of the previous government and a second consultation was not published, but we continue to monitor the regulatory framework closely.

The Government will continue to monitor the regulatory framework around online advertising to assess if further legislation is needed. The Online Advertising Taskforce continues to take forward non-legislative action on addressing illegal advertising and minimising children being served advertising for products and services illegal to be sold to them.

Since August 2022, the Listed Places of Grant Scheme has awarded more than £3 million to 416 Non-Christian listed places of worship. This includes Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and other denominations. In the same timeframe the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme has awarded £108,618 to 15 listed places of worship for non-Christian religious minority groups across South East England, and £5,576 to a single listed place of worship for a religious minority group in Hampshire.

Churches can have an important part to play in heritage skills and crafts. For example, in summer 2024, Historic England's Heritage Building Skills Summer School took place at St John the Evangelist Church, Lancaster, a Churches Conservation Trust site. The Government funds both Historic England and Churches Conservation Trust, and the summer school is part of the Heritage Building Skills Programme, a five-year training and apprenticeships programme running from 2021-2026.

The High Potential Initial Teacher Training Programme has played a vital part in boosting teaching quality across the country. The current contract is coming to an end and, as with any government contract of this scale, it will be retendered in line with the usual fair, open and transparent process.

The programme is being adapted to return it to its original purpose - attracting a limited number of the very best trainee teachers to work in disadvantaged areas of the country.

The department is also growing other popular routes into teaching, building on the progress we have already made towards recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and our colleges over the course of this parliament.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18. The Review is evaluating the existing national curriculum and assessment system in England, to ensure they are fit for purpose. The Review panel published an interim report in March 2025 which highlighted that further work is ongoing to consider the issue of onscreen assessment. The interim report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821d69eced319d02c9060e3/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review_interim_report.pdf.

The department and Ofqual are considering the potential risks and benefits of onscreen assessment, including the implications for schools and colleges, students and other stakeholders.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18. The Review is evaluating the existing national curriculum and assessment system in England, to ensure they are fit for purpose. The Review panel published an interim report in March 2025 which highlighted that further work is ongoing to consider the issue of onscreen assessment. The interim report is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821d69eced319d02c9060e3/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review_interim_report.pdf.

The department and Ofqual are considering the potential risks and benefits of onscreen assessment, including the implications for schools and colleges, students and other stakeholders.

There are 2,346 more full-time equivalent teachers in secondary and special schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 and there are 12% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary teachers, and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), acceptances are up 25% compared to last year.

The department is driving teacher recruitment and retention across all subjects to deliver our pledge. We recognise that workforce shortages are more acute in some subjects which is why we have invested £233 million in recruitment incentives, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free for trainees in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.

In addition, for 2025/26 the department is offering targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools or teach technical subjects in further education colleges.

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There are 2,346 more full-time equivalent teachers in secondary and special schools in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 and there are 12% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary teachers, and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), acceptances are up 25% compared to last year.

The department is driving teacher recruitment and retention across all subjects to deliver our pledge. We recognise that workforce shortages are more acute in some subjects which is why we have invested £233 million in recruitment incentives, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free for trainees in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.

In addition, for 2025/26 the department is offering targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools or teach technical subjects in further education colleges.

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​​Estimates of the primary places needed to meet predicted demand for places in September 2024 were first published on 24 March 2022.

​Estimates of the secondary places needed to meet predicted demand for places in September 2024 were first published on 28 March 2019.

​The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities.

Level 6 apprenticeships are a core part of our apprenticeships offer and continue to be funded by government.

Recruiting and retaining high quality teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.

The term ‘expert teacher’ focuses on the qualities and expertise it requires to be a high quality teacher and ensuring that teaching remains a valued profession. Quality teaching is essential to reduce the attainment gap and is the most significant in-school and college determinant of pupil outcomes.

This is why the department has put in place initiatives to ensure teachers are better qualified and better trained. We are introducing legislation to ensure new teachers have or are working towards qualified teacher status, and to help further improve teacher quality from September 2025, we will also introduce the new initial teacher training and early career framework, replacing the current initial teacher training core content framework and the early career framework. We are also reviewing national professional qualification courses to align with the latest evidence and best practice.

Pupil numbers remain firmly within expectations and higher than 2021/22. As a percentage of the overall school population, private school pupils have remained the same, at 6.5%. It has been between 6% and 7% for the last two decades.

Keeping children safe is an absolute priority for this government and schools play a critical role in this.

In England, schools must procure their own technology, including filtering and monitoring systems, and ensure they meet the statutory safeguarding requirements set out in the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) statutory guidance and in the filtering and monitoring standards, in order to protect students from harmful and/or illegal content. Both are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2 and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/filtering-and-monitoring-standards-for-schools-and-colleges.

The standards require filtering systems to effectively block harmful and inappropriate content using regularly updated blocklists from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). Schools cannot alter or disable these lists. Additionally, filtering providers must be members of the IWF, signed up to CTIRU, and committed to maintaining updates.

KCSIE signposts to resources to help schools make informed decisions to support safeguarding which, amongst others, includes a tool from South West Grid for Learning that allows schools to check whether their filtering provider is aligned with the necessary blocklists. This resource is available here: https://swgfl.org.uk/services/test-filtering/. We also funded the UK Safer Internet Centre to produce a series of webinars, which are available at: https://saferinternet.org.uk/blog/filtering-and-monitoring-webinars-available. We have also recently launched the plan technology for your school service which helps schools understand how to meet the standards. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plan-technology-for-your-school.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member for East Hampshire directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

At the Spending Review 2025, the government announced that funding for schools will increase by £4.7 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to the 2025/26 core schools budget, which was published at the Spring Statement 2025.

This additional funding will enable us to transform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system to make mainstream schools more inclusive, improve outcomes and stop parents having to fight for support.

Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn. The department will also provide further details on the national funding formulae for schools and high needs for 2026/27.

Spending Review 2025 delivers on the Plan for Change and sets out spending plans for the rest of the Parliament. The settlement for the department ensures we can invest in excellence for every child, so that their background will not dictate what they go on to achieve.

The department has worked with the Office for Value for Money to identify £248 million of technical efficiencies by 2028/29. Details of these technical efficiencies are included in paragraphs 2.11 to 2.13 of the Departmental Efficiency Plans document, which was published alongside the main Spending Review document. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/departmental-efficiency-delivery-plans.

The skills system is central to achieving economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The government is providing £1.2 billion of additional investment per year by 2028/29. This includes funding to support 1.3 million 16 to 19-year-olds to access high-quality training, supporting 65,000 additional learners per year by 2028/29. It will also deliver £625 million between 2025/26 and 2028/29 to train up to 60,000 skilled construction workers, as announced at Spring Statement 2025.

Further detail on funding within this allocation will be set out in due course.