Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of households in Somerton and Frome constituency did not have access to fibre optic broadband on 1 May 2023.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Currently, over 89% of premises in the Somerton and Frome constituency can access a superfast broadband connection. Over 51% have access to a gigabit-capable connection and 38% have fibre to the premises.
The Government is committed to working with broadband suppliers to ensure 85% of UK premises can access gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, and then for nationwide coverage by 2030. We are on track to achieve our target.
As part of Project Gigabit, the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband across the UK, we have begun launching procurements that give subsidies to broadband suppliers to build gigabit-capable infrastructure to premises that will not be reached by suppliers’ commercial plans alone. In the coming months, we plan to launch a procurement that will improve broadband connectivity for premises in Somerton and Frome.
Constituents in Somerton and Frome have also made excellent use of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme which provides a subsidy of up to £4,500 for residents and businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. More than 960 premises in Somerton and Frome have received a fast, reliable connection through the voucher scheme, worth over £1.5 million.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to reduce the cyber skills gap.
Answered by George Freeman
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) commissions an annual survey on the need for cyber security skills across the UK labour market, which suggests an annual shortfall of around 14,000 professionals.
As part of the government's £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy, DSIT committed to significantly increase the number of people who have the skills they need to enter the cyber workforce. This requires the clarification of pathways into and through a cyber career and getting more people interested in cyber at a young age. In order to create and publicise clear routes into a cyber career DCMS funded the creation of a professional body for cyber, the UK Cyber Security Council, to create professional standards and pathways that will inform employer recruitment and an individual's career development. We deliver extracurricular youth programmes to inspire and develop future talent, including the DSIT ‘Cyber Explorers’ platform targeted at 11-14 year olds. This complements the National Cyber Security Centre ‘CyberFirst’ competitions and degree bursaries. For those already in the workforce, free cyber skills bootcamps are offered through the Department for Education ‘Skills for Life’ scheme and the DSIT ‘Upskill in Cyber’ programme.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to increase the number of businesses that apply for Cyber Essentials certification.
Answered by Paul Scully
As part of the government's £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is committed to improving cyber resilience across the economy and promoting the take-up of accreditations and standards such as the Cyber Essentials (CE) certification scheme. Over 122,000 certificates have now been issued over the lifetime of the scheme, with over 25,000 organisations, including over a third of the UK’s largest organisations, currently holding either a CE or CE Plus certificate.
DSIT is working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), other government departments and industry to increase the uptake of the CE scheme, including through requiring CE certification from suppliers using procurement levers. For example DSIT recently announced a partnership with St James’s Place which now requires its partners to be CE Plus certified.
The NCSC is also leading a three year funding programme, providing support to help organisations work towards certification. Over the past three months 369 support packages have been awarded to small legal aid firms and charities.
Research to date has found 93% of organisations with CE are confident of protection against common cyber attacks, compared to just 71% of non-certified organisations and 83% report a positive impact on customer and investor confidence. Further research is being undertaken to assess the impact of the scheme and will be published shortly.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
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 effectiveness of the Cyber Essentials programme.
Answered by Paul Scully
As part of the government's £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is committed to improving cyber resilience across the economy and promoting the take-up of accreditations and standards such as the Cyber Essentials (CE) certification scheme. Over 122,000 certificates have now been issued over the lifetime of the scheme, with over 25,000 organisations, including over a third of the UK’s largest organisations, currently holding either a CE or CE Plus certificate.
DSIT is working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), other government departments and industry to increase the uptake of the CE scheme, including through requiring CE certification from suppliers using procurement levers. For example DSIT recently announced a partnership with St James’s Place which now requires its partners to be CE Plus certified.
The NCSC is also leading a three year funding programme, providing support to help organisations work towards certification. Over the past three months 369 support packages have been awarded to small legal aid firms and charities.
Research to date has found 93% of organisations with CE are confident of protection against common cyber attacks, compared to just 71% of non-certified organisations and 83% report a positive impact on customer and investor confidence. Further research is being undertaken to assess the impact of the scheme and will be published shortly.