Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the annual expenditure by the UK Research and Innovation on research workforce development programmes, including fellowships, training awards and capacity-building initiatives, was in each financial year from 2019–20 to 2024–25; and what proportion of that expenditure was allocated to (a) dementia, (b) cancer, (c) stroke and (d) coronary heart disease research, where such categorisation is held.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) supports and encourages the development of researchers’ skills and knowledge at all career stages across all its investments through dedicated skills, talents, and training investments.
The table below shows total annual UKRI spend from 2019-20 to 2024-25. Data relating to capacity-building initiatives is not recorded by UKRI.
Total UKRI Spend (£M) | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
Training grants | 414 | 429 | 415.7 | 421.1 | 436.2 | 465.5 |
Fellowships | 165.1 | 217.2 | 223.9 | 260.1 | 261.1 | 282.7 |
Total | 579.1 | 646.2 | 639.6 | 681.2 | 697.3 | 748.2 |
Expenditure breakdowns are not available for dementia, cancer, stroke and coronary heart disease research.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the number of customers affected by recent telecommunications cable thefts in Dorchester on Thames.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government works in partnership with communications providers to promote networks remaining secure, resilient, and accessible as possible, including during emergencies and service disruption, although we do not hold records of individual incidents. Communication providers are required to take appropriate measures to identify, reduce and prepare for security compromises. They are also required to report significant incidents to Ofcom, who have powers to investigate, rectify and penalise communications providers for any infringement of their duties.
Under Ofcom’s General Conditions of Entitlement Communication Providers are expected to keep customers up to date on disruption to services and when to expect normal service. Ofcom have also published Network and Service Resilience Guidance that provides advice and expectations on how providers can meet statutory obligations.
Any suspected crimes should be reported to the police, and the police’s National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership works with industry and other authorities such as the National Protective Security Authority to investigate and tackle metal theft and other crimes affecting critical infrastructure, strengthening coordination, intelligence sharing, and preventative activity across the UK.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the change in the quality of service for customers moved from analogue to digital landline services, including the clarity and audibility of phone services and the unexpected disconnection of calls.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The analogue Public Switched Telephone Network’s (PSTN) replacement technology is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Ofcom have confirmed that VoIP technology enables communication providers to offer consumers and businesses clearer and better-quality phone calls and additional features. VoIP can also be used to block scam calls (BT Digital Voice blocks over 17,000 scam calls every day).
Ofcom, the independent regulator, is responsible for assessing VoIP services, and has done so since the early 2000’s. Whilst Ofcom are responsible for regulating communication providers, the Government has acted to ensure consumers are protected during the upgrade. In March 2026, major communication providers and network operators signed the Fixed Telecoms Modernisation Charter to enhance protections for customers during any telecoms modernisation, including the PSTN migration to VoIP.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has assessed the potential merits of requiring providers of digital landline services to provide a battery back-up of greater than one hour duration for vulnerable and landline dependent customers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the copper based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK.
In November 2024, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent customers to ensure access to emergency services go beyond one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups of 4-7 hours. This includes Vodafone, BT, KCOM, and Zen Internet. Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, are responsible for setting minimum standards.
In March 2026, the Government and industry agreed a new Fixed Telecoms Charter to extend these safeguards to all future fixed telecoms modernisation programmes.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 improve media literacy.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is taking a cross‑government approach to improving media literacy, as set out in ‘A Safe, Informed Digital Nation’, published on 16 March.
This includes strengthening coordination across policy areas and working with civil society and industry to help people build the skills, confidence and critical thinking needed to navigate the online world safely and effectively.
This includes initiatives such as the ‘You Won’t Know Until You Ask’ campaign, which encourages people to pause and question online content, alongside trusted guidance on the new Kids Online Safety Hub and funding innovative projects through the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 ensure that the Information Commissioner's Office is adequately resourced to carry out digital age enforcement cases against tech companies.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government increased the data protection fee in 2025 to provide the ICO with the necessary resources to carry out its functions effectively. As an independent regulator it is at the discretion of the Commissioner how he chooses to use this funding to effectively enforce the digital age of consent under UK GDPR. To fulfil these responsibilities and respond to rising public and business demand, the ICO has hired additional specialist capacity.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions has she had with Ofcom and the Information Commissioner's Office on the adequacy of protections relating to (a) generative AI and (b) chatbots in the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Following public consultation, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued and updated guidance on how data protection law applies to generative AI. The Government supports the ICO’s role in providing guidance to organisations to help their compliance.
While some AI chatbots are covered by the Online Safety Act, this Government is determined to close loopholes and has tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to protect users from illegal content on chatbots.
The Department will continue to meet regularly with Ofcom, the ICO and industry, to address emerging risks and uphold strong online safety protections.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 suitability of (a) live location sharing and (b) addictive content features such as autopay for social media apps used by children.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act requires services to mitigate and manage risks to children from online features and functionalities. Ofcom recommends in its Codes of Practice that services with specific risks should turn off live location sharing for children as default. Services must also consider how specific features and functionalities, such as autoplay, can increase children’s exposure to illegal or harmful content and mitigate these risks.
Additionally, our landmark consultation launched earlier this month seeks views on whether the government should further restrict risky functionalities such as location sharing, and ‘addictive’ functionalities including autoplay, to further protect children online.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 ensure that Ofcom is adequately resourced to (a) monitor and (b) regulate the algorithms of online platforms.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom’s online safety budget and expert team ensure its duties are performed effectively. Ofcom has spent approximately £281.3 million on online safety since 2020, including a projected spend of £92 million for 2025/26.
As part of its information gathering powers, Ofcom can remotely view information about a service’s processes, including conducting tests of algorithmic systems. Ofcom also has the power to seek information from categorised services about the design and operation of their algorithms in annual transparency reports.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of UKRI and other research council funding was spent on (a) dementia, (b) cancer, (c) stroke and (d) coronary heart disease research in each year between 2019 and 2025.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), supports world‑leading research to accelerate diagnosis, develop treatments and prevent disease.
Details of funding from MRC, as well as other research councils within UKRI, on specific areas is provided in the table below:
| 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | Total |
(a)Dementia* |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MRC | £44m | £54m | £50m | £56m | £65m | £56m | £334m |
Rest of UKRI |
| £29m | £30m | £31m | £32m | £23m | £145m |
Total | £44m | £83m | £81m | £87m | £97m | £88m | £479m |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(b)Cancer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MRC | £68m | £70m | £71m | £106m | £73m | £74m | £462m |
Rest of UKRI | £61m | £81m | £69m | £128m | £143m | £125m | £607m |
Total | £129m | £151m | £140m | £234m | £216m | £199m | £1069m |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(c)Stoke |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MRC | £47m | £9m | £21m | £10m | £15m | £20m | £121m |
Rest of UKRI | £6m | £30m | £12m | £31m | £50m | £30m | £148m |
Total | £53m | £39m | £33m | £41m | £65m | £50m | £269m |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(d) Coronary heart disease |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MRC | £73m | £18m | £29m | £44m | £32m | £64m | £260m |
Rest of UKRI | £23m | £24m | £25m | £49m | £84m | £55m | £260m |
Total | £96m | £42m | £54m | £93m | £116m | £119m | £520m |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*'Rest of UKRI' spend figure for 2019/20 is unavailable. For 2024/25, ‘Rest of UKRI’ figure does not include funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).