Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her department has an estimation of the number of houses in Farnham and Bordon with poor broadband that will be left without a telephone connection following the landline to digital switchover.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Landlines are not being removed. The technology underpinning the analogue landline network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is being upgraded to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
In order to function correctly, VoIP requires a minimum connection speed of just 0.5 megabytes per second. It is possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing a broadband connection.
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 the Ofcom’s minimum requirement of one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups of 4-7 hours, with back-up time for VoIP-only connections likely to be at the higher end of this range as the battery run-time is primarily driven by power consumption.
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: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 potential impact of the use of biometric data by private contractors such as Yoti in publicly accessible digital identity systems on levels of public safety.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government considered the potential public safety implications of digital identity services, including the use of biometric data, when developing the Digital Verification Services (DVS) trust framework. The trust framework – developed by the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA), a part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) - sets out requirements governing the provision of digital identity services.
The trust framework sets out rules covering roles, principles, policies, procedures and standards and legislation covering areas such as security, privacy, fraud prevention, governance and reliability. These requirements are intended to support safe and trustworthy provision of digital identity services.
Where a certified service uses biometric technologies, the trust framework includes specific requirements relating to the performance and security of those technologies. Providers are required to test biometric systems against recognised industry standards, to help ensure they are accurate, secure and inclusive.
The trust framework does not replace or supplement existing legal obligations relating to data protection. Service providers are required to comply with the data protection legislation when processing personal data.
Companies who wish to be included in the government’s online register of digital identity and attribute services must have their services independently audited and certified against the trust framework by accredited certification bodies. Yoti has services certified against the trust framework, and recorded on the online register. Certification does not constitute a government endorsement of any particular company or service. However, the trust framework and its certification regime help to provide assurance that certified services meet the government’s standards for security and reliability.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 potential implications for her data protection polices of the enforcement action taken by the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos against Yoti in March 2026.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Organisations such as Yoti that process biometric data of UK users, through the provision of digital verification and age assurance services, have to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). As such, the processing must be fair, lawful, transparent and secure. Organisations must have a lawful basis for the processing of personal data under Article 6 of the UK GDPR. For processing of biometric and other sensitive data, they must also have a specific Article 9 condition, such as a user’s explicit consent.
DSIT monitor developments in this space and supports the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in providing guidance to organisations to help their compliance. The ICO, working with Ofcom, has recently published guidance on age assurance and is engaging with the age assurance industry through a programme of risk reviews.
The ICO can take enforcement action against those organisations that have breached the UK’s data protection legislation.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve research and innovation in the defence sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Strategic Defence Review and Industrial Strategy were clear. Innovation is central to deterrence and decisive factors in war.
DSIT is working closely with the Ministry of Defence to implement the Defence Industrial Strategy. UKRI are delivering £550m into the Defence and National Security sector.
We are partnering with MOD as they commit at least 10% of their equipment budget on novel technologies. Ensuring cutting-edge UK research and innovation delivers for defence.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the consultation on children’s use of social media will include the option of requiring social media platforms to provide personal user controls over algorithmic content delivery.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The consultation, published 2nd March, on children’s use of technology, considers a range of further measures to give children a good life online, ensuring they have the childhood they deserve and are prepared for the future.
This includes exploring the option of banning social media below for children below a certain age, as well as restricting access to risky functionalities and “addictive” features – including content recommendation algorithms.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to protect the elderly and most vulnerable from unsolicited calls selling mobile phone upgrades or contracts.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Unsolicited direct marketing calls are regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). Under PECR, companies must not make live marketing calls to a number that is registered on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) list. Organisations must not make automated marketing calls unless the recipient has specifically consented to receive this type of call from them.
PECR are enforced by the Information Commissioner who can impose financial penalties for breaches of the regulations. Once commenced, provisions in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 will significantly increase the maximum fine that can be imposed by the Commissioner. Details of enforcement actions are published at: https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the number of additional telecoms infrastructure sites that will be required to deliver high-quality standalone 5G coverage to all populated areas by 2030.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. It is for the mobile network operators to determine how best to deploy the required infrastructure to achieve this.
The need for additional sites will be determined based on a number of variables, including their existing site portfolios and areas of current network congestion. It is likely that additional sites will be required to deliver our ambition, but the mobile network operators are assessing this as part of their commercial delivery plans.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Mobile Market Review will include a comprehensive national audit of telecoms sites covering (a) site type, (b) ownership, (c) legal status, (d) deployment status, (e) notices to quit, and (f) site removals to (i) help understand the evolution of mobile infrastructure and (ii) inform future policy decisions.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Mobile Market Review (MMR) will consider sector-wide investment challenges and technological innovations across the mobile sector and the impact these have on investment in widespread high-quality connectivity over the next decade. It will assess what more Government can do to ensure the policy and regulatory framework supports innovation and investment over the long-term.
The Electronic Communications Code and a national audit of telecoms sites is not within scope of the Review.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Mobile Market Review will assess the (a) impact of the Electronic Communications Code and (b) cumulative effect of (i) legal and (ii) commercial reforms introduced since 2017.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Mobile Market Review (MMR) will consider sector-wide investment challenges and technological innovations across the mobile sector and the impact these have on investment in widespread high-quality connectivity over the next decade. It will assess what more Government can do to ensure the policy and regulatory framework supports innovation and investment over the long-term.
The Electronic Communications Code and a national audit of telecoms sites is not within scope of the Review.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if her Department will take steps to review its guidance for (a) local authorities and (b) telecommunication operators entitled Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published in March 2022.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department published the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England to provide guidance to local authorities and network operators on siting, design and community engagement for wireless infrastructure installations.
The department regularly engages with local authorities and network operators in relation to telecommunications infrastructure deployments and encourages operators to follow the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development.
This autumn we will publish a call for evidence to assess the merits of planning reform for the telecoms sector.