Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Data (Use and Access) Bill on the development of artificial intelligence models.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Compliance, productivity and familiarisation costs savings of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning reforms in the Data (Use and Access) Bill have been considered and can be found in the indirect benefits and costs sections of the impact assessment (IA). The ethical assessment can also be found in the impact on individuals section. The assessment of the effect on different organisations by size and sector can be found in the small and micro business assessment section of the IA here (particularly, Table 14, 24, 25, 26 & 34).
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28458 on Life Sciences: Northern Ireland, what the geographical spread was of the projects that received funding up to the summer of 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Life and Health Sciences Launchpad in Northern Ireland has so far funded 32 business-led projects. These were in the following local authorities:
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what outcomes there were through Innovate UK's Launchpad initiative in Northern Ireland in 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Innovate UK has allocated up to £7.5 million for the Life and Health Sciences Launchpad in Northern Ireland. An initial allocation of funding was made to 14 business-led projects in April 2024. 18 additional projects targeting early-stage businesses in this cluster were funded in summer 2024. Competitions are currently in planning to allocate the remaining Launchpad funds.
Innovate UK is evaluating the impact of all the Launchpads, including the one in Northern Ireland. It will publish interim findings from early 2027 via UKRI’s public website. A full impact evaluation will subsequently report from late 2028.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Launchpad Initiative in Northern Ireland by Innovate UK on the life and health sciences sector.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Innovate UK Launchpads is an £80 million programme that builds on local innovation strengths to support emerging clusters of SMEs to deliver jobs, growth, and high productivity. For each Launchpad, Innovate UK invests up to £7.5 million for business-led innovation projects.
The Northern Ireland Launchpad is dedicated to the advancement of healthcare solutions and medical breakthroughs. Innovate UK has appointed independent consultants to evaluate the impact of this and the other Launchpads and will publish interim findings from early 2027 via UKRI’s public website. A full impact evaluation will report from late 2028.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Semiconductor Advisory Panel will meet in Northern Ireland in 2025.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government recognises that semiconductors are a UK wide strength, with clusters spread across the country, including in Northern Ireland. It is critical that the Semiconductor Advisory Panel can speak to all geographies of the semiconductor community.
The Panel was recently renewed for another 18-month term and will meet quarterly. It will meet primarily in London but may hold meetings in regions and nations of the UK that have strengths in the sector where possible.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the impact of Innovate UK’s Small Business Research Initiative on Northern Ireland in the last two years.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Innovate UK’s Small Business Research Initiative (now renamed to Contracts for Innovation) has published an evaluation demonstrating its impact, including:
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will ensure that the UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel has a membership from the whole of the UK.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Semiconductor Advisory Panel is representative of the UK’s semiconductor industry, and the ecosystem that supports it. In selecting the panel, consideration was given to representation across UK specialisms in design, compound semiconductors and R&D, company size and geographic location.
We continue to speak with the full spectrum of the UK’s semiconductor industry, including regular engagement with companies and representatives from across the UK.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 192484 on Broadband: Social Tariffs, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of eligible people who were both (a) aware of and (b) took up a mobile phone social tariff in the last six months.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor the affordability of telecoms services, and releases regular reports regarding public awareness and take-up of broadband and mobile social tariffs.
In December 2023, as part of its Pricing Trends Report, Ofcom stated that awareness of social tariffs amongst eligible households was 45% (or around 2 million households). The report also estimated 380,000 UK households were taking-up social tariff, this represents around 8.3% of those eligible. Ofcom does not differentiate between mobile or broadband for these purposes.
We continue to work closely with Ofcom and the telecoms industry to explore ways to improve awareness of social tariffs amongst eligible households.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will hold discussions with Ofcom on changes in the number of mobile phone social tariff subscribers since July 2023.
Answered by Julia Lopez
Government continues to work closely with Ofcom on the affordability of telecoms services, including on social tariffs.
Ofcom’s December 2023 Pricing Trends report showed that 380,000 UK households now take up a social tariff, an almost 160% increase from September 2022.
The report also notes that the majority of social tariff take-up is in the fixed broadband market, with only 3% of social tariff take-up in mobile. Ofcom noted that the lower take up of mobile social tariffs is most likely due to the fact that these products are new to the market, as well as the widespread availability of commercial ‘sim-only’ deals which can be purchased for as little as £6 per month.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
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 regional representation on the UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer the previous Minister for Tech and Digital Economy gave on 23 October 2023. In setting up the UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel, the government aimed for a small, focused group while ensuring representation across the semiconductor supply chain, UK domestic strengths, geographical locations and company size. We continue to speak with the full spectrum of the UK’s semiconductor industry, including regular engagement with companies and representatives from across the UK.