Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what her planned timetable is for the implementation of (a) Sections 61 to 64 and (b) Section 70 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the risks of commencing Sections 61 to 64 without a formal mechanism for addressing complaints about operators’ non-compliance with the Code of Practice.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Government remains committed to implementing the remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 as soon as possible. Sections 61-64 of the Act will commence on 7 April 2026. My Department is considering options for commencing section 70 of the Act and will confirm timelines in due course.

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 potential merits of commencing Section 70 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Government remains committed to implementing the remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 as soon as possible. Sections 61-64 of the Act will commence on 7 April 2026. My Department is considering options for commencing section 70 of the Act and will confirm timelines in due course.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she plans to bring section 70 of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 into force.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Government remains committed to implementing the remaining provisions of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 as soon as possible. Sections 61-64 of the Act will commence on 7 April 2026. My Department is considering options for commencing section 70 of the Act and will confirm timelines in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she intends to publish statutory guidance or a code of practice setting out the duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Universities are already required to comply with their duties under the common law and legislation such as the Equality Act 2010, which includes an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students, including those with mental health conditions which meet the definition set out within the Equality Act. The government has no plans to publish statutory guidance or a code of practice on a duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students.

Our focus is on ensuring that providers adopt consistent, evidence‑based approaches to student safety and wellbeing by embedding the recommendations of the national review of higher education student suicide deaths and other best practice identified through the Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce’s wider outputs and sector-led guidance.