Draft Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026

Debate between Ian Murray and Ben Spencer

Wednesday 4th March 2026 General Committees

[Ian Murray]

Let me answer the questions from the shadow Minister. Do we agree with the Conservative party on how they tabled the new clause? No, we do not. The consultation into the Online Safety Act 2023 and the protection of children online was launched this week. The sheer volume of responses that we have had so far justifies the fact that we should have that national conversation. It is not straightforward. First, the Government have to get that right, and, secondly, we have to take into account a whole host of views, including from charities that are very much against those kinds of issues. We have to listen to young people, too, and that is a very clear component of the consultation. The regulations are not directly related to that, but I am happy to answer those questions. I hope that the Opposition will engage with that consultation in good faith and suggest what they think should happen. They already support the ban and should therefore propose it.

[Dr Spencer]

Apologies if I get this wrong, and I admit that I went through it quite quickly, but when I looked at the consultation data entry on the web earlier this week, I could not see a point where an entry could be linked to an individual person. Will the Minister’s Department double-check data security for the consultation? I am sure he agrees that we would not want the consultation to be hijacked by any group of a particular bent feeding in inappropriate responses or trying to drown out a particular type of view as the consultation goes forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ian Murray and Ben Spencer

Wednesday 12th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

Increased gigabit coverage means more people accessing essential services online and an increasing need for cyber-security measures and a strong, open UK market for cloud services. Following recent outages, what assessment has the Minister made of the risk to Government digital services due to their refusal to diversify supply away from US big tech and instead support UK small and medium-sized enterprises?

[Ian Murray]

This Government are fully committed to digitising the whole of Government, and I believe that the hon. Gentleman should share in that particular project. Project Gigabit, of course, is about getting citizens connected right across the country. We are fully committed to meeting the 99% target by 2032, but it is not just about broadband connectivity. It is also about mobile network coverage, and we are committed to making sure that that happens as well. The resilience of the system, including Government systems, is a key part of that project.