Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of rolling out full-fibre broadband in Laughton, East Sussex; and what steps he is taking to support its delivery.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Having the fastest, most reliable broadband means households no longer having to battle over bandwidth and gives people the freedom to live and work more flexibly. This is why we are committed to the rollout of fast, reliable broadband to all parts of the UK.
As part of Project Gigabit, CityFibre is delivering a contract to bring gigabit-capable broadband to premises across Sussex, including in Laughton, that would otherwise not be reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) community information websites, (b) hobbyist forums and (c) other small (i) websites and (ii) discussion forums are not disproportionately affected by the regulatory requirements of the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope user-to-user and search services must assess for risks of illegal content and harm to children. Ofcom is the independent regulator for this regime. It sets out what steps small low-risk providers need to take to fulfil their duties following their risk assessment. When implementing these duties, Ofcom is legally required to ensure burdens on providers are proportionate to their risk factors, size, and capacity. Ofcom recently launched an online digital toolkit, aimed at helping SMEs with compliance (https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/ofcom-launches-digital-safety-toolkit-for-online-services/).
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much the UK received through the Horizon Europe programme in each year from 2010 to 2024; and what estimate he has made of that figure after the implementation of Framework Programme 10.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Horizon Europe runs from 2021 to 2027. Data on UK receipts from the Framework Programmes between 2010 and 2020 is available via the EU’s Horizon Dashboard.
The UK associated to Horizon Europe in January 2024, and with a small number of exceptions, UK organisations have not received any funding from prior to association. UK participation between 2021 and 2023 was funded by the UK Guarantee, and the funding data is available on the UK Research and Innovation website. As 2024 data becomes available, this will be published via the Dashboard.
Framework Programme 10 is still being developed by the EU.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information his Department holds on how much universities received in research and development funding from the EU in each year from 2010 to 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT does not hold this information. That information is held by the European Commission and available on the Horizon Dashboard for the period between 2010 and 2020.
The UK associated to Horizon Europe in January 2024, and with a small number of exceptions, UK organisations have not received any funding prior to association. UK participation in Horizon Europe between 2021 and 2023 was funded by the UK Horizon Guarantee, and the funding data is available on the UK Research and Innovation website.
As 2024 data becomes available, this will be published via the European Commission’s dashboard.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will hold discussions with mobile phone operators on trends in the level of roaming fees since the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The guarantee of surcharge-free roaming with the EU ceased at the end of the Brexit Transition Period. Against this background, my Department, in close coordination with the Department for Business and Trade, is considering the Government’s approach to the issue of roaming fees for people travelling in Europe to ensure we deliver the best outcomes to promote competition and protect consumers.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department has taken to help reduce mobile phone roaming fees for people travelling in Europe since the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The guarantee of surcharge-free roaming with the EU ceased at the end of the Brexit Transition Period. Against this background, my Department, in close coordination with the Department for Business and Trade, is considering the Government’s approach to the issue of roaming fees for people travelling in Europe to ensure we deliver the best outcomes to promote competition and protect consumers.