Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of introducing legislation to regulate designed in bias in AI programmes such as ChatGPT, GROK, CoPilot and others.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A range of regulation and legislation applies to AI systems such as data protection, equality legislation and sectoral regulation. Where AI systems contravene or are non-compliant with those rules, enforcement and mechanisms for redress will apply. The government is committed to supporting regulators to promote the responsible use of AI in their sectors including identifying and addressing bias.
To further tackle this issue, the government ran the Fairness Innovation Challenge (FIC) with Innovate UK, the Equality and Human Rights Council (EHRC), and the ICO. FIC supported the development of novel of solutions to address bias and discrimination in AI systems and supported the EHRC and ICO to shape their own broader regulatory guidance.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 business broadband connectivity speed and reliability on business growth, productivity and competitiveness in (a) Greater Manchester (b) Oldham.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not made any specific assessment of the impact of business connectivity with regards to the specific areas of Greater Manchester and Oldham.
The Government’s view is that fast and reliable business broadband is critical for the growth of the economy, fostering innovation, and ensuring investment in the UK. In the Budget last month, the Chancellor set out that the government will work with Ofcom to support the availability and adoption of gigabit broadband solutions by business.
In July, we published our draft updated Statement of Strategic Priorities to Ofcom, where we set out that the regulator should continue to ensure that businesses across the country are able to access the fast, reliable, and resilient broadband services they need to thrive.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to bring forward proposals to require VPN providers to undertake age verification checks on UK users.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government continues to monitor the impact of circumvention techniques such as VPNs on the Act and will ensure that any future interventions are proportionate and evidence based.
There is limited evidence on how many children use VPNs and why they use them. The government is addressing this gap.
The Online Safety Act requires Ofcom to publish a report by July 2026 assessing how effective the use of age assurance has been and whether there are factors, including circumvention techniques, that have prevented or hindered its use.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to being forward legislation to (a) ban and (b) limit mobile phone and broadband above inflation contract increases.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We have no current plans to legislate to ban or limit above inflation contract price increases for mobile and broadband. Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator, introduced rules in January 2025 which required that any in-contract price rises must be set out prominently and transparently in pounds and pence so that consumers can make better informed choices. These rules banned in-contract price rises being linked to inflation.
On 25 November, the Chancellor and Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom to request an interim review of the new rules by spring 2026 and a full review in 2027.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 level of compliance by (a) mobile phone and (b) WiFi infrastructure installers with the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England, published on 7 March 2022.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development sets out best practice guidance for mobile network operators and local authorities on deploying wireless infrastructure, including considerations for siting equipment.
It is to complement existing legislation and provide clear, practical advice to support all stakeholders involved in the deployment process.
We expect all parties to follow the principles set out in the Code of Practice, and all major mobile operators have committed to doing so. Concerns about compliance should be raised with Mobile UK, and we continue to engage with the sector in matters relating to the deployment of wireless network infrastructure.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment has been made of the potential implications for her policies of social media platforms (a) hosting extremist content and (b) using algorithms that enable radicalisation, exploitation and grooming of vulnerable users.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act requires services to tackle illegal content, including terrorist content, grooming content, and content which stirs up hatred based on religion or race. They must also protect children from certain forms of legal content, including hateful or abusive material.
Services are required to take proportionate measures to mitigate these harms, including where they are enabled by algorithms. These measures are designed to ensure user safety, particularly for children whilst protecting freedom of expression. The Act requires the Secretary of State to review and report to Parliament on the effectiveness of the regime 2-5 years after the Act is fully implemented.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 trends in the number of instances of (a) antisemitism (b) Islamophobia (c) other forms of race and religion based hate on social media platforms; and what discussions have taken place with platform owners on this issue since July 2024.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope services must protect all users from illegal abusive and hateful content, and children from abusive content where it does not reach the criminal threshold.
In October, the Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom and asked it to use all its levers to tackle antisemitic content online and hate speech more widely.
The government supports Ofcom’s intention to publish a report in December which will assess the impact of the Act’s duties so far. The government and Ofcom are carefully monitoring the impact of the Act.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 adequacy of the additional capacity Ofcom has provided for the administration of complaints and investigations relating to provisions within the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has ensured Ofcom has the resources it needs to deliver online safety regulation effectively, including its complaints and investigation responsibilities. £72.6 million has been allocated to Ofcom for its online safety functions and approximately 550 full time staff are working in its online safety directorate in 2025/26.
Ofcom regularly reports on its performance and activity, and the Government remains satisfied that it has the capability and capacity to carry out its complaints and investigative duties effectively. We will continue to engage with Ofcom to ensure resources remain proportionate to its remit.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with the university sector on research and development in universities; and what support her Department provides to help progress the commercialisation of research and development outcomes.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Recent engagement between the Department and university sector has focused on improving the sustainability of university research, improving the Research Excellence Framework, strengthening research and innovation partnerships and implementing recommendations from the 2023 spin-out review to accelerate commercialisation.
The Department supports commercialisation with significant investment, including through the £280 million a year Higher Education Innovation Fund. Additional proof-of-concept funding of £40 million over five years helps researchers translate ideas into high-growth businesses, ensuring UK universities remain globally competitive in innovation and knowledge exchange.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 policies of trends in the level of digital inclusion of children living in temporary accommodation in England.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and disproportionately impacts certain demographics.
That is why we launched the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February, which sets out our immediate actions to boost digital inclusion across the UK. Alongside our actions to widen access to devices, drive digital upskilling, break down barriers to participation and get support to people in their own communities, we are also developing robust headline indicators to monitor progress and inform future digital inclusion interventions.