Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not currently have DEI recruitment targets.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The total for procured translation services for DSIT Commercial last year was £97848.94.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with social media companies on online safety for children.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This year, as platforms start to comply with the duties under the Online Safety Act, the Government has high expectations that there will be a significant change in online experiences for children and Ofcom stands ready to act against services who fall short in protecting users online.
Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders, including social media companies, to discuss how we can continue to protect children online. Details of ministerial meetings, including the purpose of meetings, are published quarterly on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure the accountability of social media companies on online safety.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act puts new duties on social media companies and search services, making them responsible for their users’ safety on their platforms.
The duties are now coming into effect, with platforms now being required by law to implement measures to reduce the risk of illegal content and activity on their services, with additional protections for children coming this Summer.
Ofcom has a range of strong enforcement powers to use if services fail to comply with the Act, including the ability to issue fines, and implement business disruption measures.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had recent discussions with the Office for Budget Responsibility on accounting for public sector funding for research and development in fiscal forecasts.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Engagement with the Office for Budget Responsibility is led by HM Treasury. The Department engages with HM Treasury on a regular basis to discuss a wide number of topics.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 adequacy of the rate of return to public investment in UK R&D.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Public R&D generates significant benefits for the UK, with each pound of public R&D investment estimated to leverage, on average, £2 of private R&D investment in the long run. We know businesses grow faster because of public R&D. In the 6 years after receiving their first R&D grant funding, employment increases in the average business by 21% and turnover grows by 23%.
The measurable returns of R&D projects will vary, depending on the specific area of research. Returns for closer-to-market research are generally less challenging to quantify than those for fundamental, curiosity-driven research. To ensure that public R&D investments continue to have high impact all new significant DSIT investments are assessed for their value for money and the Department evaluates programmes’ impact.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 potential impact of public sector funding for research and development on private sector investment in research.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Public Sector funding for research and development has been found to leverage additional private investment in R&D. Each pound of public R&D investment is estimated to leverage, on average, £2 of private R&D investment in the long run and some studies estimate even higher levels of private investment.
Businesses grow faster because of public R&D grants. In the 6 years after receiving their first R&D grant funding, employment increases in the average business by 21% and turnover grows by 23%.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 potential impact of R&D investment in (a) clean energy, (b) AI and (c) quantum technology on (i) the University of Nottingham and (ii) Nottingham Trent University.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government will accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world class science, research and development. Advanced science and engineering in fields such as clean energy, AI and quantum technologies support economic growth and the industrial strategy. University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University were both recognised for their world leading research including in engineering in REF2021. Decisions about public investment of R&D funding are made by experts on behalf of UK Research and Innovation in line with the Haldane Principle. For example, University of Nottingham has been awarded £6.4m to lead an EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training on Resilient Chemistry which will tackle challenges including synthetic fuels and next generation battery materials.