Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
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 improve the access to digital services for small businesses in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity coverage by 2030. According to the independent website, Thinkbroadband.com, 93% of premises, including business premises, in the Beckenham and Penge constituency are already able to access gigabit speeds. According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report, over 99% of the constituency is covered by a 4G signal from at least one operator.
No-one, anywhere in the UK, should have difficulty using government services. The Government is committed to ensuring that its online and digital services are as accessible as possible for citizens and businesses.
Although there are globally recognised standards for digital accessibility, this is only part of designing an inclusive service. That is why we will be revising the government service standards to incorporate requirements covering wider issues of inclusion and looking at extending their scope into the wider public sector.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
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 help ensure that the use of artificial intelligence complies with existing copyright law.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is clear that making copies of protected material will infringe copyright unless it is licensed, or an exception to copyright applies.
However, the application of existing copyright law to generative AI models is untested in the courts, and there is a lack of legal certainty.
The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024, seeking views on how to create clarity in this area through a package of measures.
The Government recognises that this is a complex area and welcomes all views and evidence to help shape its thinking.
The consultation closes on 25 February.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
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 help protect people online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to keeping people safe online. Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so that users, especially children, can benefit from its wide-reaching protections.
In-scope services will have to take effective action to reduce the risk their service is used for illegal activity, and they must take appropriate measures to protect children against harmful or inappropriate content such as pornography and the promotion of self-harm and eating disorders. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers available against companies who fail to fulfil their duties.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to help increase public confidence in the safety of AI.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government wants to ensure the safe development of AI models. As set out in the Manifesto, the Government intends to introduce targeted requirements on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI systems. We will be consulting on these proposals shortly.
These proposals will place the AI Safety Institute on a statutory footing. The AISI conducts research and model evaluations to assess the capabilities of frontier AI systems and works with developers and international partners to enhance the safety of models. Such policies are key to increasing public confidence in AI safety, which will drive adoption across the country.