Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps is she taking to ensure the safety of citizens’ personal data through the proposed digital ID scheme.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Privacy and security are integral to the Government’s proposals. People’s privacy and data will be protected in line with the UK’s data protection laws as well as using state-of-the-art encryption and authentication technology that’s already protecting millions of digital transactions daily - in the same way banking apps do.
The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year, which will seek views on the design, build and delivery of the system. The Government will work closely with expert stakeholders, including the Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Cyber Security Centre, to make the programme as effective and secure as possible.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the projected cost is for introducing a national digital ID system.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year. The eventual total cost and savings will depend on the design, build and delivery of the system, matters which will be included in the consultation.
We expect the programme to be designed, built and run by in-house Government teams, not outsourced to external suppliers. In the event any specialist external services or expertise are procured to support the delivery of the new digital ID system, this will be subject to all the usual competitive processes to ensure transparency, and value for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what research she is funding into the development of (a) organ-on-a-chip and (b) computer modelling to phase out animal testing.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to the development of non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has a diverse portfolio of investments that supports research which can lead to alternatives, such as organ-on-a-chip, cell-based assays, functional genomics and computer modelling. UKRI also invests £10 million annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). The Government also co-funds seven Centres of Excellence for Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSI), two focusing on AI which will support alternative method development.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a target to replace animal experiments in medical research by 2035.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam to the answer of 9th June 2025 to Question 55940.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
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 ensure the safe use of artificial intelligence.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation, and the Government is taking action to harness its economic benefits for UK citizens. As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs. Through well-designed and implemented regulation, we can fuel fast, wide and safe development and adoption of AI.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
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 contribution of the charity research support fund to (a) sustaining research investment from charities in universities and (b) supporting the financial sustainability of universities who receive a large number of charity grants.
Answered by Feryal Clark
UKRI Research England is undertaking a review of their approach to their formula-based research funding, delivered in England through Quality-related Research (QR). This activity is called the Strategic Institutional Research Funding (SIRF) review. The review will consider the fundamental principles and the effectiveness of their current funding allocation mechanisms, in consultation with the higher education sector and wider stakeholders. This review is anticipated to continue until 2030 and will be made up of a number of discrete stages. As part of QR, Charity Research Support Fund (CRSF) is within the scope of this review.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he is planning to introduce any new guidelines or regulations for dating app providers to address the risks of online stalking.
Answered by Feryal Clark
This government has set an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. The Online Safety Act forces in scope services to reduce the risk of illegal content being encountered on their services. Platforms must focus on ‘priority offences’, including content which amounts to stalking and must reduce the risk of priority offences being committed on their services.
Ofcom is the regulator for this new regime, and it will have extensive enforcement powers to take action where companies do not comply with their new duties.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much has been spent on the Charity Research Support Fund since 2010; and what the average income reported from charities by universities is in the same period.
Answered by Feryal Clark
This data is publicly available. Charity income for universities can be found in the HESA website (HE Finance Data | HESA). CRSF allocations can be found on the Research England website (e.g. Research England grant allocations basis 2024 to 2025 – UKRI) and for data pre-dating the creation of Research England in the HEFCE archives (Archive Timeline - UK Government Web Archive).
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
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 improve the financial sustainability of charity funded research in universities.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is determined to work with the sector to transition to sustainable research funding models, including by increasing research grant cost recovery. Charity funded research forms a vital part of the UK's R&D landscape, creating valuable research in the life sciences and beyond.