Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
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 potential merits of making UK AISI / Thorn's guidance entitled Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention, published in December 2025, mandatory for AI developers to prevent the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated CSAM. Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators, and to ensure AI developers can directly test for and address vulnerabilities in their models which enable the production of CSAM.
The AISI / Thorn joint publication guidance (Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention) sets out practical steps that AI developers, model hosting services and others in the AI ecosystem can take to reduce the risk that their systems are misused to generate CSAM. This guidance is informed by input from industry and child protection organisations, and many of the world’s leading AI developers (including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta) have signed up to the principles of earlier forms of this guidance.
The Government is clear: no option is off the table when it comes to protecting the online safety of users in the UK.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when he plans to publish research on the impact of (a) smartphones and (b) social media on young people.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is continuing to explore how the evidence base on the impact of social media on children can be improved.
This is why in December 2024, DSIT commissioned a feasibility study on methods and data to understand the impact of smartphones and social media on children.
The Government is currently considering the findings of the feasibility study and will publish the results in due course.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47133 on Mobile Broadbands, whether the implementation of part two of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 will be included in the review of the telecommunications market.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is continually engaged with developments in the mobile sector. This involves considering sector-wide investment challenges and technological innovations and their impact on the market and rollout of high-quality infrastructure, as well as mobile signal and coverage issues and the quality of service afforded to mobile customers. This is separate to the Government’s work on the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022. The Government monitors the impacts of the PSTI Act reforms through ongoing tracking of progress against connectivity targets and stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to undertake a review of the mobile telecommunications market.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government constantly reviews the mobile sector. As part of this, we are reviewing sector-wide investment challenges, technological innovations and their effect on the market and considering what Government can do to support the telecoms sector to invest in their networks over the next decade. We will also consider any impact on the rollout of high-quality wireless infrastructure and concomitant mobile signal and coverage issues, and the quality of service afforded to mobile customers.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress has been made on the rollout of the shared rural network in the Forest of Dean constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There have already been improvements via the Shared Rural Network in the Forest of Dean since the programme began in 2020. I have raised my concerns about the reporting of mobile connectivity with Ofcom, but according to Ofcom’s Connected Nations reports, 4G coverage from all four mobile network operators has risen from 73% to 85% and 99% of the constituency now has 4G coverage from at least one mobile network operator, up from 97% in 2020.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
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 tackle digital exclusion in Forest of Dean constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Digital inclusion is a priority for me and for Government. It means everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in a modern digital society, whatever their circumstances. Work is ongoing to develop our approach to tackling digital exclusion and we hope to announce more on this soon. We look forward to working closely with the third sector, business and local authorities across the UK, including Gloucestershire, to ensure interventions are targeted to and based on individual needs.