Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 implications for his policies of the number of deaths associated with pro-anorexia coaches operating online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.
The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.
Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.
DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what guidance he plans to issue on whether seeking a suicide partner online is regulated under the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.
The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.
Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.
DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 (a) implications for his policies of the number of pro-anorexia coaches and (b) impact of such coaches on mental health services.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.
The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.
Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.
DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has set a target for reduction in the numbers of deaths by suicide associated with suicide forums following full implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.
The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.
Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.
DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) suicide and (b) eating disorder forums accessible to UK internet users.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.
The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.
Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.
DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2024 to Question 12521 on Dogs: Animal Experiments, when he plans to publish further details on plans to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. Our approach has been to support the development and application of approaches that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs).
We recognise that any work to phase out animal testing and accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing must be in lock step with partners, and so we are meeting with stakeholders to pursue this work. We will make any announcements on our plans in due course.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to update the Digital Inclusion Strategy, published 4 December 2014.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring no-one is left behind in this digital age. The 2022 UK Digital Strategy outlined work that will promote digital inclusion and help people to get online, including committing to at least 85% gigabit broadband coverage by 2025 and delivering legislation that will mitigate online harms through the Online Safety Bill (now Act).
Rather than write a standalone Digital Inclusion strategy, the Government is focused on delivering work that will address this issue. This is a cross-Government effort, with work being overseen by a new ministerial group, which will meet twice a year to drive progress.