Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many departmental employees were on performance management plans in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is committed to thorough performance management and has in place robust processes to ensure that those who fall below the expected standards are supported to improve in a timely manner. To this end, there have been:
Less than 10 employees have been placed on a formal performance improvement plan in 2023/24, 16 in 2024/25, and 17 in 2025/26.
Those who cannot improve their performance, despite this additional support, may be dismissed.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many civil servants in their Department were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Five or fewer* civil servants were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in 2024
Six civil servants were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in 2025.
*Volumes which are five or fewer have been redacted to avoid potential identification of individuals.
The figures above represent concluded conduct and discipline cases in which DSIT line managers formally engaged HR Casework Services (provided by MoJ). The figures do not include any cases that were concluded informally by DSIT line managers, without engaging the HR Casework Service.
Civil Servants are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and are expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what was the total value of non-contractual severance payments across the department in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s first set of accounts were for 2023/24 where the expenditure on special severance payments was £99,390. Expenditure in subsequent years can be found in the relevant annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to review the requirement for platforms to implement client-side scanning and other automated content analysis tools under the Online Safety Act 2023 in the context of the scanning of private cloud storage and encrypted communications.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act does not require platforms to implement client-side scanning or other automated content analysis tools on content communicated privately. The Act states that Ofcom may not recommend the use of proactive technology, such as client-side scanning, to analyse user-generated content communicated privately.
This means that Ofcom’s codes cannot recommend that service providers deploy proactive technology in private or encrypted communications. The Department has no plans to review this section of the Act.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the strategy Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, what data her Department will use as the baseline to measure the target to use validated alternative methods to reduce the use of dogs and non-human primates in dedicated PK studies for human medicines by at least 35% by 2030.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s publication, Replacing Animals in Science: A Strategy to Support the Development, Validation and Uptake of Alternative Methods, sets out our long-term vision for a world in which the use of animals in scientific research is eliminated except in exceptional circumstances.
The strategy commits to the publication of qualitative and quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in 2025. These are in the process of being developed, and the baseline assessment will be determined as part of this process.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if his department will a) include sepsis research in its publication of areas of research interest for alternative methods to animal testing and b) end the use of sepsis research involving animal testing.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s strategy to support replacing animals in science commits to publish biennially from 2026 a list of alternative-methods research and development priorities.
Sepsis is a complex and multifaceted condition, and its study presents significant scientific challenges. We will consider sepsis during the development of our areas of research interest list to determine the best path forward for new model development that drives scientific innovation, supports improved therapy development, and reduces reliance on animals.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of tax reliefs for research and development on economic growth.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have regular discussions on a range of issues. Research and development (R&D) tax reliefs play a vital role in the Government’s mission to boost economic growth and drive innovation in the UK. Overall, R&D reliefs will support an estimated £56 billion of business R&D expenditure in 2029-30, roughly a 20 per cent increase from £47 billion in 2022/23.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many permanent civil servants had contracts of employment terminated for poor performance in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Human Resources data for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has been available from September 2023. Since then, the Department dismissed 1 permanent employee in 2023-24 and 2 permanent employees in 2024-25.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of new legislation to facilitate the transition to non-animal methods of testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year. The government currently has no plans to legislate on this matter.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse of abolishing the Office of Communications.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office of Communications plays a key role as the regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. Ofcom regulates the TV and radio sectors, spectrum, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, online safety, and postal services. There are no plans to abolish Ofcom, and the government has not made any assessment of the savings or costs that such a decision would entail.