Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Kyle Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth) (Lab/Co-op)]

1. What progress he has made on improving broadband connectivity.

[The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Peter Kyle)]

More than 85% of UK premises can now access a gigabit-capable broadband connection. Through Project Gigabit, more than a dozen suppliers are delivering contracts to bring fast, reliable broadband to more than 1 million more homes and businesses across the country. My team are making good progress and pushing forward with further plans to improve digital connectivity in hard-to-reach communities that would otherwise be missing out.

[Emma Foody]

Access to reliable broadband is essential to residents across my constituency, but for those who fall just outside commercial full-fibre broadband deployment areas, it remains a real issue that impacts their ability to work and study. What further action can the Government take to ensure that residents falling just outside current roll-out areas are not left behind?

[Peter Kyle]

My hon. Friend is a good advocate for her new constituency. I want everyone to understand that this new Department is not far removed from people’s lives, because we represent areas of technology all the way from space to digital infrastructure. We realise that every aspect of the Department’s work is connected to human beings trying to move forward and get on in life, and nowhere is that more important than in their ability to express their lives online. I can reassure her that we are ensuring that the market for digital provision is a functioning market that delivers for her constituents. In areas where the market is not as full as we would like, market providers need to work together, to ensure that all residents across her constituency have the connectivity they deserve.

[Helen Whately (Faversham and Mid Kent) (Con)]

My constituents in Throwley and Wichling have been battling for high-speed broadband. We thought we had it over the line, but in a recent telephone conversation Building Digital UK said that it was still to be confirmed. Would the Secretary of State be willing to meet me to discuss how we can ensure that those communities do not miss out again?

[Hon. Members]

Go on!

[Peter Kyle]

I can hear encouraging sounds from the hon. Lady’s colleagues asking for that meeting. Let me say at the outset that this Department wants to engage with everyone—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] I haven’t finished yet. We want to ensure that everyone in every constituency has full access to the connectivity that they need. With that in mind, the Minister responsible for the roll-out of these services will meet officials to ensure that the hon. Lady is given the attention that her constituents deserve.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

People and businesses in my constituency, like many elsewhere, are plagued with patchy access. Andy from Wheathampstead has found that the only way he can move on to working from home and running a business is to have expensive satellite broadband. Will the Secretary of State commit to ensuring that every home and business has access to gigabit broadband in rural and remote communities, and will he also ensure that there are bespoke solutions so that no home or business is left out?

[Peter Kyle]

Our manifesto commitment is to get to 99% coverage by 2030, and that is something we are determined to do. The programme run by BDUK for shared rural networks is technology-neutral. Along with the Minister responsible, I am encouraging BDUK as fulsomely as I can to ensure that every single technology emerging, as well as existing, is put to good use in that endeavour.

[Kevin Bonavia (Stevenage) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the life sciences sector in Stevenage constituency.

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[Mark Ferguson (Gateshead Central and Whickham) (Lab)]

5. What steps he is taking to help improve domestic research and development capabilities.

[The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Peter Kyle)]

The UK’s R&D system is a central strength and vital for the future prosperity and wellbeing of our citizens. We are recognised for the strengths of our universities system and research base, and we are investing through UK Research and Innovation to continuously improve our R&D capabilities. In July we launched five new quantum technology hubs, which are delivered by UKRI and backed by over £100 million-worth of Government funding. This will ensure that the British people benefit from the potential of quantum technologies in a range of areas, from healthcare and computing to national security and critical infra- structure alike.

[Mark Ferguson]

Turbo Power Systems in my constituency is a great example of a global company built on research and development but with proud local roots. Would the Secretary of State be happy to visit it, as I have, to see its fantastic work?

[Peter Kyle]

Of course, I look forward to visiting Turbo Power Systems the next time I am in the region and seeing the amazing work it does. It is contributing to one of the key missions of this Government, which is to get to clean superpower status by 2030, and I look forward to seeing what it is doing to make that a reality.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

I recently visited Yorkshire Cancer Research in my constituency. It is coming up to 100 years since it was founded, and it has created amazing drugs, such as tamoxifen, to extend people’s lives and help them fight cancer. We know that less than 5% of medical research investment is spent on R&D in Yorkshire. Given that we have 8% of the population, what more can the Secretary of State do to ensure that R&D opportunity investment is spread across our country?

[Peter Kyle]

It is incredibly important for this Government that we invest across the whole country, which is why we have invested £118 million in healthcare research and partnership hubs that are outside London and across the United Kingdom. I hope that this benefits the hon. Gentleman’s area too.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.

[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

The whole House recognises—certainly, the Government’s industrial strategy does—that in order to drive growth we need innovation clusters across the country. The last Government committed to increasing R&D spend outside of the greater south-east by 40% by 2030 as part of the failed levelling-up strategy. Will the Secretary of State say whether he intends to maintain that target, and/or what steps he will take to ensure that funding is available to drive regional growth and innovation?

[Peter Kyle]

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for her question, and I congratulate her, on behalf the whole House, on her election as Chair of the Select Committee—I look forward to appearing before it soon and regularly thereafter. She raises an incredibly important point. I can say that this Government are committed to working with local and regional mayors to ensure that local growth plans and the partnerships with UKRI will benefit all regions. These include a £100 million innovation accelerator pilot and £80 million in launchpad programmes, all of which will meet the needs that she outlines.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The Secretary of State has an interest in Northern Ireland, so can I ask him whether he holds statistics on how much research and development tax relief support has been issued to Northern Ireland in the last 12 months to help support science and technology? If he does not have the figures today, I would be happy for him to send them to me.

[Peter Kyle]

As always, I am grateful to hear from the hon. Gentleman. I will be in touch with any specifics that I can follow up with, but we are a Government committed to Northern Ireland, which I believe he will have seen from day one of this Labour Government back in July. I can also show that there have been great advancements in investment in Northern Ireland, which is why Northern Ireland has the highest coverage rates for fast fibre-optic broadband of any part of the United Kingdom. I want to be a champion for Northern Ireland, and I visited recently to ensure that everybody in the science and technology community there realises that this is a Government who are on their side.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)]

The Secretary of State, in one of his first acts in his new role, cut £1.3 billion-worth of funding that would have been transformative for enabling cutting-edge research and development in Britain. I note that he has also ditched our ambition to turn Britain into a science and technology superpower. We set a target of £20 billion for R&D, which we met, but he has set no such target. Will he be setting a target, and can he today promise that there will be no cuts to R&D expenditure?

[Peter Kyle]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his appointment to his Front-Bench role. Let us just be honest about what this Government inherited. That £20 billion black hole affects every single Department across Government. My Department inherited a situation where the previous Government—including the former Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Jeremy Hunt), who is sitting on the Opposition Front Bench—committed at this Dispatch Box to an exascale project to which not one single penny had been committed. That was a fraud committed on the scientific community of our country by that Government, and I had to make the difficult decision to move forward—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I think we have gone on long enough on that question.

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[Mike Reader (Northampton South) (Lab)]

8. What steps he is taking to protect children using the Roblox platform from online predators.

[The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Peter Kyle)]

Keeping children safe online is the priority for this Government. The Online Safety Act 2023 places strict safety duties on online platforms, such as Roblox, to protect children from being groomed by online predators. Ofcom is the regime’s regulator and, by the end of this year, it will set out steps for the platforms to take to fulfil their duties.

[Mike Reader]

One of my constituents is a volunteer moderator on the Roblox platform. His group has identified and banned over 14,000 accounts involved in child grooming, exploitation and sharing indecent images. Does the Secretary of State agree that while we drive for tech innovation and investment, we must keep online safety at the heart of our strategy?

[Peter Kyle]

I extend my deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by the crimes that my hon. Friend outlines. The Online Safety Act—and its measures that will soon come into force—is there to address that concern directly. I want these powers to be used as assertively as possible. Just today, I have heard about another story concerning Roblox. I expect that company to do better in protecting service users, particularly children, on its platform.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Ayoub Khan—not here.

[Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)]

T2. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Peter Kyle)]

At the international investment summit on Monday, some of the world’s biggest science and tech firms committed to investing billions of pounds in Britain, growing our economy and creating new jobs across our country.

In Rome last week, I launched the UK’s first online safety agreement with the United States. By working with our closest partner, home to the world’s biggest tech companies, we will create a safer online world for our children.

Finally, on behalf of the whole House, I congratulate Sir Demis Hassabis and Geoffrey Hinton on the Nobel prizes they won last week. Their extraordinary achievements are testament to the phenomenal level of AI talent fostered in Britain today.

[Melanie Ward]

There are numerous examples of the damage that out of control social media and mobile phone usage is doing to our young people, including in my area of Fife. The Courier newspaper has played an important role in highlighting this. Does the Secretary of State recognise the concerns that the safer phones Bill—the Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill—presented today by my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) and backed by many hon. Members across the House, seeks to address?

[Peter Kyle]

I pay tribute to The Courier for exposing some of these issues. We must keep children and vulnerable people safe when they are online. I intend to ensure that safety is baked in from the outset. When it comes to keeping children safe in this country, everything is on the table and I am open minded about how we move forward to achieve a much safer environment. Companies releasing products into our society should see that as a privilege, not a right. I have high expectations, on behalf of this country, to ensure that safety is baked in from the start.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Andrew Griffith (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

Did the Secretary of State fully disclose to the Civil Service Commission the Labour links of one of the most senior civil service appointments, or the £66,000 donation he received?

[Peter Kyle]

Every donation that was made to this party in opposition has been declared in the appropriate ways. I am proud to be part of a party that raises standards in public life rather than votes to lower them. [Interruption.] I am also proud to be part of a party that comes into government and attracts talent to working for it, whereas when the Conservatives see talent, they libel it.

[Andrew Griffith]

Thanks to Whitehall Watch, we have a copy of the form. It is clear the Secretary of State failed to mention the conflicts of interest, as required by the ministerial code. In the words of the Prime Minister’s favourite pop star, some would say he is “Guilty as Sin”. Will he refer himself to the adviser on standards, or do we have to wait for the Prime Minister to finish organising VIP motorcades and do it for him?

[Peter Kyle]

There we have it—a party that attacks civil servants and the world’s greatest talent gravitating towards this party and this Government, to work for them. When he sees talent in Government, he libels it and saddles the taxpayer with the bill. This Government attract talent and I am proud of that.

[Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)]

T3. The first Farnborough International Space Show will take place in my constituency in March next year. With space agencies from across the world already signed up to attend, the show will allow the UK to stand on the world stage and showcase our position as a convenor of global innovation. Will the Secretary of State and the UK Space Agency pledge their support to the show and will he join me at this inaugural event?

[Peter Kyle]

Farnborough has done an astonishing job at getting British aviation, which I have supported, into the global news. My dad served in the Fleet Air Arm back in the 1960s, and I went with him many times to Farnborough to see the planes he worked on up in the sky. As a country and a House, we should celebrate the fact that Farnborough is now moving into space. I am very grateful for what Farnborough is doing, and of course I will be there to participate in the event in any way that is meaningful.

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

T5. Building Digital UK has recently classified Devon, including rural areas such as Dartmoor national park, as type C procurement under Project Gigabit. However, there are concerns about how agile and timely its delivery will be. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the speedy roll-out of broadband in Dartmoor national park?