Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of (a) whether project objectives have been met and (b) the value for money of its contract with Fujitsu Services Ltd for the GDS Digital Service Platforms One Login project.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GOV.UK One Login programme is subject to regular scrutiny and reporting to assess and ensure project objectives have been met, including through the Government Major Projects Portfolio. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority has provided positive reviews of GOV.UK One Login for the last three years. The programme is also working with the Evaluation Task Force to publish a comprehensive evaluation plan which will assess the programme’s key objectives.
The GOV.UK One Login programme has not had a contract with Fujitsu Services Ltd.
The development of Emergency Alerts included a contract awarded to Fujitsu.
Emergency alerts is a mobile network based system for warning the public if there is a danger to life nearby and action to take to stay safe. The system is owned by COBR, Civil Contingencies Unit, with GDS maintaining authority for the product’s development and managing the risks.
Fujitsu was awarded the contract WP2083, which was a compliant procurement run through the Crown Commercial Services framework (RM6100). In accordance with procurement regulations, a fair, open and transparent procurement process was conducted. A fair evaluation was completed and the award made to the supplier offering the best MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender).
The contract with Fujitsu is currently in its Initial Term, which spans 36 months and is set to conclude on 09 October 2025. There is provision for an Extension Period of up to 12 months, subject to Cabinet Office Approval. The contract was agreed and signed by the Cabinet Office on 7th October 2022.
It is confirmed that Year 3 of the contract will proceed with Fujitsu as planned. The potential utilisation of the Extension Period remains under consideration, pending future decisions on ownership, funding, and operational structure.
A review of the contract's future beyond the Initial Term will be undertaken, accounting for evolving organisational needs and HMG best practice guidelines.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with her international counterparts to tackle the sharing of illegal pornographic material online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are committed to working closely with our international partners on approaches to ensure tech companies are held to account for addressing illegal and harmful content online. We have a number of bilateral agreements which include online safety. In particular, the online safety and security memorandum of understanding with Australia commits us to increasing cooperation between our respective law enforcement agencies and regulators to enhance detection and enforcement capabilities. We will continue to identify opportunities to advance multilateral cooperation, including through the OECD and G7.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 close down online websites and platforms that host illegal pornographic material.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act gives online platforms new duties to tackle illegal content on their services, including illegal pornography. Ofcom as the new regulator for this regime will have extensive enforcement powers if platforms fail to fulfil their duties. These include powers to impose heavy fines on services, and also to apply to the Courts for business disruption measures. These include orders that require third parties to restrict access to non-compliant services in the UK, e.g. blocking via internet access services or app stores.
Separate to provisions in the Online Safety Act, the Pornography Review, led by Independent Lead Reviewer Baroness Gabby Bertin, is exploring the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. The government expects the Review to present its final report by the end of the year.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions his has had with Openreach on plans for full-fibre broadband rollout (a) nationally and (b) in Essex; and whether there has been any change in the speed of the rollout plans since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
OpenReach has announced commercial plans to deliver full-fibre broadband to 25 million premises in the UK by 2026 and 30 million by 2030.
As part of Project Gigabit, Building Digital UK has signed a framework agreement with Openreach, with a value of up to £800 million, to provide around 312,000 hard-to-reach premises with access to gigabit-capable broadband.
Essex has been included within a call-off under this framework, which we plan to award in the coming months with delivery to commence in late-2025. According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, over 82% of premises in Essex have access to gigabit-capable connection, including 64% with full-fibre.