Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the number of instances where creative industries have failed to license their repertoire to artificial intelligence developers.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government asked specific questions about impact in the consultation on AI and IP, but very limited quantitative evidence was submitted. However, smaller users such as small businesses and start-ups, as well as many researchers, have indicated that - when seeking to analyse works from multiple sources - licences have been out of reach on the grounds of cost or complexity.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of his Department's (a) laptops, (b) mobile phones, (c) memory sticks and (d) external hard drives have been lost or stolen in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Our records show the following devices were reported lost or stolen in each year in the last five years. The data was captured on 7th December 2022.
BEIS have a policy for the controlled use of memory sticks. These are only permitted with a valid and approved business case and using authorised, hardware encrypted devices. Once approved, individual Directorates are responsible for controlling the memory sticks, therefore no figures on loss are held centrally.
BEIS have a policy for the controlled use of external hard drives. These are only permitted with a valid and approved business case and using authorised, hardware encrypted devices. Once approved, individual Directorates are responsible for controlling the external hard drives, therefore no figures on loss are held centrally.
2022 | a) Laptop | b) Mobile | c) Memory sticks | d) External hard drives |
Lost | 14 | 148 | Nil | Nil |
Stolen | 12 | 11 | Nil | Nil |
2021 | a) Laptop | b) Mobile | c) Memory sticks | d) External hard drives |
Lost | 6 | 80 | Nil | Nil |
Stolen | 14 | 11 | Nil | Nil |
2020 | a) Laptop | b) Mobile | c) Memory sticks | d) External hard drives |
Lost | 10 | 63 | Nil | Nil |
Stolen | 18 | 12 | Nil | Nil |
2019 | a) Laptop | b) Mobile | c) Memory sticks | d) External hard drives |
Lost | 16 | 125 | Nil | Nil |
Stolen | 28 | 32 | Nil | Nil |
2018 | a) Laptop | b) Mobile | c) Memory sticks | d) External hard drives |
Lost | 6 | 27 | Nil | Nil |
Stolen | 6 | 5 | Nil | Nil |
All departmental IT is fully security encrypted.
The departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the energy performance certificate rating is for each building (a) rented and (b) owned by his Department as of 7 December 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department does not own any buildings. BEIS is the primary occupier of the building at 1 Victoria Street, London. The most recent Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating for this building was D and expired October 2022. The landlord has been asked to make the necessary arrangements for its renewal. The current Display Energy Certificate (DEC) is E and expires April 2023.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department has spent on energy costs in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Minister has cleared the below:
At the Department’s headquarters building at 1 Victoria Street, London, the net spend on energy for the last five financial years was as follows:
| 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
Energy Spend | £799,370 | £860,935 | £718,595 | £555,825 | £700,199 |
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposals on the expansion of the text and data mining exception on (a) UK and (b) non-UK based technology companies.
Answered by George Freeman
The proposed exception will only apply to copying for data mining conducted in the UK. A non-UK- technology company may seek to benefit from the exception by basing their business in the UK or the part which conducts data mining. An impact assessment will be published alongside the legislation when laid.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the (a) timeline and (b) eligibility criteria for the Intellectual Property Office's extended consultation on the Text and Data Mining proposals.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government has launched a period of stakeholder engagement on implementation options for its proposals for text and data mining and aims to conclude this engagement in early 2023. The Intellectual Property Office will invite views on implementation options from stakeholders representing both rights holders and users of data mining techniques.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who the Minister for Small Business is.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I am the Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which Minister in his Department is responsible for small business.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I am the Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage households to reduce their domestic energy consumption.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is investing over £6.6 billion this parliament to improve energy efficiency and decarbonise heating.
Through the Government’s ‘Help to Heat’ capital schemes, domestic consumers could potentially save between £300 and £700 per annum, based on the current price cap.
In the summer the Government launched a GOV.UK digital service (‘Find ways to save energy in your home’) providing impartial, tailored advice to homeowners on ways to improve the energy performance of their homes. This will be supported in the coming months by the launch of telephone advice and specific local area advice for energy consumers.