Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to shut down online scams related to funeral homes.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Fraud offences are designated as priority under the Online Safety Act, which means that user-to-user and search services in scope of the Act must implement measures to prevent users encountering scams and frauds via their services.
Additional duties to have systems and process in place to prevent users from encountering paid-for fraudulent advertising will also apply to Category 1 and 2A services (user-to-user and search services over designated thresholds).
These measures are designed to prevent a range of online frauds, including social media scams.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release of 6 October 2024 entitled New government tech deals boost the business of cancer detection, whether (a) that initiative extends to Northern Ireland and (b) people in Northern Ireland will have access to the advancements in cancer detection technology outlined in that initiative.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The cancer detection initiatives announced on 06 October 2024 were part of UK-wide funding calls led by the Office for Life Sciences (OLS), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Northern Ireland companies and universities are engaged in collaborations with the recently announced MANIFEST cancer immunotherapy platform and the National Healthcare Research Hub for Advanced Long-acting Therapeutics. The Government is funding these cancer detection initiatives with a view to these being deployed across the UK, including Northern Ireland.