Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that technology companies support efforts to tackle wildlife crime and the illegal wildlife trade.

In March, the Government hosted a roundtable with a group of conservation charities, tech companies and experts to discuss and better understand the challenges and opportunities facing the conservation sector, and the nexus with digital technologies.

This is an important year for the world and this government. At COP26 we will unite parties to help accelerate action toward tackling climate change, which includes how we take forward action to protect and restore critical ecosystems. https://ukcop26.org/cop26-goals/

This work is ongoing, and my Department is committed to further understanding the opportunities and links between our collective goals for COP26 and conservation efforts. We will continue to engage with colleagues across government, Non-Government Organisations, conservation experts and tech companies in this regard.