Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of technical, contractual and financial switching barriers in the cloud services market on effective competition for UK businesses and public sector bodies.

The Government is committed to supporting a competitive and innovative digital economy. In July 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that certain technical and commercial practices in the cloud market hinder switching and limit effective competition. The CMA recommended its Board prioritise a future Strategic Market Status investigation into cloud competition.