Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the (a) role and (b) annual cost is of the Counter Disinformation Unit.

In October 2023 the Counter Disinformation Unit became the National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT). The name more accurately reflects the team’s revised remit and function, which is to tackle the greatest national security risks facing the UK from mis and disinformation, specifically looking at threats posed by foreign states, risks to elections and from the use of AI and deepfakes. This revised remit is kept under regular review.

It would not be appropriate to publicly comment on NSOIT’s funding levels, as doing so would give malign actors insight into the scale of the Government’s capabilities in this area. Nevertheless, DSIT continues to account to parliament for the use of public funds in relation to the NSOIT and other teams within the department.