Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Government response, CP 1019, updated on 6 February 2024, how much of the £10m to jumpstart regulator’s AI capabilities has been allocated.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is moving at pace to design the mechanism for allocating the £10m funding to jumpstart regulator capabilities. The Government is actively engaging with regulators to ensure this is delivered in a way that best supports their needs. The Government expects to launch the fund this summer and will allocate the funding during the course of this financial year and 25/26.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of funding for subject knowledge enhancement programmes for (a) primary maths, (b) design and technology, (c) English, (d) biology and (e) religious education on the future recruitment of student teachers in those subjects.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department reviews all policies, including subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses, on a regular basis to adapt its approach to attracting new teachers where needed and to ensure that interventions are focused where they will have the most positive impact for children and young people.
When reviewing the SKE package for the remainder of the 2023/24 academic year, factors including teacher supply needs, the volume of SKE participants associated with each subject and the relative recruitment to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) were all taken into account to ensure that the department is targeting funding where it is needed most.
The department remains committed to recruiting the teachers it needs. The ITT financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, which is a £15 million increase on the last cycle. Tax free ITT bursaries continue to be available in design and technology, English, biology and religious education for ITT 2024. The department will continue to review the SKE programme on a regular basis to ensure that its funding is targeted as effectively as possible.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department and its predecessor Department have taken to reduce the costs of error in the last three financial years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) was established on 7th February 2023. Prior to this date the portfolio for DSIT sat within the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The published BEIS Annual Report & Accounts provide a summary of counter fraud activity and respective costs related to fraud. The Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report 2022 highlights the latest available data relating to fraud and error across government.
The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.
Due to the Machinery of Government changes, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have not yet produced fraud and error estimates, but this will be published in the 23/24 annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department and its predecessor Department have taken to reduce the costs of fraud in the Department in the last three financial years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) was established on 7th February 2023. Prior to this date the portfolio for DSIT sat within the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The published BEIS Annual Report & Accounts provide a summary of counter fraud activity and respective costs related to fraud. The Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report 2022 highlights the latest available data relating to fraud and error across government.
Presently, as for all Government Departments, DSIT counter fraud activity is governed by Government Functional Standards for Counter Fraud, covering both proactive and reactive counter fraud activity, and set out by the Government Counter Fraud Function (GCFF). Adherence to standards is monitored and reviewed by the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA).
In 2022/23 the PSFA set a target of delivering £180 million of savings to the taxpayer. In fact, the PSFA far surpassed this within the first 12 months by preventing and recovering £311 million. As it enters its second year, the PSFA has a target of achieving £185 million of savings for the taxpayer.
The Government has also announced an additional £34 million to deploy cutting edge tools and Artificial Intelligence tools to help combat fraud across the public sector, saving £100 million for the public purse. This is in addition to existing partnerships between PSFA and the tech sector.
The Government is determined to uncover fraud in the public sector and is proud of its record.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what proportion of her Department’s (a) advertising and (b) marketing expenditure was on (i) local newspapers in print and online, (ii) national newspapers in print and online, (iii) social media, (iv) search engines, (v) broadcast and on-demand television and (vi) other channels in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We are still compiling final spend figures for financial year 23/24. We do acknowledge the importance and usefulness of advertising and marketing expenditure in delivering key information to the public.
Based on our indicative statistics for financial year 23/24, the proportion of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology marketing spend on each item was as follows:
i) Local newspapers in print and online 0%
ii) National newspapers in print and online 6%
iii) Social media 39%
iv) Search engines 6%
v) Broadcast and on-demand television 0%
vi) Other channels 49%
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential economic impact of funding provided by her Department to projects in Suffolk Coastal constituency in the last four years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK Research and Innovation spend in Suffolk in financial year 2020-21 (the latest available data) was £1.71 million, of which £1.6 million was from Innovate UK (IUK).
In December 2023, in collaboration with New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, IUK launched the New Anglia Local Action Plan to give Norfolk and Suffolk innovators and entrepreneurs improved access to expertise, tools and support to help them grow. For example, Haverhill-based Keronite has used an IUK grant to develop a highly efficient, low-impact solution to water treatment.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department's media literacy strategy in countering (a) mis- and (b) dis-information.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Improving media literacy is one of the government’s key tools in tackling the harm caused by misinformation and disinformation. To demonstrate how the Government is delivering against the objectives of the Online Media Literacy Strategy, we are publishing annual Action Plans each financial year until the end of 2024/25. Through media literacy grant schemes, we have provided almost £2 million in funding to a range of educational projects.
These projects seek to build the online safety and critical thinking skills of internet users, empowering them to respond effectively to the threats posed by mis- and disinformation, along with other online harms. All funded projects are evaluated robustly, including by independent experts, and findings will be published on gov.uk upon completion. This will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of future media literacy initiatives and inform government policy moving forward.
As part of this work, we established the Media Literacy Taskforce to bring together organisations in the media literacy landscape to amplify, increase and improve media literacy provision across underserved parts of the UK. Taskforce members advised the government on which projects should be awarded funding, and then helped grant recipients to maximise the impact of their projects.
Alongside the Strategy, the Online Safety Act updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was provided for (a) dementia and (b) cancer research in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government responsibility for delivering dementia research and dementia research funding is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.
In 2022/23, we estimate that total Government spend on dementia research was £99.9 million, with £35.1 million of this being via the NIHR. The Department of Health and Social Care spends £1.3 billion per year on health research through the NIHR. NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £121.8 million in 2022/23, and the NIHR spends more on cancer than any other disease group.
The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including all cancers and dementia types. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department has provided to support research into pandemic preparedness in the financial year 2023-24.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DHSC are the lead department for pandemic preparedness, a core element of the UK Biological Security Strategy.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Independent - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many Information Commissioner's Office employees were seconded to the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Costs for the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) budget were split equally between the DRCF member organisations. The Information Commissioner's Office contribution to the DRCF's budget for 2022-23 financial year was £81,754. This does not include costs for DRCF secondee roles funded by the ICO.
The Information Commissioner's Office provided three employee secondee roles to the DRCF over the 2022-23 financial year.