Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the AI Safety Institute, launched in November 2023, will report its findings, risk analysis and recommendations to Parliament.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Institute reports directly to the Secretary of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, who will provide updates to Parliament in the usual way. The AI Safety Institute will publish, and make available to Parliament, its findings where it is appropriate to do so, given consideration on proprietary, sensitive, or national security-related information.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with UK-based companies on trends in the level of cyber security jobs moved abroad.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers engage regularly with UK cyber security companies to understand employment trends. This includes engagement through visits and forums such as the Cyber Growth Partnership and the National Cyber Advisory Board. The government's annual cyber security sectoral analysis reviews the growth and health of the sector, showing employment in the UK has risen each year since the government began publishing the data in 2018. Currently, the UK cyber security sector employs over 58,000 people, having generated an additional 5,300 jobs in the past year alone.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support is available to media organisations to (a) detect and (b) counteract foreign disinformation.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government takes the issue of information threats to national security seriously, and the UK has a strong record of working closely with a wide range of different stakeholders to tackle these risks.
We recognise the invaluable role of a free and independent press in providing accurate and reliable information. Government works to complement the efforts of our independent press sector through a number of initiatives to counter disinformation.
For example, in 2022 the Government provided the BBC World Service with £4.1m emergency funding to help it to continue to bring independent, impartial and accurate news to people in Ukraine and Russia and counter disinformation in the face of increased propaganda from the Russian state. The Government has also directly sanctioned Russia-backed state media organisations who spread disinformation, helping to prevent the most prolific and harmful sources of disinformation from spreading propaganda to UK audiences online.
The Government has also recently passed the Online Safety Act (OSA), which includes the Foreign Interference Offence as a priority offence. This will require social media companies to take action against a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and interference targeted at the UK. Ofcom will produce guidance for providers on how they should fulfil these duties. The consultation for this guidance closed in March 2024 and Ofcom is currently finalising these codes, due to come into force at the end of 2024.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support businesses secure their digital infrastructure against the provision of technological services from companies deemed a potential threat to national security.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The security of UK businesses and their digital infrastructure is a priority for the government and a key part of the National Cyber Strategy. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) works with Ofcom, UK technical authorities (the National Cyber Security Centre & National Protective Security Authority) and industry to identify risks and secure telecoms network infrastructure.
The UK Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 sets out one of the world’s toughest telecoms cyber security regimes and places stringent obligations on public telecoms networks providers to protect networks against security threats. The Act also created new national security powers to control the use of high-risk vendors in the UK’s telecoms network. The government encourages businesses to improve their digital infrastructure security through the Cyber Essentials scheme and the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether national security clearance was sought by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, and approved, before purchasing the Lenovo supercomputer from a Chinese electronics company.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government has been clear that when tensions arise between its objectives in relation to China, national security will always come first. This procurement took place through a robust public sector procurement process with all necessary qualifying security criteria
The UK's world leading cyber security experts are providing the necessary support and advice to assure the security of the system, as is normal.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2024 to Question 14260 on Genomics: China, whether the programme of work to assess risks from biological data will include a review of (a) BGI Group, (b) MGI Tech and (c) other companies linked to the Chinese state.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Through the delivery of our Biological Security Strategy, the Government is committed ensuring the UK is resilient to a spectrum of biological threats, as well as being a world leader in innovation. As part of this Strategy, the Government is undertaking a programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy and build confidence in sharing personal data to improve health outcomes in the UK and across the world. This review covers the extent to which the UK shares data with certain companies.
Currently, organisations which hold sensitive biological data are subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, organisations such as Genomics England, UK Biobank and NIHR BioResource actively consider national security in decision making about partnerships with companies overseas. These organisations consult with security personnel on a regular basis to ensure partnerships are aligned with our national security interests.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Policing Productivity review on levels of theft from shops.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the impact shoplifting has on businesses and communities. The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows neighbourhood crime is down 48% compared to findings from 2010; however, Police Recorded Crime figures show shoplifting offences increased by 32% in the 12 months to September 2023. Statistics also show the number of people charged with shoplifting has risen by 34%, showing the police are acting.
We have recently taken significant steps to improve the police response to retail crime, including shoplifting. In October 2023, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. All forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify offenders. This builds on the NPCC commitment that police will follow up on all reasonable lines of enquiry.
The Government published an enhanced Action Plan, "Fighting Retail Crime: More action" on 10 April. This Plan highlights key areas of work to tackle retail crime, including introduction of a new standalone office for assaults on retail workers; additional electronic monitoring for prolific shoplifters; and increasing use of facial recognition technology.
The Policing Productivity Review was published on 20 November 2023, which concludes there is the potential to free up around 38 million hours of police time per year within five years. This equates to over 20,000 police officers. The Government is working with policing to consider its recommendations, freeing up police officers’ time which can be reprioritised to enable officers to spend more time fighting crime on the front line, in line with local priorities set by Police and Crime Commissioners. This additional police time could be used to support delivery of the Retail Crime Action Plan. Evaluation on the impact of the Policing Productivity Review will be part of the remit of the new Centre for Police Productivity which was announced at the Spring Budget 2024.
We are continuing to work closely with the retail sector, security representatives, trade associations and policing through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG), which meets on a quarterly basis, to ensure the response to retail crime, including shoplifting, is as robust as it can be.
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, whether her Department has taken steps to align the activities of UK Research and Innovation and the UK Health Security Agency.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have complementary roles in preparing for and responding to infectious diseases threats, working in partnership with Department of Health and Social Care/National Institute Health and Care Research and Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs taking a ‘One Health’ approach. To enhance UK preparedness and resilience, UKRI works closely with UKHSA and government departments to ensure the UK has appropriate infrastructure and capabilities to prevent, detect and respond to future threats. In responding to disease outbreaks, UKRI works with UKHSA and devolved administrations, who provide vital leadership on the nature of the threats and the research questions to be addressed.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of export controls on cyber-surveillance tools.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The UK already controls the export of a range of cyber-surveillance tools. Export licence applications for such items are rigorously assessed against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria taking full account of risks to national security and human rights. The UK Government continues to work through the international export control regimes to ensure these controls remain up-to-date.
In assessing licences involving sensitive communications technology, the Export Control Joint Unit also takes advice from HM Government’s National Cyber Security Centre.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what role the National Cyber Security Centre plays in facilitating export controls to prevent the proliferation of sensitive technology in the areas of (a) artificial intelligence, (b) quantum computing, (c) biometric tools and data and (d) intangible technology transfers.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The National Cyber Security Centre is HM Government’s national technical authority for information security and advises the Export Control Joint Unit, in the Department for Business and Trade, on export licence applications for goods involving sensitive communications or computer technology.