Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

The Government wants to ensure that all areas of the UK benefit from reliable and high-quality mobile connectivity. This includes wanting those who serve, live or work at our military sites being able to access the same mobile services that others are able to. There are a number of considerations to consider, however, including access and deployment of digital infrastructure on or near key military sites. The Member may wish to attend the next Telecoms MP surgery I host, where he can set out any specific concerns.

HMG is committed to fostering responsible innovation in engineering biology and safely unlocking the benefits of the technology. Government engages regularly with experts responsible for research practices in engineering biology, including through the Engineering Biology Responsible Innovation Advisory Panel.

UKRI also plays a key role in fostering a culture of responsible innovation and promoting good research practices in biological research. UKRI recognises the importance of high ethical standards within research and has rigorous processes in place to ensure the research it funds conforms to all relevant ethical, legal and regulatory requirements.

The National Data Library remains under policy development. Any public appointments related to the National Data Library would follow due processes and be subject to the Governance Code for Public Appointments.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) decision to relocate was approved by the Cabinet Office with no formal role for my department. The ICO conducted an extensive search and reviewed a range of locations, including remaining within Wilmslow.

Ofcom’s improved online mobile coverage checker went live on 26 June, which I would encourage the Hon Member to consult.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. We continue to work with industry to deliver this and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment into mobile networks and competition in the market.

Unsolicited direct marketing calls are regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), which are enforced by the Information Commissioner. The Commissioner has a range of investigatory and enforcement powers, including the ability to issue financial penalties. Details of enforcement actions are published at: https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/

Reforms introduced through the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 will give the Commissioner new powers, including the ability to impose higher maximum fines for infringements. The Commissioner will also be able to take enforcement action based on the volume of unsolicited direct marketing calls made—regardless of whether those calls are answered by the intended recipient —reflecting the potential risk of harm to consumers.

This government recognises the damaging impact online misinformation can have. Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a "cure". The NHS website highlights that products falsely claiming to be cures or treatments for autism are harmful, including chlorine dioxide.

The Online Safety Act requires platforms to tackle illegal health mis- and disinformation content on their services for all users – these requirements have been in place since March. Additionally from 25 July, services in-scope of the Act that children can easily access, will be required to protect them from legal but nonetheless harmful content, including that which encourages the ingestion, inhalation or exposure to harmful substances.

We have a close relationship with the Australian government, formalised through the Online Safety and Security MoU. This engagement forms part of our ongoing work to develop the evidence-base and monitor technological developments and international interventions to protect children online.

Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, online platforms are required to put in place strong protections against illegal content and harmful material for children. The government is committed to taking the action needed to ensure that children are protected while enjoying the benefits of being online.

The Online Safety Act gives social media companies new duties to protect all UK users on their services, including users based in Eastbourne and the South East. Under the regulation, platforms need to take steps to reduce the risk their services are used to facilitate illegal activity. They need to remove illegal content when it does appear. They need to offer UK users reporting routes so that they can report illegal content, and they need to take effective action in response. Ofcom oversees these duties and has strong powers to enforce compliance.

We are aware of media reports that Microsoft may have blocked the email account of Karim Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in compliance with US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration. It is our understanding that Microsoft has strongly denied this action, it would therefore be in appropriate for us to comment further at this point in time, other than to note that we constantly keep our commercial relationships under review.

Government departments work together on a range of online safety matters, with child online safety and wellbeing being a particular priority.

The Online Safety Act gives user-to-user and search services new duties to safeguard children from illegal content and activity, including child sexual abuse material and harmful content. Platforms’ duties to tackle illegal content began in March.

The child safety duties will be fully in force from 25 July and require providers to establish significant protections for children, including requiring services to consider how algorithms and recommender systems impact children’s exposure to both illegal and harmful content.

Cyber security is a priority for the government. We are taking action to protect businesses, citizens and essential services against cyber threats. The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will improve the UK’s cyber defences and ensure there are robust levels of cyber security in the digital services and infrastructure which small businesses and local authorities rely upon.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) offers a range of free guidance, training and tools to help small businesses improve their cyber resilience, including the Cyber Action Plan, Small Business Guide and Check Your Cyber Security Tool. The government’s highly effective Cyber Essentials scheme is available to help small businesses and local authorities get good technical measures in place which prevent common cyber attacks. Local authorities can use the Cyber Governance Code of Practice to manage their digital risks. The Northern Ireland Cyber Security Centre (NICSC), part of the Department of Finance, works in close partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to advance a variety of cyber initiatives aimed at strengthening cyber resilience among small businesses and local authorities across Northern Ireland.

Since 2022-23, Ordnance Survey has published the revenue from paying subscribers to the OS Maps platform and app in its Annual Report and Accounts, and these are set out below.

2022/23: £8.4m

2023/24: £9.5m

The Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-25 will be published in due course and laid before Parliament.

Ofcom reports that 4G is available across 96% of the City of Durham constituency from all four mobile operators, while 5G (standalone and non-standalone) is available outside 94% of premises in the constituency from at least one operator.

However, I know Ofcom data does not always reflect lived experience and I have raised my concern about this with Ofcom. I welcome their much improved online mobile coverage checker which went live on 26 June.

I am keen to strengthen the mobile infrastructure across the UK, which is primarily the responsibility of the mobile operators, so I would urge the honourable member to engage directly with the mobile operators to encourage improvements in her patch.

We continue to work closely with the mobile operators and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment into mobile networks and competition in the market.

The Government is committed to supporting non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year. Any systematic approach for identifying research priorities for new alternative methods will be outlined in the upcoming strategy. Implementation of these ambitions is to be determined in consultation with the life sciences community.

The Secretary of State has not held specific discussions with the UK Space Agency on Northern Ireland's space ecosystem, however Ministers receive advice from officials as required on a wide range of topics, including regional growth.

The UK Space Agency supports regional growth, including in Northern Ireland, as a priority. UKSA has supported the Northern Ireland's space ecosystem through the Unlocking Space for Government programme, by funding a Northern Ireland-led project to explore how satellite data can improve public services in health, infrastructure, and the environment. UKSA has also delivered two Small Business Research Initiatives in partnership with Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) focused on detecting harmful algal blooms using satellite technology.

The Secretary of State has not held meetings with the Northern Ireland Space Office on this topic, however regional growth is key to this Government's growth mission. Regional growth programmes, including for Northern Ireland, are therefore a priority for this Government.

The UK Space Agency works closely with the Northern Ireland Space Office to support the development of the region's space sector. Northern Ireland Space Office is a delivery partner of the Ecosystem Development Programme, which promotes regional strengths, attracts investment, and manages the local space cluster.

It is not possible to answer this question without incurring a disproportionate cost to accurately refine contract spend for equipment to enable civil servants to work from home by departmental cost centre.

The Department has a 40-60% minimum office attendance policy.

We are aware of media reports that Microsoft may have blocked the email account of Karim Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in compliance with US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration. It is our understanding that Microsoft has strongly denied this action, it would therefore be inappropriate for us to comment further at this point in time, other than to note that we constantly keep our commercial relationships under review.

The Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy commits to supporting the digital and technologies sector as a high growth industry. As part of the Digital and Technologies Sector Plan we have prioritised six frontier technologies with the greatest growth potential and strategic importance. The Sector Plan commits to grow domestic capabilities in these technologies, including through programmes to boost our semiconductor chip design capability, targeted R&D investment in advanced connectivity technologies and a ten-year funding commitment for the National Quantum Computing Centre. We will develop a domestic skills base in these technologies through a new £187 million TechFirst programme to grow the UK’s digital talent pipeline.

As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the Government is committed to making the UK a global hub for AI talent.

We recently announced over £115 million of investment to attract world-leading research talent to the UK, strengthening our position as an AI superpower. This includes the £54 million Global Talent Fund, the proposed expansion of ARIA and Pillar VC’s Encode fellowship, and the launch of a Global Talent Taskforce to identify and support top international researchers to work and settle in the UK.

These initiatives complement Turing AI ‘Global’ Fellowships and Spärck AI scholarships announced earlier this month, which will attract world-leading academics and students to the UK.

The Immigration White Paper reaffirms the government’s commitment to attracting top talent by simplifying the Global Talent visa and increasing the number of people arriving on high talent routes. The government has launched a new £54 million Global Talent Fund to bring around 10 leading researchers and their teams to the UK and invested £25 million in new Turing AI ‘Global’ fellowships. In addition, £150 million and £250 million endowment funding was allocated respectively in 2023/24 for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Green Future Fellowships and the Royal Society’s Faraday Discovery Fellowships.

A new Global Talent Taskforce has been announced to attract exceptional talent into our Industrial Strategy sectors.

The Government’s blueprint for modern digital government published in January sets out a coordination approach to strengthening procurement of digital capabilities across the public sector, making use of governments' scale to unlock greater value and procure in a way that drives creation of responsible, inclusive and secure technologies.

While each department is responsible for creation of their own requirements and making procurement decisions based on their specific needs, the Government Digital Service will continue to support departments through guidance such as the Technology Code of Practice.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and its associated certifications are not owned by the UK Government. We therefore cannot comment on the policies and data security systems they recommend.

All cross government security and data policies are published on gov.uk and security.gov.uk . Each government organisation will have its own local policies on how to protect data and systems for realising this goal. This is not information held centrally by DSIT.

The government takes data security very seriously and has taken appropriate action to mitigate hostile state actors providing or accessing the software services being used by the public sector. The National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) requires public sector contracting authorities to mitigate any potential risk from hostile states by addressing national security risk in all procurements.

The Procurement Act 2023 introduces powers to exclude a supplier from a specific procurement, terminate a public contract with a supplier, or debar a supplier from all, or a range of, public contracts. Ministers may exercise this power should they deem there to be a threat to national security.

Contracting authorities should follow Government Security Group (GSG)’s guidance on Tackling Security Risk in Government Supply Chains, as well as supply chain guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and National Protective Security Authority (NPSA).

The Government has no plans to introduce legislation on the right to opt out of using digital identities. Nor has the Government taken any steps to make their use mandatory.

The digital verification services provisions in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 are designed to give people choice. They help both people and organisations to realise the benefits of secure digital identities with greater confidence, if they choose to use them.

The Government also plans to introduce digital versions of existing government-issued documents through the GOV.UK Wallet, a secure digital service for storing government-issued credentials on users’ smartphones. However, people will still be able to prove their identity using physical documents if they prefer.

Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation, and the Government is taking action to harness its economic benefits for UK citizens. As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs. Through well-designed and implemented regulation, we can fuel fast, wide and safe development and adoption of AI.

The most advanced AI systems bring huge opportunities but also new and amplified risks. This is why the Government will bring forward AI legislation to safely realise AI’s massive potential and deliver on our manifesto commitment.

This is also why the work of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is so important. AISI is committed to rigorous, scientific research into the most advanced AI models – testing the most advanced AI models from leading AI labs, and equipping government with an empirical understanding of the most serious AI risks.

Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation, and the Government is taking action to harness its economic benefits for UK citizens. As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs. Through well-designed and implemented regulation, we can fuel fast, wide and safe development and adoption of AI.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology invests in cancer research via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the Department of Health and Social Care via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). UKRI and NIHR support research which explores the impact of AI on cancer diagnosis, including the £21 million AI Diagnostic Fund (using AI for faster lung cancer diagnosis). AI presents significant opportunities for improving outcomes and diagnosis for cancer patients and driving faster triage of patients with suspected symptoms. Evaluations of the impact of AI on cancer diagnosis are ongoing.

We expect all signatories to the Seoul commitments to stand by their agreements. The AI Security Institute, within DSIT, has ongoing discussions will all major developers, about the implementation of frontier AI frameworks that guide the safe development of AI.

We expect all signatories to the Seoul commitments to stand by their agreements. The AI Security Institute, within DSIT, has ongoing discussions will all major developers, including Google DeepMind, about the implementation of frontier AI frameworks that guide the safe development of AI.

The government welcomes Google's recently published framework that prioritises the emerging risk of deception in AI models and their plans to publish safety cases.

Ordnance Survey is a public corporation, operating on a commercial basis. Ministers meet regularly with the leadership of Ordnance Survey to discuss how the company can support the Government’s priorities.

Ordnance Survey makes its authoritative geospatial data available to the public and private sectors, including individuals, directly and through commercial partners. A free version of the OS Maps app, which uses data that Ordnance Survey makes available under Open Government Licence, is used by over a million people every month. The premium subscription provides additional features and has over half a million active subscribers. It is already freely available to key users such as Mountain Rescue in Scotland, England and Wales.

Cyber security is a priority for the government. We are taking action to protect businesses, citizens and essential services against cyber threats. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) offers a range of free cyber security training, including a free online module for small organisations called ‘Top Tips For Staff’, a cyber incident management training package called ‘Exercise in a Box’, and training for boards and directors as part of the government’s cyber governance package to help organisations manage digital risks.

Cyber security training is also widely available on a commercial basis, including in Northern Ireland where there is a successful, growing cyber security sector with 128 cyber security providers supporting over £237 million direct GVA to the local economy and employing over 2,750 people.

SMEs are also encouraged to take advantage of the NCSC’s Small Business Guide to improve their resilience, and to create a Cyber Action Plan for a personalised list of actions to help businesses improve their cyber security.

The Government plans to publish a consultation later this year on AI legislation.

The Government is driving forward AI development and adoption through the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

AI-driven forecasting systems are being developed and assessed by the Met Office, including co-developing the FastNet AI weather model with the Alan Turing Institute.

The Met Office is assessing the potential of AI-based tools to support expert meteorologists in their assessment of severe weather events.

The Met Office is monitoring developments in this field world-wide.

In their Connected Nations Spring update, published 8 May 2025, Ofcom reports that 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone 5G) is available outside almost 100% of premises in the Darlington constituency from at least one mobile operator, but this falls to 11% from all four operators.

Our ambition is for all populated areas, including Darlington, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. Where mobile network operators rollout 5G is a commercial decision but I am working closely with the mobile operators to drive up improvements in mobile infrastructure and we are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment into mobile networks and competition in the market.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is improving community access to media literacy through the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, which supports local and community-led initiatives to boost digital participation. Libraries, as trusted and accessible public spaces, play a key role in delivering digital and media literacy support to communities across the UK.

DSIT also works closely with Ofcom, which engages civil society and community organisations as part of its role as the online safety regulator.

The Government recognises that AI is a technology with significant energy demands.

DSIT is working closely with industry to understand and forecast the future energy requirements of AI, noting that it is a rapidly evolving technology.

Through the AI Energy Council, we are collaborating with DESNZ and relevant energy stakeholders to ensure our energy system is prepared to meet the needs of AI.

The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has worked closely with Cabinet colleagues, including the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to ensure alignment between the NHS’s 10-Year Health Plan, the Life Sciences Sector Plan, and the broader Industrial Strategy. This collaboration has involved joint policy development to maximise the impact of these initiatives on both public health and economic growth. These efforts will support improved health outcomes across a range of areas, including cancer. This includes contributing to the aims of the National Cancer Plan through continued investment in research, innovation, and data infrastructure.

Most AI systems are regulated at point of use by our existing regulators, and a range of rules already apply to AI systems, like data protection and competition legislation. That’s why, in response to the AI Action Plan, the Government committed to working with regulators to boost their capabilities.

However, advanced AI systems pose distinct opportunities and risks. This is why the Government intends to bring forward AI legislation, to deliver on our manifesto commitment and ensure we can safely realise AI’s potential for economic growth and progress. We will launch a consultation on legislative proposals later this year.

The Government is currently reviewing over 11,500 responses to the consultation on copyright and AI and will publish its response in due course.

In addition, as set out in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, the Government has committed to providing a progress report to Parliament by 18 December, and publishing an economic impact assessment, and report on the use of copyright works in the development of AI systems, by 18 March 2026.

Building Digital UK (BDUK) is in regular contact with Airband and Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) in relation to the finalisation of the remaining contracts under the earlier Superfast Broadband Programme. Airband and CDS will publish the latest timeframes for build across the Taunton and Wellington constituency, with the overall contracts expected to be completed in full by Autumn 2027.

CDS is responsible for delivering these contracts and any queries about specific delivery areas and timescales should be directed to CDS.

The Government published its Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025, which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year to boost digital inclusion in every corner of the UK, including rural areas. We recognise the financial impact digital exclusion can have on many different groups including women and men living in rural areas.

These will be targeted at local initiatives for boosting digital skills and confidence, widening access to devices and connectivity, and getting support to people in their own communities so everyone can reap the benefits of technology.

More widely, HM Treasury is developing a Financial Inclusion Strategy to address the barriers consumers can face in accessing the products they need. This includes a focus on digital inclusion and access to banking and the Digital Inclusion and Skills Unit in DSIT is working closely with HM Treasury to ensure appropriate coordination.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring everyone has access to the banking services they need and is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK which will provide cash access and a range of face-to-face banking services.