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 level of mobile signal coverage gaps in East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom is responsible for reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK and their data provides Government with information on mobile coverage gaps.

Ofcom do not publish mobile coverage data on a regional basis such as for East Sussex and West Sussex. However, in their Connected Nations Annual Report 2025, published on 19 November 2025, it is reported that 1% of the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency has no 4G geographic coverage from any operator.

10% of premises in this constituency have no 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone) outside from any mobile operator, 68% of premises in the constituency do not have standalone 5G outside from any mobile operator.

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 level of mobile signal coverage gaps in West Sussex.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom is responsible for reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK and their data provides Government with information on mobile coverage gaps.

Ofcom do not publish mobile coverage data on a regional basis such as for East Sussex and West Sussex. However, in their Connected Nations Annual Report 2025, published on 19 November 2025, it is reported that 1% of the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency has no 4G geographic coverage from any operator.

10% of premises in this constituency have no 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone) outside from any mobile operator, 68% of premises in the constituency do not have standalone 5G outside from any mobile operator.

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 level of mobile signal coverage gaps in East Sussex.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom is responsible for reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK and their data provides Government with information on mobile coverage gaps.

Ofcom do not publish mobile coverage data on a regional basis such as for East Sussex and West Sussex. However, in their Connected Nations Annual Report 2025, published on 19 November 2025, it is reported that 1% of the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency has no 4G geographic coverage from any operator.

10% of premises in this constituency have no 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone) outside from any mobile operator, 68% of premises in the constituency do not have standalone 5G outside from any mobile operator.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether mobile signal improvements in West Sussex will contribute to the Government’s connectivity targets.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This is a UK wide ambition, coverage improvements in the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency will therefore contribute to the achievement of this ambition.

Government wants to see high quality digital infrastructure available right across the UK, whether this is fixed or mobile, allowing people to participate in the modern digital economy.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to improve mobile phone and broadband access in East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030 and we have a target to deliver nationwide (99%) gigabit broadband coverage by 2032.

The Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators to ensure their continued investment into the expansion and improvement of mobile networks and that investment translates into benefits for communities right across the UK.

To improve broadband coverage in the area CityFibre is delivering a Project Gigabit contract across East and West Sussex, which includes premises in the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency.

We are also working to identify and address barriers to deployment of both mobile and broadband infrastructure. This includes recently launching a call for evidence to help determine where planning rules could be relaxed to support the deployment of digital infrastructure.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether mobile signal improvements in East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency will contribute to the Government’s connectivity targets.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This is a UK wide ambition, coverage improvements in the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency will therefore contribute to the achievement of this ambition.

Government wants to see high quality digital infrastructure available right across the UK, whether this is fixed or mobile, allowing people to participate in the modern digital economy.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether mobile signal improvements in East Sussex will contribute to the Government’s connectivity targets.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This is a UK wide ambition, coverage improvements in the East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency will therefore contribute to the achievement of this ambition.

Government wants to see high quality digital infrastructure available right across the UK, whether this is fixed or mobile, allowing people to participate in the modern digital economy.

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 ensure that mobile operators improve signal reliability in rural and semi rural areas of West Sussex.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This ambition includes villages and rural communities as well as towns and cities.

Standalone 5G is a more reliable, secure, generation of technology which has the potential to deliver significant benefits to communities across the UK.

Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators to ensure that continued investment into the expansion and improvement of mobile networks translates into benefits for communities right across the UK. We are also addressing barriers to deployment where they exist and recently launched a call for evidence to help determine where planning rules could be relaxed to support the deployment of digital infrastructure.

There are statutory obligations on communications providers to take appropriate and proportionate steps to ensure their networks and services remain available, and Ofcom has powers to investigate, rectify and penalise communications providers for any infringement of their duties. Ofcom is undertaking a review of the resilience of mobile services to power cuts and considering whether to update the expectations on mobile operators on the level of power back up required.

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 ensure that mobile operators improve signal reliability in rural and semi rural areas of East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This ambition includes villages and rural communities as well as towns and cities.

Standalone 5G is a more reliable, secure, generation of technology which has the potential to deliver significant benefits to communities across the UK.

Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators to ensure that continued investment into the expansion and improvement of mobile networks translates into benefits for communities right across the UK. We are also addressing barriers to deployment where they exist and recently launched a call for evidence to help determine where planning rules could be relaxed to support the deployment of digital infrastructure.

There are statutory obligations on communications providers to take appropriate and proportionate steps to ensure their networks and services remain available, and Ofcom has powers to investigate, rectify and penalise communications providers for any infringement of their duties. Ofcom is undertaking a review of the resilience of mobile services to power cuts and considering whether to update the expectations on mobile operators on the level of power back up required.

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 ensure that mobile operators improve signal reliability in rural and semi rural areas of East Sussex.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This ambition includes villages and rural communities as well as towns and cities.

Standalone 5G is a more reliable, secure, generation of technology which has the potential to deliver significant benefits to communities across the UK.

Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators to ensure that continued investment into the expansion and improvement of mobile networks translates into benefits for communities right across the UK. We are also addressing barriers to deployment where they exist and recently launched a call for evidence to help determine where planning rules could be relaxed to support the deployment of digital infrastructure.

There are statutory obligations on communications providers to take appropriate and proportionate steps to ensure their networks and services remain available, and Ofcom has powers to investigate, rectify and penalise communications providers for any infringement of their duties. Ofcom is undertaking a review of the resilience of mobile services to power cuts and considering whether to update the expectations on mobile operators on the level of power back up required.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help ensure that UK universities remain competitive in attracting global research talent.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

To keep our world-leading universities globally competitive, the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out a joint DfE–DSIT vision for a financially sustainable higher education sector that delivers better value for students, supports local growth, and meets labour market needs. This includes record DSIT R&D investment of £58.5 billion between 2026/27 and 2029/30.

The UK’s immigration offer attracts research talent through visa routes such as the fast-track Global Talent visa, complemented by funding via UKRI and National Academies fellowships and professorships, our association to Horizon Europe, and the Global Talent Fund to retain world-class researchers.

UKRI allows visa costs, including the Immigration Health Surcharge, to be claimed on grants, and many other organisations also allow these costs on their grants. Visa costs are also allowable costs for researchers on Horizon Europe grants.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of Ofcom.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom’s effectiveness is kept under regular review and there is ongoing engagement with the regulator on key issues.

We monitor Ofcom’s effectiveness against its key performance indicators and objectives using reporting in Ofcom’s Annual Report and Accounts. These are laid before Parliament, to whom Ofcom is accountable. Ofcom’s leadership also appears regularly before Select Committees to give evidence and to be scrutinised on Ofcom’s work. In addition, DSIT ministers will meet with Ofcom to discuss overall performance twice a year as part of the Regulation Reform Programme.

The government directs Ofcom on parts of its remit through statements of strategic priorities. Ofcom must report annually on how it has had regard to their steers. The online safety statement was designated in July 2025, and the updated telecoms, spectrum and post statement will be designated in the coming months. Ofcom must have regard to the statements when exercising relevant functions and must publish a review of what it has done in consequence of the statements every 12 months.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she plans to take to include children’s perspectives in the policymaking process for generative AI.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This year, the government will be supporting a summit at Wilton Park on the impact of AI on childhood. This will bring together experts, technology companies, civil society and young people to explore how AI can benefit children without exposing them to harm.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she Department has made of the potential impact of Performing Right Society licensing fees on the profitability of microbusinesses, freelancers and sole traders, particularly those with low turnover or earnings below the income tax threshold.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Performing Right Society Limited (PRS) is a collective management organisation (CMO) and a private commercial entity and the Government does not regulate its commercial affairs. Consequently, the Department has not made an impact assessment in relation to PRS's commercial licensing fees.

Licence fees are usually the outcome of negotiation between a CMO and a trade body representing potential licensees in a sector. Prospective licensees have recourse to the Copyright Tribunal if dissatisfied with the terms of a licence, and the Tribunal’s decisions can be appealed in the High Court or the Court of Session in Scotland.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what oversight exists of tribunal decisions relating to Performing Right Society licensing fees; and what criteria are used to determine whether such fees represent fair and reasonable usage costs for small businesses and sole traders.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Performing Right Society Limited (PRS) is a collective management organisation (CMO) and a private commercial entity and the Government does not regulate its commercial affairs. Consequently, the Department has not made an impact assessment in relation to PRS's commercial licensing fees.

Licence fees are usually the outcome of negotiation between a CMO and a trade body representing potential licensees in a sector. Prospective licensees have recourse to the Copyright Tribunal if dissatisfied with the terms of a licence, and the Tribunal’s decisions can be appealed in the High Court or the Court of Session in Scotland.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland regarding the Technology Prosperity Deal, published on 18 September 2025, what is the current legal status of the US-UK tech prosperity deal.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The US-UK Technology Prosperity Deal was signed as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which does not constitute or create any legally binding obligations. The MoU represents a political and policy-level understanding between the two governments.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to ensure that Ofcom adequately enforces the Online Safety Act 2023 in the context of social media companies.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties. Ofcom has our full backing in using all available powers to protect users.

On 4 December 2025, Ofcom released a summary of the tech sector's response to the UK's new online safety rules. While there has been notable progress, further action is needed, including by major services.

Government meets Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, including ensuring the swift implementation of the outstanding duties under the Act, and we continue to monitor outcomes through our joint evaluation programme.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the effectiveness of its implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties. Ofcom has our full backing in using all available powers to protect users.

On 4 December 2025, Ofcom released a summary of the tech sector's response to the UK's new online safety rules. While there has been notable progress, further action is needed, including by major services.

Government meets Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, including ensuring the swift implementation of the outstanding duties under the Act, and we continue to monitor outcomes through our joint evaluation programme.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Government has established thresholds for dangerous weapons-related capabilities in frontier AI models.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has policy responsibility for promoting responsible AI innovation and uptake. Risks related to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons (and other dangerous weapons), including defining thresholds for harm in these domains, are managed by a combination of the Home Office, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Defence. DSIT does not set thresholds for dangerous capabilities in risk domains owned by other departments.

The AI Security Institute (AISI), as part of DSIT, focuses on researching emerging AI risks with serious security implications, such as the potential for AI to help users develop chemical and biological weapons. AISI works with a broad range of experts and leading AI companies to understand the capabilities of advanced AI and advise on technical mitigations. AISI’s research supports other government departments in taking evidence-based action to mitigate risks whilst ensuring AI delivers on its potential for growth. AISI’s Frontier AI Trends Report, published in December 2025, outlines how frontier AI risks are expected to develop in the future.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, following Google DeepMind's provision of pre-deployment access to the UK AI Security Institute for safety testing of Gemini 3, whether the Institute received equivalent pre-deployment access to the most recent frontier AI models developed by (a) OpenAI, (b) Anthropic, (c) xAI, and (d) Meta prior to their public release.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government does not give a running commentary on models being tested or which models we have been granted access to due to commercial and security sensitivities. Where possible, given these sensitivities, the AI Security Institute aims to publish results.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Government has established a defined threshold of dangerous capability in frontier AI models, including capabilities relating to chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons, which would trigger Government action.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has policy responsibility for promoting responsible AI innovation and uptake. Risks related to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons (and other dangerous weapons), including defining thresholds for harm in these domains, are managed by a combination of the Home Office, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Defence. DSIT does not set thresholds for dangerous capabilities in risk domains owned by other departments.

The AI Security Institute (AISI), as part of DSIT, focuses on researching emerging AI risks with serious security implications, such as the potential for AI to help users develop chemical and biological weapons. AISI works with a broad range of experts and leading AI companies to understand the capabilities of advanced AI and advise on technical mitigations. AISI’s research supports other government departments in taking evidence-based action to mitigate risks whilst ensuring AI delivers on its potential for growth. AISI’s Frontier AI Trends Report, published in December 2025, outlines how frontier AI risks are expected to develop in the future.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 23 December 2025 to Question 100077 on Telecommunications: Innovation, whether she plans to connect all populated areas with (a) high and (b) very high connectivity as defined by Ofcom.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Government is working with the industry to deliver high quality digital connectivity right across the UK, whether this is fixed, or mobile connectivity. Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and we expect this to be delivered through the mobile operators' commercial network rollout plans. Ofcom, as the telecommunications regulator is responsible for reporting on coverage.

For both non-standalone and standalone 5G, high and very high confidence thresholds are used. These thresholds are explained in detail in the methodology annex published alongside the Connected Nations 2025 report. This states that high confidence is associated with a probability of at least 80% of coverage being present in the predicted location and a 95% probability for very high confidence.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how she will support children, parents and carers to understand the safe use and risks of generative AI tools.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Protecting children from harm online is a top priority for this government.

This year, the government will be supporting a NSPCC summit at Wilton Park on the impact of AI on childhood. This will bring together experts, technology companies, civil society and young people to explore how AI can benefit children without exposing them to harm.

Media literacy is also a key part of our approach, helping children and adults develop critical thinking skills to navigate the growing presence of AI-generated content. DSIT is working with the Department for Education to develop an online ‘parent hub’ providing guidance on media literacy and online safety.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to include experiments inducing sepsis in animals in her strategy on phasing out animal testing.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 1 December 2025 to Question UIN 94115.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what ethical safeguards she plans to introduce for the future use of AI.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

A range of existing rules already apply to AI systems, such as data protection, competition, equality legislation, and online safety. In response to the AI Action Plan, the government committed to work with regulators to boost their capabilities.

This is complemented by the work of the AI Security Institute, which has deepened our understanding of the critical security risks posed by frontier AI. The government remains committed to ensuring our rule book is up to date and future-proofed so the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring.

The government is also supporting the UK AI assurance market, which will provide ways to measure, evaluate and communicate the trustworthiness and safety of AI systems.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is able to take to delay or prohibit the public release of a frontier AI model in instances when the UK AI Security Institute assesses that model as posing a serious risk of assisting users in developing chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We are optimistic about how AI will transform the lives of British people for the better, but advanced AI could also lead to serious security risks.

The Government believes that AI should be regulated at the point of use, and takes a context-based approach. Sectoral laws give powers to take steps where there are serious risks - for example the Procurement Act 2023 can prevent risky suppliers (including those of AI) from being used in public sector contexts, whilst a range of legislation offers protections against high-risk chemical and biological incidents.

This approach is complemented by the work of the AI Security Institute, which works in partnership with AI labs to understand the capabilities and impacts of advanced AI, and develop and test risk mitigations.

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 (a) risks of AI and (b) potential impact of AI on society.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We are optimistic about how AI will transform the lives of British people for the better, but advanced AI could lead to serious security risks. The capabilities of AI models continue to increase; this may exacerbate existing risks and present new risks for which the UK needs to be prepared.

The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base on these risks, so the government is equipped to understand their security implications. It recently published an evidence‑based assessment of how the world’s most advanced AI systems are evolving on gov.uk, bringing together results from two years of AISI's frontier model testing.

AISI works with a broad range of experts and companies to assess the potential risks these could pose as the technology continues to develop.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to expand skills and ethical training in AI.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is taking significant steps to expand skills and ethical training in AI.

Last year, we formed a partnership with 11 major technology companies and leading UK businesses to upskill 7.5 million workers in AI by 2030. This will ensure that UK workers benefit from the transformational impact AI will have in the workplace right across the country by ensuring they have access to high quality skills provision, free at the point of use. This will cover a range of skills, including responsible and ethical use of AI.

Last year we also launched the AI Skills Hub – an online learning platform where learners can access training courses on a range of topics ranging from foundational AI literacy to ethics and responsible AI use, to more advanced skills to develop and deploy AI.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential impact of the take-up of AI on adult education requirements.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ministers in DSIT and DfE are working closely together to ensure adult education keeps pace with the rapid take-up of AI.

As AI is increasingly adopted across the workplace, this will create a high demand for workers to have the skills to deploy AI. This will require adult education and upskilling to evolve for the AI age, which is why we’re jointly reviewing AI skills needs, expanding lifelong learning, and rolling out new scholarships and traineeships so adults can upskill and reskill for the jobs AI is creating.

DSIT has also formed a partnership with 11 major technology companies and leading UK businesses to upskill 7.5 million workers in AI by 2030. This will ensure that UK workers benefit from the transformational impact AI will have in the workplace, including those working for small businesses and in all parts of the country.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans she has to fund (a) digital inclusion organisations and (b) community-based AI literacy programmes to support people who lack the skills or confidence to use AI-powered services; and what plans her Department has for funding lifelong learning programmes to support transitions towards increased AI use across workplaces.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Everyone should be able to benefit from the digital world — from saving on everyday bills to finding better jobs and accessing vital services like the NHS.

That is why – as part of the First Steps confirmed in the Digital Inclusion Action Plan – we launched the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to help more people across the UK get the access, skills and confidence to get online. This included 85 community led projects in England.

Numerous projects are supporting people to build AI skills, such as the Age UK Westminster project improving AI literacy for older people, and Aston University and FutureDotNow delivering projects that support youth employability through digital inclusion.

This Fund will conclude by 31 March 2026.

More broadly, reducing the AI skills gap is critical for increasing the UK’s productivity and delivering long-term growth. That is why we are working with DfE and Skills England to assess the AI skills gap and map pathways to fill it, and last year announced a joint commitment with industry to upskill 7.5 million workers with vital AI skills.

Alongside this, DSIT is delivering the £187 million TechFirst programme that will support over 4,000 domestic graduates, researchers and innovators and engage 1 million students in digital skills and AI learning.

Lastly, following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report last year, national curriculum will be updated to prepare young people for life and work in a changing world. The Government will embed digital, media and AI literacy across the curriculum, introduce a refreshed, broader computing GCSE, and integrate digital content into other subjects.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when the Statement of Strategic Priorities for Ofcom will be published.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The updated Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecoms, the management of radio spectrum and postal services will be laid before Parliament in the coming weeks and will be designated 40 days later.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what provisions are in place for older people with disabilities and who live in rural communities who may struggle with digital systems.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Everyone should be able to benefit from the digital world — from saving on everyday bills to finding better jobs and accessing vital services like the NHS

Last February we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, setting out the government's first steps to ensure everyone in the UK – no matter their background – can fully participate in our digital society

Since then, we have launched the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund with £764,020 in Scotland, £440,368 in Wales and £267,249 in Northern Ireland. Helping more people across the UK get the access, skills and confidence to get online.

The fund is currently supporting 85 community‑led projects across England, designed to support locally delivered, highly tailored and targeted interventions that meet the needs of digitally excluded people, including older and disabled users

We remain committed to ensuring all public services are accessible and inclusive – with published best practice to make sure websites and apps work for everyone, alongside providing alternative routes – like in-person and telephone support – for those that need them.

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 merits of making UK AISI / Thorn's guidance, Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention, published in December 2025, mandatory for all AI developers to prevent the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated CSAM. Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators, and to ensure AI developers can directly test for and address vulnerabilities in their models which enable the production of CSAM.

The AISI / Thorn joint publication guidance (Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention) sets out practical steps that AI developers, model hosting services and others in the AI ecosystem can take to reduce the risk that their systems are misused to generate CSAM. This guidance is informed by input from industry and child protection organisations, and many of the world’s leading AI developers (including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta) have signed up to the principles of earlier forms of this guidance.

The Government is clear: no option is off the table when it comes to protecting the online safety of users in the UK, and we will not hesitate to act where evidence suggests that further action is necessary.

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 prevent software companies from releasing artificial intelligence tools that enable the creation of sexually explicit images, in particular of women and children.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Under the Online Safety Act, sharing, or threatening to share, a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence. The government will also urgently bring into force a new offence which criminalises the creation of intimate images without consent.

We will also legislate to criminalise nudification apps. This new criminal offence will make it illegal for companies to supply tools specifically designed to create non-consensual intimate images.

Ofcom is the enforcement regulator for the Online Safety Act and it has confirmed it is opening a formal investigation into X due to concerns over non consensual intimate images.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the joint publication by the AI Security Institute and Thorn entitled Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention, published in December 2025, if she will make the recommendations mandatory for all AI developers to prevent the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated CSAM. Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators, and to ensure AI developers can directly test for and address vulnerabilities in their models which enable the production of CSAM.

The AISI / Thorn joint publication guidance (Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention) sets out practical steps that AI developers, model hosting services and others in the AI ecosystem can take to reduce the risk that their systems are misused to generate CSAM. This guidance is informed by input from industry and child protection organisations, and many of the world’s leading AI developers (including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta) have signed up to the principles of earlier forms of this guidance.

The Government is clear: no option is off the table when it comes to protecting the online safety of users in the UK, and we will not hesitate to act where evidence suggests that further action is necessary.

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 merits of making UK AISI / Thorn's guidance, Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention, published in December 2025, mandatory for all AI developers to prevent the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated CSAM. Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators, and to ensure AI developers can directly test for and address vulnerabilities in their models which enable the production of CSAM.

The AISI / Thorn joint publication guidance (Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention) sets out practical steps that AI developers, model hosting services and others in the AI ecosystem can take to reduce the risk that their systems are misused to generate CSAM. This guidance is informed by input from industry and child protection organisations, and many of the world’s leading AI developers (including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta) have signed up to the principles of earlier forms of this guidance.

The Government is clear: no option is off the table when it comes to protecting the online safety of users in the UK, and we will not hesitate to act where evidence suggests that further action is necessary.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what fines, sanctions or enforcement measures her Department is applying to technology companies that make available artificial intelligence tools capable of generating sexually explicit images, in particular of women and children.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Under the Online Safety Act, sharing, or threatening to share, a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence. The government will also urgently bring into force a new offence which criminalises the creation of intimate images without consent.

We will also legislate to criminalise nudification apps. This new criminal offence will make it illegal for companies to supply tools specifically designed to create non-consensual intimate images.

Ofcom is the enforcement regulator for the Online Safety Act and it has confirmed it is opening a formal investigation into X due to concerns over non consensual intimate images.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what reason employment and wage costs have increased at the Intellectual Property Office since April 2017.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is an executive agency of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), with delegated responsibility for operational matters including salaries. Salary costs have increased since 2017 due to two main factors. Headcount has increased over this period, driven both by a sustained increase in demand for IP Services plus investment in a Transformation programme aimed at delivering better digital services to our customers and internal frontline staff. The second reason is the application of the annual pay awards. IPO complies fully with the Cabinet Office annual pay remit guidance and annual pay cases are approved by HMT through a rigorous business case process.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85288 on Public Sector: Sign Language, how she would define a supplier of assurance services in respect of BSL videos as deaf-led.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Deaf-led BSL suppliers play a crucial role in ensuring that BSL is used correctly and effectively in various settings.

Multiple suppliers exist in the market providing services to the Deaf community, ensuring that BSL is used effectively in all aspects of communication. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not prescribe a particular supplier, it is for service owners to select one based on their service users' needs.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85288 on Public Sector: Sign Language, what deaf-led British Sign Language (BSL) suppliers are recognised to assure BSL videos, including AI BSL videos.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government Digital Service does not recommend specific suppliers of BSL assurance, accessibility audits or suppliers of technology development generally.

Service Owners will follow their department's own supplier and commercial strategies. A number of Deaf-led agencies and language service providers are available to engage through Crown Commercial Service's digital purchasing frameworks.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85294 on Public Sector: Sign Language, which public services have approached the Government Digital Service to seek advice on the (a) development and (b) application of AI British Sign Language content.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government Digital Service does not record enquiries at this level of granularity.

Depending on the service type, it is likely the service team will both consult with the Service Manual and the Technology Code of Practice - covering the standards services need to meet - and go through a service assessment in order to receive a GOV.UK web address.

The assessment will check compliance with the Service Standard, including assessing evidence it complies with accessibility regulation and avoid excluding any groups within the audience they’re intended to serve.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85294 on Public Sector: Sign Language, what expertise does the Government Digital Service have in British Sign Language to provide support to public services on the (a) development and (b) application of AI British Sign Language content.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government Digital Service (GDS) provides service teams across the public sector with guidance on accessible design, use of AI and requirements under the WCAG regulations.

GDS does not provide BSL expertise. Service Owners must conduct research with disabled people, including Deaf users and where appropriate to the service provision, those who use sign language or a sign language interpreter to interact with the service. Services must seek expertise where appropriate from the BSL community and specialist Deaf-led agencies to test their products.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with Ofcom regarding xAI’s Grok creating intimate and sexually explicit images of people, including minors, without their consent.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is clear that no one should have to go through the ordeal of these horrendous images online.

Ofcom has confirmed that they have opened an investigation into X and have our full backing to take necessary enforcement action.

The commencement order for the offence of the creation, or requested creation, of intimate images will be signed this week meaning that individuals are committing a criminal offence if they create – or seek to create – such abhorrent content. This will also be made a priority offence, meaning platforms must take proactive action.

This is not about restricting freedom of speech but upholding the law.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with X over reported sexualised deepfake content on its platform.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is clear that no one should have to go through the ordeal of these horrendous images online.

Ofcom has confirmed that they have opened an investigation into X and have our full backing to take necessary enforcement action.

The commencement order for the offence of the creation, or requested creation, of intimate images will be signed this week meaning that individuals are committing a criminal offence if they create – or seek to create – such abhorrent content. This will also be made a priority offence, meaning platforms must take proactive action.

This is not about restricting freedom of speech but upholding the law.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom over reported sexualised deepfake content on X.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is clear that no one should have to go through the ordeal of these horrendous images online.

Ofcom has confirmed that they have opened an investigation into X and have our full backing to take necessary enforcement action.

The commencement order for the offence of the creation, or requested creation, of intimate images will be signed this week meaning that individuals are committing a criminal offence if they create – or seek to create – such abhorrent content. This will also be made a priority offence, meaning platforms must take proactive action.

This is not about restricting freedom of speech but upholding the law.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on considering the needs of rural broadband investment in the Telecoms Access Review.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector and is currently finalising its Telecoms Access Review.

DSIT officials regularly engage with Ofcom on these issues. In July, we published our draft updated Statement of Strategic Priorities to Ofcom that sets out the government’s view on the importance of competition to promote investment in broadband deployment across the UK, including in rural areas.

In non-commercially viable, often rural, areas, more than £2.4 billion of Project Gigabit contracts have already been signed to connect over one million premises with gigabit-capable broadband.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research by the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors indicating that many broadband providers operate without an internal audit function.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government, working with Ofcom, closely monitors the financial health of the telecoms market. Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers where appropriate.

We recently held a public consultation on proposed updates to the Telecommunications Security Code of Practice, which provides guidance on how public telecoms providers can meet their statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements relating to reviews, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce these requirements.

In response to the consultation, the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors raised the matter of independent assurance arrangements. We are now carefully reviewing all feedback to the consultation to ensure that any updates to the Code of Practice are appropriate and proportionate.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to essential services and the wider economy posed by broadband providers' lack of internal audit functions.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government, working with Ofcom, closely monitors the financial health of the telecoms market. Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers where appropriate.

We recently held a public consultation on proposed updates to the Telecommunications Security Code of Practice, which provides guidance on how public telecoms providers can meet their statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements relating to reviews, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce these requirements.

In response to the consultation, the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors raised the matter of independent assurance arrangements. We are now carefully reviewing all feedback to the consultation to ensure that any updates to the Code of Practice are appropriate and proportionate.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that broadband providers and telecoms companies establish internal audit functions.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government, working with Ofcom, closely monitors the financial health of the telecoms market. Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers where appropriate.

We recently held a public consultation on proposed updates to the Telecommunications Security Code of Practice, which provides guidance on how public telecoms providers can meet their statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements relating to reviews, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce these requirements.

In response to the consultation, the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors raised the matter of independent assurance arrangements. We are now carefully reviewing all feedback to the consultation to ensure that any updates to the Code of Practice are appropriate and proportionate.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the cost of cyber attacks to the economy in 2025.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

In November 2025, the government published a set of independent research reports quantifying the impact of cyber attacks on the UK economy. These reports demonstrate the scale of the potential cost of cyber attacks to UK businesses, with KPMG’s report Economic Modelling of Sector Specific Costings of Cyber Attacks estimating the average cost of a significant cyber attack for an individual business in the UK to be almost £195,000. Scaled to an annual UK cost to businesses, this amounts to an estimated £14.7 billion.

The Government has developed tools for businesses to protect themselves, including:

• The highly effective Cyber Essentials Scheme, shown to reduce the likelihood of a cyber insurance claim by 92%,
• The Cyber Governance Code of Practice, to help boards and directors manage cyber risks, and
• A wide range of free NCSC tools and support, including training for boards and staff, the Early Warning system and the Cyber Action Toolkit for small businesses.

The Government is also taking further action to protect the economy. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will boost our cyber defences and better protect our essential services. This year, we will publish a new National Cyber Action Plan setting out how Government will respond to the cyber threat and work with industry to raise resilience across the economy.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that businesses planning AI investment can access appropriate digital infrastructure and skills training.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The government is committed to facilitating the diffusion of AI across the whole of the UK by addressing the barriers to adoption faced by businesses and workers. DSIT is working with DfE and Skills England to assess the AI skills gap and map pathways to fill it and recently announced a joint commitment with industry to upskill 7.5 million workers by 2030 with vital AI skills.

Through the Industrial Strategy the government is taking steps to boost access to digital infrastructure such by supporting strategic demand projects to connect to the grid. UK businesses can also access the AI Research Resource which offers free access to high-performance AI compute, with dedicated user support and skills development to help UK-based start‑ups and SMEs experiment, innovate, and scale.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent progress her Department has made on introducing an artificial intelligence bill; what timetable has been set for its publication; and what interim regulatory steps are being taken to help tackle risks relating to artificial intelligence.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government does not speculate on legislation ahead of future parliamentary sessions.

A range of existing rules already apply to Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, such as data protection, competition, equality legislation and other forms of sectoral regulation.

AI is a general-purpose technology with a wide range of applications, which is why the UK believes that the vast majority of AI systems should be regulated at the point of use. In response to the AI Action Plan, the Government committed to work with regulators to boost their capabilities.

This is complemented by the work of the AI Security Institute which has deepened our understanding of the critical security risks posed by frontier.

However, the government will not hesitate to act where evidence suggests that further action is necessary.

On 3 December 2025, the DSIT Secretary of State confirmed in Parliament that the government is exploring how emerging services, such as AI chatbots, interact with the Online Safety Act and what further measures may be required. Further to this, we are signing the commencement order to urgently bring powers to criminalise the creation of intimate images without consent into force.

We will also legislate to criminalise nudification apps. This new criminal offence will make it illegal for companies to supply tools specifically designed to create non-consensual intimate images.

The government remains committed to ensuring the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring.

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 the principle underlying corporate manslaughter legislation on the regulation of large technology platforms whose design enables the creation and spread of (a) child sexual abuse material and (b) non-consensual deepfakes.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act (OSA) regulatory regime gives platforms clear duties to prevent and remove child sexual abuse material and non-consensual deepfakes. Providers must fully assess risks and design services to be safe. For example, Ofcom has announced an investigation into X to assess if it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in the UK.

The Government keeps all legislative frameworks under review and has also announced that it will bring into effect a new offence covering the creation of non-consensual intimate images.

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 existing legal frameworks to hold technology companies accountable for the dissemination of (a) child sexual abuse material and (b) non-consensual deepfakes.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act (OSA) regulatory regime gives platforms clear duties to prevent and remove child sexual abuse material and non-consensual deepfakes. Providers must fully assess risks and design services to be safe. For example, Ofcom has announced an investigation into X to assess if it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in the UK.

The Government keeps all legislative frameworks under review and has also announced that it will bring into effect a new offence covering the creation of non-consensual intimate images.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has had recent discussions with social media companies on the rapid removal of graphic or traumatic content depicting serious injury or death.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT has regular discussions with social media companies about a number of online safety matters, including tackling harmful content.

The Online Safety Act gives social media platforms duties to protect their users from harmful content. Under the regulatory regime, platforms must swiftly remove illegal content, including illegal content which depicts serious violence or injury.

Services likely to be accessed by children must put in place age-appropriate protections from violent content, and ensure they have accessible reporting mechanisms in place for parents and children.

Service providers must assess risks and design services to be safe. Ofcom has powers to investigate compliance and can take enforcement action where necessary.

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 potential merits of introducing a statutory duty of care for children’s safety on Gen AI companies to ensure they are held accountable for the safety of children.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

In the UK, AI systems are regulated at the point of use under existing frameworks such as data protection law, competition law, equality law, and other forms of sectoral and cross-sectoral regulation.

Generative AI services that allow users to share content with one another, search live website to provide search results, or publish pornographic content are regulated under the Online Safety Act. These services must protect users from illegal content and children from harmful and age-inappropriate content. The Technology Secretary has confirmed that the government is considering how the Online Safety Act applies to AI chatbots and whether more is needed to protect users.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on tackling the spread of antisemitism and Islamophobia on social media.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ofcom about online safety matters. For example, in October, the Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom requesting an update on its implementation of the Online Safety Act, including work to ensure platforms tackle antisemitic and hateful content and abuse.

Ofcom’s reply outlined the main themes of its work in tackling antisemitism and other forms of hate speech and abuse. This includes driving compliance through the Online Safety Act’s regulatory framework, building on its codes of practice, working with civil society to build its evidence base and targeted working with platforms during crises.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support AI development in the West of England.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is putting artificial intelligence at the heart of our mission to grow the UK economy. We are backing British researchers and firms and catalysing regional AI clusters so communities across the country, including in the West of England, can benefit.

We are opening a £250m procurement for the next phase of the AI Research Resource, our publicly owned supercomputers which can be used – for free – by UK researchers and business. One of the supercomputers, Isambard-AI, is based in Bristol and is one of the world’s top 10 public supercomputers and the 4th greenest.

The Government will act as a “first customer” for promising UK AI hardware through an advance market commitment of up to £100 million, giving UK companies the opportunity to grow and compete. We are also backing British scale‑ups via a new Sovereign AI Unit, supported by around £500 million, and driving local productivity through targeted skills and business adoption programmes that help SMEs adopt AI and equip workers with essential AI skills.

Together, these measures will place communities such as in the West of England in a strong position to seize the opportunities presented by AI.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has set (a) targets and (b) timelines for implementing universal mobile coverage in rural constituencies.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This ambition includes villages and rural communities as well as towns and cities, and Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators (MNOs) to ensure there is continued investment into the expansion and improvement of mobile networks right across the UK.

The Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme, which is jointly funded by the Government and the UK’s main MNOs, achieved its objective of 4G geographic coverage being available across 95% of the UK landmass by end-2025 more than a year early.

In rural areas, where there is either limited or no mobile coverage, we continue to work with the industry to deliver new coverage to these communities as well as monitor developments in the Direct to Device satellite market.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to extend (a) infrastructure-sharing agreements and (b) rural roaming schemes to help improve mobile coverage in areas such as North East Hampshire constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Through the National Planning Policy Framework, mobile network operators are encouraged to improve connectively by using existing masts buildings and other structures where it is possible. Network operators have also committed to sharing infrastructure, wherever it is viable, via the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development.

The Government has no plans to introduce a rural roaming scheme. Mandated roaming schemes could reduce the incentive for operators to invest in their networks.

However, roaming agreements are in place that allow calls to emergency services to automatically roam onto another available network if someone has no signal from their own provider.

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 reduce UK reliance on concentrated semiconductor supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The semiconductor industry has complex global supply chains. As part of the Industrial Strategy’s Digital and Technologies Sector Plan, the Government is taking measures to foster growth of the UK semiconductor sector where it is strong, enhance national security and strengthen supply chain resilience. Given the global nature of semiconductor supply chains, the UK is also building resilience through collaborating with a wide range of international partners, both bilaterally and through fora such as the OECD Semiconductor Informal Exchange Network and the G7 Semiconductor Point of Contact Group.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what consideration her Department has given to the potential merits of competition policy measures to prevent the monopolisation of semiconductor components by large technology companies.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of semiconductor technologies for UK growth and security, as outlined in the Industrial Strategy Digital & Technologies Sector Plan. The Competition and Markets Authority is responsible for investigating anti-competitive practices. Any concerns regarding anti-competitive conduct can be raised directly with the CMA.

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 memory chip shortages on consumer technology prices.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of memory chip shortages on consumer technology prices, but the Government continues to regularly engage with businesses to understand supply chain challenges. The Government is also working closely with international partners to develop shared approaches and solutions that improve global semiconductor supply chain resilience.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much their Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) marketing in each of the last three years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The advertising and marketing spend will be as follows, ‘24-25 £3m (Core & Agencies), 23-24 restated figures £6m (Core & Agencies) & 22-23 restated figures £1m (Core & Agencies).’ All figures can be found in the annual reports.

Core and Agencies* - The core department, Building Digital UK, and UK Space Agency.

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 the Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 on the phasing out of the use of animals in scientific research and testing.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is committed to supporting the development and uptake of alternatives to the use of animals in science and has published the Replacing Animals in Science strategy which lays out the steps we are taking to achieve that end. The strategy states that the Government will continue to support the use of animals in science where it is necessary and appropriate. The Government assesses that Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 will have no direct impact on the phasing out of the use of animals in scientific research and testing.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the impact of Physical Infrastructure Access costs on the deployment of fibre optic broadband in rural areas.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product, and is currently finalising its Telecoms Access Review.

DSIT officials regularly engage with Ofcom on these issues. In July, we published our draft updated Statement of Strategic Priorities to Ofcom that sets out the government’s view on the importance of competition to promote investment in broadband deployment across the UK, including asking Ofcom to demonstrate greater transparency in how they calculate and set PIA prices.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to prioritise the development of non-animal testing methods under the Replacing Animals in Science strategy.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s new strategy sets out our long-term vision for a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances, achieved by creating a research and innovation system that drives the development and validation of alternative methods to using animals in science. The strategy sets out commitments to prioritise the development of non-animal testing methods, including creating a preclinical translational models hub and publishing areas of research interest for alternative methods.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to encourage mobile providers to accelerate the rollout of improved signal in rural areas.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Government’s ambition is for populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This ambition includes villages and rural communities as well as towns and cities.

We continue to work with the mobile network operators (MNOs) to ensure that their investment benefits communities right across the UK. As part of the terms of their merger, VodafoneThree has committed to investing £11 billion to upgrade their joint networks, and BT/EE and Virgin Media O2 have similarly significant investment plans in place.

We are addressing barriers to mobile infrastructure deployment where they exist, including by launching a call for evidence on 18 December 2025 to help determine where planning rules could be relaxed to support the deployment of digital infrastructure. We also continue to work closely with Ofcom to ensure there is sufficient spectrum available to deliver high quality wireless connectivity across the UK.

Alongside this, the Shared Rural Network, which is jointly funded by the Government and the UK’s main MNOs, continues to deliver 4G coverage in areas where there is little or no coverage currently.

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 help prevent the creation of non‑consensual sexualised images through the Grok Imagine app in the UK.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government has been clear that non-consensual intimate images are reprehensible and no service should allow their creation and distribution.

The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services to prevent such content appearing on in-scope services and to remove it swiftly when it does. Where they fail to do this, Ofcom has robust enforcement powers - including fining 10% of global revenue

Furthermore, the offence of creating intimate images without consent was signed into force last week. The Secretary of State announced it will be made a priority offence under the Online Safety Act – delivering the strongest protections in the Act for users from such content.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support the removal of sexualised deepfake content from X.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Sexually manipulated images of women and children are despicable and abhorrent. The government is clear that no one should have to go through the ordeal of seeing intimate images of themselves online. There are no excuses not to act, and services must deal with this urgently.

Sharing, or threatening to share a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence. The government has made it a priority offence under the Online Safety Act, meaning services need to take proactive steps to tackle this content. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers to use where providers are not complying with their duties.

This week we havesigned the commencement order to urgently bring powers to criminalise the creation of intimate images without consent into force.

Ofcom has confirmed that they have opened a formal investigation into X and have the government’s full backing to take necessary enforcement action.

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 Ofcom’s capacity to effectively implement the Online Safety Act 2023 in the context of the recent creation and publication of illegal explicit images and child sexual abuse material on X by xAI’s chatbot, Grok.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is clear that no one should have to go through the ordeal of these horrendous images online. There are no excuses not to act, and services must deal with this.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties.

Ofcom has confirmed that they have opened an investigation into X and have our full backing to take necessary enforcement action.

Government meets Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, and we continue to monitor outcomes through our joint evaluation programme.

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 the withdrawal of analogue landline services on public safety, given that Voice over Internet Protocol systems cease to function when households have no access to (a) electricity, (b) Wi‑Fi and (c) mobile connectivity; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all residents have access to reliable communication channels during emergencies.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) often relies on cables in the air that can fail during a storm. In 2024/25 there were over 2,600 major incidents on the PSTN, each affecting 500 or more customers. Further, in a power outage the PSTN would not work for most customers as it requires a corded handset, now only in 2% of UK households. Fibre cables are more resilient and less prone to damage during severe weather events.

The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration from the PSTN to Voice over Internet Protocol are mitigated for everyone.

In November 2024, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent customers to ensure access to emergency services for at least one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups with 4-7 hours of battery life.

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 the transition from analogue to digital landline services on public safety, including the availability of digital telephony during power outages.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) often relies on cables in the air that can fail during a storm. In 2024/25 there were over 2,600 major incidents on the PSTN, each affecting 500 or more customers. Further, in a power outage the PSTN would not work for most customers as it requires a corded handset, now only in 2% of UK households. Fibre cables are more resilient and less prone to damage during severe weather events.

The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration from the PSTN to Voice over Internet Protocol are mitigated for everyone.

In November 2024, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent customers to ensure access to emergency services for at least one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups with 4-7 hours of battery life.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she plans to implement the recommendations set out in policy paper entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s new strategy sets out our long-term vision for a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances, achieved by creating a research and innovation system that drives the development and validation of alternative methods to using animals in science. The strategy has 26 commitments which will be delivered or started during 2026 and 2027 to prioritise the development of non-animal testing methods. This includes creating a preclinical translational models' hub and publishing areas of research interest for alternative methods.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when she intends to respond to the letters of 1 August 2025, 23 September 2025, and 18 December 2025 from the Hon. Mem. for Harrogate and Knaresborough, case reference TG09406, on the Online Safety Act.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

I wrote to the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough on 16 January. The Department sincerely apologises for the exceptional delay in responding on this occasion, and we regret that this fell short of expected standards.

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 the monetisation and algorithmic amplification of misogynistic and sexually degrading content on social media platforms on young people’s attitudes towards women, relationships and self-worth.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

This Government will do everything in our power to keep women and children safe online.

Under the Online Safety Act, services are required to protect children from both illegal and harmful content, including violent, abusive or hateful misogynistic content. Services are also required to adjust algorithms for children, so that they do not encourage harmful content, leading to safer feeds.

We expect companies to introduce, without delay, the recommended measures in Ofcom’s industry guidance on making platforms safer for women and girls including deprioritising harmful content in recommender algorithms and de‑monetising content which promotes misogynistic abuse and sexual violence.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to her Department's press release entitled Technology Secretary statement on xAI's Grok image generation and editing tool published on 9 January 2026, what official communications has her Department received from X regarding image manipulation by its xAI Grok tool.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is clear that no one should have to go through the ordeal of these horrendous images online.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and has confirmed that they have opened an investigation into X and have made relevant contact with representatives at X. They have our full backing to take any necessary enforcement action.

This is not about restricting freedom of speech but upholding the law.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to issue fines against social media companies which host sexualized deepfake content.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Sharing, or threatening to share, a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence - for individuals and for platforms. Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and has confirmed that they have opened an investigation into Grok’s production of sexualised deepfake content. They have the backing of this government to use the full powers which Parliament has given them.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what consideration her Department has given of the potential merits of requiring mobile network operators to fund the installation of emergency back‑up power for mobile phone masts from company profits rather than through customer bill increases.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities.

Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.

Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February 2025 and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers.

The Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time.

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 resilience of mobile communications infrastructure during prolonged power outages; and for what reason mobile phone masts are not required to have emergency back‑up generators to ensure continuity of communication for isolated communities.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities.

Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.

Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February 2025 and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers.

The Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to introduce mandatory requirements under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 for mobile network operators to install emergency generator capacity at mobile phone masts.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities.

Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.

Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February 2025 and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers.

The Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) safety mechanisms.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

There is considerable debate and uncertainty around Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), but the possibility of its development must be taken seriously. The increasing capabilities of AI may exacerbate existing risks and present new risks, for which the UK need to be prepared.

The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base on these risks, so the government is equipped to prepare for them. AISI focuses on emerging AI risks with serious security implications, including the potential for AI to help users develop chemical and biological weapons, and the potential for loss of control presented by autonomous systems.

The Government will continue to take a long-term, science-led approach to understand and prepare for emerging risks from AI. This includes preparing for the possibility of very rapid AI progress, which could have transformative impacts on society and national security.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support start ups in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22^nd of December 2025 to question UIN 99476.

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 protect women and girls online.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Tackling violence against women and girls in all its forms, including online, is a top priority for this government.

Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must proactively tackle illegal content, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls, including harassment, stalking and intimate image abuse. Services are also required to protect children from illegal and harmful content, including abusive and hateful misogyny and pornography.

On 25 November 2025, Ofcom published industry guidance on making platforms safer for women and girls. We expect companies to introduce these recommended measures without delay.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Ofcom about developing regulatory guidance for telecoms providers on governance, risk management, and internal controls.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government and Ofcom keep the financial health of the telecoms market under close review. Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers where appropriate.

Alongside this, the Government and Ofcom keep regulation of the telecoms market under review to ensure that it promotes resilience and market stability while encouraging investment and innovation. My department regularly engages with Ofcom on these issues.

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 help reduce rates of digital exclusion among the elderly population.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Everyone should be able to benefit from the digital world, but we know that certain groups are more likely to be digitally excluded than others. This includes older people, with statistics showing 86% of adults aged 60+ are online, compared to 95% of all UK adults in 2025.

That is why, we have launched the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund - backing local communities to lead the way in closing the digital divide. This is supporting 85 projects in England, including highly tailored and targeted interventions to help more digitally excluded older people get the access, skills and confidence to get online. More broadly, we are ensuring public services are accessible and inclusive, designing web and digital services that work for everyone so more people can access services quickly and easily.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when enhanced age verification and online safety measures to protect children from online facilitated sexual abuse will be implemented, in the context of the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act already meets the Inquiry’s recommendations on age-verification and online safety measures. The child safety duties require regulated services to implement highly effective age assurance to prevent children from accessing the most harmful content, including pornography, and implement age-appropriate measures to protect children from other legal but harmful material such as bullying or violent content.

The illegal content safety duties go beyond age-verification. Child sexual exploitation and abuse material is a priority offence, and under the duties, services must take proactive steps to prevent it appearing and remove it swiftly if it does.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an estimate of the total number of active mobile phone (a) connections (b) contracts/subscriptions in the UK.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom's Telecommunications Market Data Update, published on the 15^th of January 2026, shows that the number of active mobile phone subscriptions in the UK was 91 million as of the end of September 2025. This figure represents an increase of 895,000 subscriptions, or a one per cent increase, compared with the previous year. These numbers exclude Machine-to-Machine SIMs.

Ofcom do not hold a figure for the number of active mobile phone connections in the UK.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the UK AI sector following the acquisition of the British AI start-up Faculty by Accenture, including plans to retain and grow high-skill AI jobs domestically.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK has a great history of successful UK AI startups. Faculty is an excellent example of a UK startup running with its vision and succeeding on a global scale.

We want to ensure that this ecosystem continues to thrive and recently announced a comprehensive package of support. This includes the Advance Market Commitments in which Government will act as a first customer for promising UK start-ups who are building high-quality AI hardware products. The commitment is backed by up to £100 million of government support to give British startups the opportunity for a competitive edge and to win customers in a multibillion-dollar global market. Alongside this, we are investing in workforce readiness through initiatives such as the AI Skills Hub, partnerships to train 7.5 million workers, and expanded university programmes like Pioneer Fellowships and Sparck AI Scholarships to equip people with the skills needed to retain and grow high-value AI jobs in the UK.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Lloyd of Effra on 5 January [HL12970], whether the responsibilities in the Digital Economy Act 2017 Codes of Practice have been met; and whether that single entity named is required to have a current registration with the ICO for Data Protection Act purposes.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Digital Economy Act 2017 requires all persons who are involved in disclosing or using information under the public service delivery, debt and fraud powers to have due regard to the Code of Practice for public authorities disclosing information under Chapters 1, 3 and 4 (Public Service Delivery, Debt and Fraud) of Part 5 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 in so far as they are relevant, when they disclose or use information under these powers.

It is also a legal requirement for many organisations including government bodies and agencies that process personal data, to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office in accordance with the Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018 unless they are exempt.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the acquisition of the UK-based AI start-up Faculty by Accenture for the UK’s broader strategy to support domestic AI innovation and retain high-growth AI companies in Britain.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK has a great history of successful UK AI startups. Faculty is an excellent example of a UK startup running with its vision and succeeding on a global scale.

We want to ensure that this ecosystem continues to thrive and recently announced a comprehensive package of support. This includes the Advance Market Commitments in which Government will act as a first customer for promising UK start-ups who are building high-quality AI hardware products. The commitment is backed by up to £100 million of government support to give British startups the opportunity for a competitive edge and to win customers in a multibillion-dollar global market.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold a central record of feasibility studies undertaken for projects that subsequently did not proceed. Identifying the total cost over the last five years would require manual review of records across multiple directorates, our partner bodies and programmes, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Where appropriate, feasibility work is undertaken as part of standard business‑case development to inform decisions and ensure value for money.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when regulated online service providers will be required to pre screen for known child sexual abuse material, in the context of the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act contains provisions to address the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s recommendation. Under Section 121 of the Act, Ofcom has the power, where necessary and proportionate, to require regulated services to use accredited technology to detect and remove child sexual exploitation and abuse content, including in private or encrypted channels.

Ofcom will be able to issue a tech notice once minimum standards for accredited technologies have been published and its accreditation scheme is in place. It will publish advice on minimum standards to the Secretary of State by April 2026.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she will make the UK AISI/Thorn Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention mandatory for artificial intelligence developers.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 January 2026 to Questions UIN104313, UIN104352 and UIN104434.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has met representatives of the Smartphone Free Childhood campaign to discuss parental concerns about children’s access to smartphones and social media.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT officials regularly engage with a range of stakeholders to discuss a variety of issues including parental concerns concerning children’s access to smartphones and social media.

Creating a safer online world for children is a priority for this government and we are committed to continue working with campaigners like Smartphone Free Childhood, civil society and industry to achieve this goal.

Details about ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions has her Department had with Ofcom on the regulation of online AI chatbots and companions in the context of exposure of harmful content on children.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

On 3 December 2025, the Secretary of State confirmed in Parliament that the government is exploring how emerging services, such as AI chatbots, interact with the Online Safety Act and what further measures may be required.

The Department has regular discussions with Ofcom about online safety matters. Ministerial meetings are published through quarterly reports on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Digital Identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.

Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlements.

We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of age verification mechanisms on social media platforms.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Ofcom are due to publish a report on age assurance by July 2026, which will assess the effectiveness of age assurance technologies for compliance with the child safety duties of the Online Safety Act.

Age assurance technologies play an important role in supporting the duties and ensuring that platforms are providing an age-appropriate experience for children on their services. Over 6,000 services are now using highly effective age assurance, and Ofcom’s analysis shows that, on average, 7.8 million UK visitors per day are accessing adult services who have deployed age assurance.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to table 1 of Annex A of the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, if he will publish a breakdown of the spending of Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (CDEL) spending on Science and Research, excluding CDEL on Science and Research (ALB), net in that financial year.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Please find below a breakdown of the Science and Research line outturn for FY 2024-25 per table 1 in Annex A of the DSIT Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25:

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help prevent the misuse of VoIP services for scam and nuisance calls.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Tackling scam and nuisance calls are a priority for the Government, including via VoIP.

Unsolicited direct marketing calls are regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 and enforced by the Information Commissioner. Organisations must not make live marketing calls to a number that is registered on the Telephone Preference Service list or make automated marketing calls unless the recipient has specifically consented to receive them.

Government works closely industry and recently published the second Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter, including actions to strengthen trust in voice communications. The Home Office will also publish its new Fraud Strategy with measures to prevent scam calls early this year.

Government also works closely with Ofcom who have a duty to protect consumers and a duty to ensure that UK numbers are not misused. Ofcom has made several changes in recent years, including since January 2025 under new rules by Ofcom operators have had to block calls from abroad which present as a UK numbers.

Found: The Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) leads on UK AI policy.

Found: November 20256 Cc: IPO Copyright and AI team DCMS – AI team DSIT - AI team

Found: Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT

Found: Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT

Found: For example, under the current five-year route 37 DSIT independent report, ‘R&D skills supply and demand

Found: Evidence gathered by DSIT through the ‘R&D People and Culture Strategy – Call for Evidence’ shows that

Found: how we use machine learning is incredibly important and we have published in accordance with the DSIT

Found: including the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT

Found: create a Made Smarter-style programme for Professional and Business Services, DBT, working with DSIT

Found: of government departments hold responsibility for the chemicals sector: in particular, DBT, Defra, DSIT

Found: the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health and Social Care, DSIT

Found: AIS) which has led to conflicting advice to industry from different Government departments such as DSIT

Found: Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Found: A more coherent and proportionate framework across the ICO, CMA, Ofcom and DSIT would reduce compliance

Found: Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Found: the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health and Social Care, DSIT

Found: AIS) which has led to conflicting advice to industry from different Government departments such as DSIT

Found: A more coherent and proportionate framework across the ICO, CMA, Ofcom and DSIT would reduce compliance

Found: I’ve personally been involved in outreach work with DSIT and have seen genuine effort from officials

Found: For example, clean hydrogen policy spans multiple departments including DESNZ, DBT, DfT, DEFRA, and DSIT

Found: Coordination: Establish a ULDP/PPY Taskforce chaired by DBT with OPSS, ONS, DSIT, DEFRA, HMT, CMA, BSI

Found: Government Strategy and Coordination Coordinate investments from Government departments, such as DBT, DSIT

Found: While engagement with DSIT, DBT and MHCLG has improved, that ability to have a structured, long-term

Found: DSIT – Technology Adoption Review 2025 https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-science-innovation-and-technology6

Found: DBT owns small business policy but cannot dictate HMRC tax policy, DSIT digital infrastructure priorities

Found: The DSIT-commissioned UK Cyber Growth Action Plan Report highlights this very issue.

Found: It is good to see a bit of progress, but let’s see where we get to with the consultation that DSIT has

Found: We ran the allocations process from FCDO, where we spoke to DSIT, DEFRA, DESNZ, the Home Office and

Found: State for Science, Innovation and Technology 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ www.gov.uk/dsit

Found: When I was at DSIT people said to me, “We don’t do agri-tech, although we funded all the research.”

Found: When I was at DSIT people said to me, “We don’t do agri-tech, although we funded all the research.”

Found: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the Department for Culture, Media and

Found: . ● Others believe that the principles brought forward in the technical working groups by DSIT

Found: alongside a dedicated AI sector which has been found to contribute around £1.2bn to the economy (DSIT

Found: 11 GOV.UK Digital Marketplace (2025) Equifax Online Portal Checks - Public Sector Gateway (PSG) 12 DSIT

Found: Ian Murray MP Minister of State Department for Science, Innovation & Technology 22-26 Whitehall

Found: It has also recently been confirmed that the role of chief digital officer at DSIT has been scrapped

Found: coherent framework, incorporating such relevant Government departments as DfT, HMT, MHCLG, DBT and DSIT

Found: group, for what will be a transformational program, will require full participation of the DfT and DSIT

Found: The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is working closely with the Scottish Government

Found: This will only be achieved through cross Whitehall collaboration, between MOD, DSIT, HO and DBT.

Found: Oliver Ilott: I am Ollie Ilott, the director-general for AI at DSIT. ​​The Chair:​ Thank you.

Found: Oliver Ilott: I am Ollie Ilott, the director-general for AI at DSIT. Q136 The Chair: Thank you.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of AI on the labour market, and how that assessment informs their policies on training, skills and labour market resilience.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is committed to ensuring that people have access to good, meaningful work. This involves adapting to structural changes in the labour market, including the emergence of new technology and other changes. While AI-driven changes in the labour market may bring challenges, they also offer new opportunities for economic growth, job creation, and increased productivity.

We are already witnessing AI’s impact on the labour market: transforming the workplace, demanding new skills and changing the jobs landscape. We continue to monitor trends in the labour market as the impact of AI evolves. We remain mindful of this impact and its effect on the UK workforce and DWP customers, whilst working to harness the benefits that AI can bring.

We are continuing to deliver our Get Britain Working reforms to ensure we provide people with access to good work and training opportunities fit for the future. DWP has a strong track record of supporting people to re-skill (where needed) to re-enter work.

Government funds post-16 education, training and qualifications through 16-19 funding, the Adult Skills Fund and apprenticeships. This can support people at all stages of their lives to train and reskill in a range of sectors – including in response to changes in technology such as AI.

Government is investing £187 million to bring digital and AI learning into classrooms and support over 4,000 graduates, researchers, and innovators in areas like AI, cyber security and computer science. We will train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030 through our new industry partnership with major tech players. Skills England is working with DSIT to mobilise the government-industry partnership that will deliver on this commitment.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) terms of reference and (b) membership of the Undersea Infrastructure Security Oversight Board.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Undersea Infrastructure Security Oversight Board provides a joined-up function and sets strategic direction across government on undersea infrastructure security.

The core membership includes key government stakeholders with an interest in undersea infrastructure security. This includes representation from DSIT, DESNZ, MOD, Defra, DFT, Home Office, Royal Navy and others as required. It is chaired and convened by the Cabinet Office.

Found: This includes DSIT and Ofgem returning to laying accounts pre-recess.

Found: it was announced responsibility for government cyber security is moved from the Cabinet Office to DSIT

Found: Integrated Corporate Services - Ics - Digital Uk Shared Business Services Ltd 664498 561946 Ics - Dsit

Found:

Found:

Found: Ics - Integrated Corporate Services - Ics - Human Resources Ministry Of Justice 655887 30784.5 Ics - Dsit

Found: Services Ics - Integrated Corporate Services - Ics - Human Resources Cabinet Office 639693 68952.1 Ics - Dsit

Found:

Found:

Found: Services Ics - Integrated Corporate Services - Ics - Operations Cabinet Office 619532 77724 Ics - Dsit

Found:

Found: Maintenance Desnz - Energy Markets & Supply - Desnz - Strategy Directorate Cabinet Office 632111 28000 Ics - Dsit

Found:

Found: Services Ics - Integrated Corporate Services - Ics - Human Resources Cabinet Office 672600 33325.93 Ics - Dsit

Found: class="govuk-table__cell">50027.95

Found: Services Ics - Integrated Corporate Services - Ics - Digital Mycsp Ltd 647326 50027.95 Ics - Transition - Dsit-hr

Found:

Found: Expenditure Ics - Integrated Corporate Services - Ics - Digital Capgemini Uk Plc 678713 70380.2 Ics - Dsit

Found:

Found: Services Ics - Integrated Corporate Services - Ics - Human Resources Cabinet Office 683697 36207 Ics - Dsit

Found: The £54 million Global Talent Fund is just one part of more than £5 billion that DSIT will spend on top

Found: across government to embed international education into the priorities of departments including DSIT

Found: Example: A DSIT team found managing public consultations challenging, as aligning privacy notices across

Found: Continuous Professional Development; DEFRA, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; DSIT

Found: Supplier Additionality Research3 Executive Summary The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT

Found: The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) commissioned this study by FarrPoint to investigate

Found: Building Digital UK (BDUK), part of the Department for Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT

Found: CustomerFirst is a new unit within Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), led by Tristan

Found: DSIT media enquiries Email press@dsit.gov.uk Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm

Found: As a first step towards implementing the commitment under this agreement, DSIT officials are working

Found: the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT

Found: Budget 84.620 14.800 99.420 Summary of proposed changes Operating £m Capital £m Total £m Transfer from DSIT

Found: s38(1)(b)] (CAA), [redacted s38(1)(b)] (SDI), [redacted s38(1)(b)] (DBT), [redacted s38(1)(b)] (DSIT

Found: Officials met regularly with DfE and DSIT officials in the lead up to publication of the UK Government's

Found: Officials met regularly with DfE and DSIT officials in the lead up to publication of the UK Government's