Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of media literacy skills on (a) the employability and (b) workplace readiness of young people.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
According to the Essential Digital Skills Framework, media literacy-related skills, including understanding online risks, are essential for work. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has worked with FutureDotNow to analyse the benefits of essential digital skills for earnings and employability, with findings being published shortly.
The Digital Inclusion Action Plan outlines steps towards delivering digital inclusion and media literacy for everyone in the UK. The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is also considering how young people will acquire the digital skills needed for future life, with the interim report highlighting the need for a renewed focus on media literacy.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the regulation of the development of artificial intelligence technologies on investment in those technologies.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the Government is prioritising investment into the AI sector and creating the right conditions to ensure global AI companies want to call the UK home.
The Action Plan sets out a number of recommendations on how the Government can proactively work with regulators to support our ambitions for AI and growth, which the Government will be taking forward.
The Government is also developing legislative proposals which will allow us to safely realise the enormous benefits of the most powerful AI systems. We will be launching a public consultation in due course to ensure our proposals are proportionate and support innovation.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that poor media literacy skills have on (1) young people's employability and (2) employers' concerns about workplace readiness.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
According to the Essential Digital Skills Framework, media literacy-related skills, including understanding online risks, are essential for work. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has worked with FutureDotNow to analyse the benefits of essential digital skills for earnings and employability, with findings being published shortly.
The Digital Inclusion Action Plan outlines steps towards delivering digital inclusion and media literacy for everyone in the UK. The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is also considering how young people will acquire the digital skills needed for future life, with the interim report highlighting the need for a renewed focus on media literacy.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what role they envisage for (1) civil society, and (2) community organisations, in delivering lifelong media literacy programmes for adults.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Civil society and community organisations are instrumental in delivering media literacy programmes to adults, leveraging their expertise to support diverse and vulnerable groups. Libraries and community centres provide accessible locations where adults of all ages can get guidance and advice.
The Digital Inclusion Action Plan also outlines steps toward delivering digital inclusion and media literacy for everyone in the UK, including supporting local and community initiatives to increase digital participation.
Under updated media literacy duties, Ofcom is developing a ‘place-based’ model to embed media literacy into community digital strategies, working with the Good Things Foundation to support Digital Inclusion Hubs.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the article in Nature titled "Why an overreliance on AI-driven modelling is bad for science"; and what steps they are taking, if any, to ensure that research funding and government assessment of research takes account of the risks identified by this article.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government recognises that AI is having a transformative impact on science, and the UK is positioned to be a world leader in this emerging field.
This will also present novel risks. The UK Metascience Unit is investing £4m to explore AI’s impact on research and improve our understanding of these risks. Insights from this will be used to inform the government’s R&D policy.
We are dedicated to maintaining research integrity amid AI adoption. The UK Committee on Research Integrity (UKCORI) is examining the intersection of AI and research integrity, with recommendations expected this year. Investments in Responsible AI UK and skills training are driving more responsible AI use in science.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what independent verification they sought to assess the security of the One Login digital identification system.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The GOV.UK One Login works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to identify and mitigate risks and align to the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) which the Government Cyber Security Strategy 2022-2030 outlines as the assurance framework that should be adopted by the government. Findings from the recent CAF GovAssure process identified areas of good practice including governance, risk management, assurance, monitoring, incident management and lessons learned. The programme has conducted multiple independent risk and threat assessments, such as regular IT Health Checks (ITHC), and these will continue to be part of the programme’s operating approach.
In addition GOV.UK One Login works closely with the Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) on programme developments, including iterations of the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA).
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the remarks in November 2023 by the Government Digital Service Chief Information Security Officer that the One Login digital identification system was "indeed carrying a high level of risk", what progress they have made to address any security and technical issues.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
These comments are outdated and reflect a view from when the programme was in its infancy in 2023. We have worked to address all these concerns as evidenced by multiple external independent assessments such as the recent Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) GovAssure process which identified areas of good practice including governance, risk management, assurance, monitoring, incident management and lessons learned. Risk mitigation will continue to be central to our approach to ensure we keep pace with the constantly changing cyber threat landscape.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that only individuals with the appropriate security clearance have privileged access to the One Login digital identification system live service.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
GOV.UK One Login takes the security clearance and audit of personnel very seriously. All individuals with production access to Government Digital Service (GDS) systems must undergo a Security Check (SC). There are some individuals working within the GOV.UK One Login programme who are not SC-cleared, however they will not have production access to the service.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of transitioning to animal free medical research methods on the economy.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year, which will consider economic impacts.
Home to world leading research and pharmaceutical businesses, the UK is well positioned to capitalise on the global non-animal technologies for life sciences market, estimated to be worth $29.4 billion by 2030, and on the scientific and economic advantages of more human-relevant methods applied in product development and testing.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of transitioning to animal free medical research methods on public health.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”.
Recent developments in technology, in particular cell biology, organoids and AI, promise a step-change in the utility of alternatives to animal testing, which are expected to be more accurate than current animal-based approaches. These alternatives have the potential to improve understanding of human disease, reduce research development time and improve efficacy of therapeutics, providing substantial benefits for public health. The Government will publish a strategy for supporting the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.