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Written Question
Horizon Europe
Tuesday 22nd August 2023

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on negotiations for associate membership of the EU Horizon programme; and when they will be in a position to make an announcement.

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

The Government is moving forward with discussions on the UK’s involvement in Horizon Europe and hope these will be successful. That is the UK’s preference. While the Government hopes negotiations will be successful, participation must work for UK researchers, businesses and taxpayers.

Talks are ongoing and therefore a deal has not yet been agreed. A deadline for these talks has not been set but to provide the industry with certainty, the UK must come to a resolution as quickly as possible. The Government has set out Pioneer, the UK’s bold alternative, which it is ready to implement if association cannot be secured.


Written Question
Mobile Phones
Monday 3rd April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of people in the UK that do not own a smartphone in each of the following age ranges: (1) 18–24, (2) 25–44, (3) 45–64, (4) 65–74, (5) 75–84, and (6) 85 and above.

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

Data on smartphone use, Wi-Fi and internet access is collected by the Office of Communications and the Office for National Statistics.

According to Ofcom data, in 2020, the vast majority (85%) of all adults used a smartphone. This rose to more than nine in ten for those aged 16-54. Use was lower for those aged 65+ (55%), who were more likely than average (29%) to use a mobile device that wasn’t a smartphone. The smartphone was the device most likely to be used by people to go online; 85% of internet users used it for this purpose. Older internet users, aged 65+, were less likely to go online via most devices asked about, and in particular, they were less likely to have adopted smart technology, such as a smartphone.

ONS data indicates that 92% of adults in the UK were recent internet users in 2020, up from 91% in 2019. Almost all adults aged 16 to 44 years in the UK were recent internet users (99%), compared with 54% of adults aged 75 years and over. While there has been little change in internet use for adults aged 16 to 44 years in recent years, the proportion of those aged 75 years and over who are recent internet users nearly doubled since 2013, from 29%, to 54% in 2020. 6.3% of adults in the UK had never used the internet in 2020, down from 7.5% in 2019.


Written Question
Internet: Access
Monday 3rd April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of people in the UK who have no internet or Wi-Fi access in the following age groups: (1) 20–39, (2) 40–59, (3) 60–79, and (4) 80 and above.

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

Data on smartphone use, Wi-Fi and internet access is collected by the Office of Communications and the Office for National Statistics.

According to Ofcom data, in 2020, the vast majority (85%) of all adults used a smartphone. This rose to more than nine in ten for those aged 16-54. Use was lower for those aged 65+ (55%), who were more likely than average (29%) to use a mobile device that wasn’t a smartphone. The smartphone was the device most likely to be used by people to go online; 85% of internet users used it for this purpose. Older internet users, aged 65+, were less likely to go online via most devices asked about, and in particular, they were less likely to have adopted smart technology, such as a smartphone.

ONS data indicates that 92% of adults in the UK were recent internet users in 2020, up from 91% in 2019. Almost all adults aged 16 to 44 years in the UK were recent internet users (99%), compared with 54% of adults aged 75 years and over. While there has been little change in internet use for adults aged 16 to 44 years in recent years, the proportion of those aged 75 years and over who are recent internet users nearly doubled since 2013, from 29%, to 54% in 2020. 6.3% of adults in the UK had never used the internet in 2020, down from 7.5% in 2019.