Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many initiatives her Department evaluated for funding through the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund expanded fund initiatives.
Answered by Baroness Morgan of Cotes
The government received and evaluated 19 applications for grant funding through the second round of the Cyber Security Immediate Impact Fund, which ran from October-November 2018. Five initiatives were successfully awarded funding.
Subject to any legal restrictions (such as data protection laws and duties to protect commercial or confidential information), we will make available the relevant information regarding the decision to grant funding from the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund to Hacker House as soon as possible, and by 31 October 2019 at the latest. The government is conducting a review of the claims made by the Sunday Times and the findings will be published at the same time.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the declarations of interest made in relation to Hacker House's application for public funding.
Answered by Baroness Morgan of Cotes
The government received and evaluated 19 applications for grant funding through the second round of the Cyber Security Immediate Impact Fund, which ran from October-November 2018. Five initiatives were successfully awarded funding.
Subject to any legal restrictions (such as data protection laws and duties to protect commercial or confidential information), we will make available the relevant information regarding the decision to grant funding from the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund to Hacker House as soon as possible, and by 31 October 2019 at the latest. The government is conducting a review of the claims made by the Sunday Times and the findings will be published at the same time.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the timetable is for the conclusion of the review of the decision to grant Hacker House grant funding; and if she will publish in full the results of that review.
Answered by Baroness Morgan of Cotes
The government received and evaluated 19 applications for grant funding through the second round of the Cyber Security Immediate Impact Fund, which ran from October-November 2018. Five initiatives were successfully awarded funding.
Subject to any legal restrictions (such as data protection laws and duties to protect commercial or confidential information), we will make available the relevant information regarding the decision to grant funding from the Cyber Skills Immediate Impact Fund to Hacker House as soon as possible, and by 31 October 2019 at the latest. The government is conducting a review of the claims made by the Sunday Times and the findings will be published at the same time.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2019 to Question 261159 on Internet: Cryptography, when (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department met with representatives of browser providers on the forthcoming protocol to deploy DNS over HTTP.
Answered by Matt Warman
Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with browser providers, on a range of issues, including the deployment of DNS over HTTPS. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2019 to Question 261159 on Internet: Cryptography, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that the switch to DNS from HTTP protocol does not weaken (a) existing child online safety provisions and (b) ISP blocking.
Answered by Matt Warman
We are aware of ongoing developments relating to the DNS and HTTPS protocol and are working with industry and other relevant stakeholders to address any unintended consequences. Work to understand the potential implications on existing child online safety protections, in particular the effect on existing ISP blocking, is ongoing and we are committed to ensuring that online protections are maintained. Officials are advising Ministers on any necessary mitigation actions as this work progresses.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in advance of the decision to use of Amazon Alexa in the NHS; and what assessment he has made on the implications for data and privacy of the use of that product.
Answered by Margot James
The Government takes the protection of personal data and the right to privacy extremely seriously. Ministers have not discussed this specific agreement. It is up to each department to make sure they are complying with our data protection legislation. The greater the sensitivity of the data, the greater the care that needs to be taken. For example, all organisations need to ensure there is a lawful basis for processing the data, design new systems with data protection principles in mind and consult the Information Commissioner where appropriate.
As part of this agreement, no patient data held by NHS bodies is being shared with Amazon. The agreement is clear that Amazon will not share information with third parties, nor is it going to sell products, make product recommendations or build a health profile on users.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to announce a decision on increasing the society lotteries sale limit.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Last year society lotteries raised nearly £300m and as the Minister for Sports and Civil Society I am keenly aware of the vital role that they play in this country, supporting countless good causes including our charities, hospices and air ambulances. Society lotteries sit alongside the National Lottery, which last year raised £1.6bn.
DCMS ran a consultation on society lotteries reform from June to September 2018. This included options which considered changes to the annual sales limits. I hope to respond to the consultation before the summer recess.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has received reports of alleged price fixing and collusion among mobile phone operators; and whether he plans to ask the relevant authorities to investigate the alleged competition offences that have taken place.
Answered by Margot James
The Department is aware of reports of alleged price fixing and collusion among mobile phone operators and understand that this matter is subject to ongoing court proceedings.
Investigations of alleged anti-competitive practices are for the relevant competition authorities acting independently of Government.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect on small businesses using .eu domain names of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Margot James
The Prime Minister’s deal which was put forward to Parliament would have allowed UK users of .eu domain names to retain their registration of these domain names throughout the duration of the implementation period.We remain are focused on ensuring our smooth and orderly withdrawal from the EU with a deal.
As part of our exit negotiations we will be seeking the best possible deal which takes into account the interests of UK citizens and businesses who currently hold .eu domain names, including SMEs.
In the scenario of a no deal, where registrants may no longer fulfil the eligibility criteria for a .eu domain name, registrants may incur costs to transfer to a new domain, as well as associated costs such as updating marketing materials. DCMS has published guidance on this issue on gov.uk
Registrars who sell .eu domain names are responsible for ensuring that their UK registrants of .eu are supported in considering future changes to their .eu domain. DCMS has also sought to raise awareness through UK wide business organisations in 2018/2019, including those that represent small businesses.
Businesses may use search optimisation techniques to improve their visibility on search rankings, through the use of domain name level keywords or social media metrics. We understand that Google has extensive site move documentation in their Help Center to assist moving domain names. UK Government has no role in this process, which relates to commercial decisions taken by the company or organisation.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available for small businesses using .eu domain names after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Margot James
The Prime Minister’s deal which was put forward to Parliament would have allowed UK users of .eu domain names to retain their registration of these domain names throughout the duration of the implementation period.We remain are focused on ensuring our smooth and orderly withdrawal from the EU with a deal.
As part of our exit negotiations we will be seeking the best possible deal which takes into account the interests of UK citizens and businesses who currently hold .eu domain names, including SMEs.
In the scenario of a no deal, where registrants may no longer fulfil the eligibility criteria for a .eu domain name, registrants may incur costs to transfer to a new domain, as well as associated costs such as updating marketing materials. DCMS has published guidance on this issue on gov.uk
Registrars who sell .eu domain names are responsible for ensuring that their UK registrants of .eu are supported in considering future changes to their .eu domain. DCMS has also sought to raise awareness through UK wide business organisations in 2018/2019, including those that represent small businesses.
Businesses may use search optimisation techniques to improve their visibility on search rankings, through the use of domain name level keywords or social media metrics. We understand that Google has extensive site move documentation in their Help Center to assist moving domain names. UK Government has no role in this process, which relates to commercial decisions taken by the company or organisation.