Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a UK Data Protection Ombudsman.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Data protection complaints are dealt with by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the independent regulator, which has a statutory duty to investigate data subject complaints to the extent appropriate.
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 introduces reforms to the ICO as well as a new requirement for data controllers to respond to data protection complaints themselves, reducing premature complaints to the regulator. The ICO is also reviewing its approach to data protection complaints and has carried out a public consultation on changes to how it assesses and determines the level of investigation. It is now reviewing feedback from that consultation.
Given our recent legislative reforms and the ICO’s consultation, there are no current plans to consider a Data Protection Ombudsman. If individuals are dissatisfied with the ICO’s service (not its legal interpretation), they can escalate complaints to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many data protection complaints were filed with the Information Commissioner’s Office in each of the last five years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The number of data protection complaints filed with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) are available on ICO’s Annual Reports, which can be viewed on their website at: https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/our-information/annual-reports/.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 phase out animal testing.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
On 11th November 2025 the government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” which outlines the steps we will take to achieve this. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods ).
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, where the UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods will be located.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
On 11th November 2025 the government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods) which sets out our plans to establish a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (UKCVAM). The location of and timeline for the creation of the UKCVAM is under development and the Government will update on this in due course.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 protect children in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire from becoming victims of indecent deepfakes.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to tackling the atrocious harm of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
UK law is clear – creating, possessing, or distributing child sexual abuse images, including those that are AI generated, is already illegal, and the Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove such content.
We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill. We are introducing an offence to criminalise AI models which have been optimised to create child abuse material and have tabled amendments to support the stringent testing of AI systems for child sexual abuse material risks.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
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 the Internet Watch Foundation.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Protecting children online is a priority for this department. The Internet Watch Foundation does vital work to tackle child sexual abuse and DSIT and other departments engage closely with them on their critical work.
I regularly meet with online safety stakeholders and remain committed to continuing this incredibly important relationship. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) Lightspeed and (b) other (i) broadband and (ii) connectivity companies on the effectiveness of their consultation processes with local residents before any telegraph pole installation takes place.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I have not had any discussions with Lightspeed about their consultation processes with local residents. However, my predecessor raised concerns about telegraph pole deployment directly with industry, through trade bodies ISPA and INCA.
In response, the industry convened the Telecommunications Poles Working Group, and published its best practice recommendations. These guidelines set out expectations for operators who plan to deploy telegraph poles as part of their network and sets out steps that local authorities and communities can take if they have any concerns.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps he has taken to improve digital connectivity for older people living in rural communities.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government published its Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025, which identified five target groups to benefit most from digital inclusion initiatives, including older people. The initiatives will be targeted locally for boosting digital skills and confidence, widening access to devices and connectivity, and getting support to people in their own communities so everyone can reap the benefits of technology.
Through Project Gigabit and the Shared Rural Network, we are continuing to deliver broadband and mobile connectivity to hard-to-reach areas with limited or no coverage. Over 87% of UK premises now have access to a gigabit capable broadband connection, while more than 95% of the UK now has 4G geographic coverage from at least one mobile operator.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with his counterparts from the (a) Southern African Development Community, (b) Caribbean Community and (c) Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries on digital transformation.
Answered by Feryal Clark
International engagement is vital to the UK’s science and technology priorities. The Secretary of State and Ministers regularly engage with partners around the world, including a variety of nations in the regions represented by the organisations outlined. For example, the UK and Singapore recently signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen cooperation on digital transformation and the Secretary of State recently met Minister Teo on 6 November.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to use nuclear energy to support the AI Opportunities Action Plan.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government recognises the significant energy demands of advanced AI infrastructure and is exploring how this can be met through renewable power sources, including nuclear.
In February this year, the Prime Minister announced significant reforms to accelerate the development of nuclear power infrastructure, including the Nuclear Regulatory Reform Taskforce which will oversee enhancements to the nuclear regulatory framework to facilitate the timely and efficient development of nuclear projects.
DSIT is working closely with DESNZ and NESO to align AI energy demand with future energy planning and long-term sustainability, including the potential role of nuclear in supporting these objectives.
The AI Energy Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for DSIT and DESNZ, will explore clean energy solutions for AI infrastructure, including small modular reactors and next-gen renewables, to ensure our AI ambitions align with the UK’s net zero goals.