Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) impartiality and (b) evidential handling procedures used by the communications ombudsman when determining complaints.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 impact of communications ombudsman processes on consumer confidence in dispute resolution services.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has plans to undertake a review of the consistency of decision-making of the communications ombudsman.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 impact of communication ombudsman timescales on consumers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of AI on working hours across sectors.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is working to harness the benefits that AI can bring in terms of economic growth, productivity gains, rising living standards, and improved worker wellbeing; while mitigating the risks. The Government is planning for a range of plausible outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help us track and prepare for these. We will continue to work closely with other government departments through the AI Opportunities Action Plan to ensure we shape AI to deliver economic prosperity for the UK.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 for AI-driven productivity gains to support reduced working hours without loss of pay.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is working to harness the benefits that AI can bring in terms of economic growth, productivity gains, rising living standards, and improved worker wellbeing; while mitigating the risks. The Government is planning for a range of plausible outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help us track and prepare for these. We will continue to work closely with other government departments through the AI Opportunities Action Plan to ensure we shape AI to deliver economic prosperity for the UK.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what research his Department is supporting into the potential impact of Arctic warming on (a) the UK climate system, (b) shifts in the jet stream and (c) weather patterns.
Answered by Feryal Clark
UK Research and Innovation’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has a range of vessels, aircraft, and autonomous underwater and aerial vehicles which capture data to help better understand the potential climate impact of Arctic warming. There are a number of research initiatives across the region contributing information into datasets and models to improve predictions. This includes CANARI, a £12 million collaborative research programme to improve knowledge about how climate variability and change in the Arctic-North Atlantic region will impact the UK, with a focus on extreme weather and rapid, disruptive change.
Through the Met Office, DSIT supported the Polar Amplification Model Intercomparison Project, within the Hadley Centre Climate Programme, which investigated factors driving polar amplification and how the global climate system responds to changes in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the 48-hour broadband outage window in the Automatic Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government recognises that access to high-quality and reliable broadband is essential.
Operators have a statutory responsibility to take measures to identify, prepare for and reduce anything that compromises the availability, performance or functionality of their networks and services.
DSIT regularly engages Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecommunications services, who created the voluntary compensation scheme and any changes to the scheme is a decision for Ofcom.
We will continue to work with Ofcom to monitor the market to ensure that consumers are receiving reliable services and recourse for when things go wrong.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and (b) NHS stakeholders on the potential impact of the Data (Use and Access) Bill on protections for personal health data.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State meets regularly with Health Ministers to discuss a range of topics. The Secretary of State has not met with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to specifically discuss impacts of the Data (Use and Access) Bill on protections for personal health data. Ministers have held discussions on the Bill with a wide range of stakeholders, including NHS stakeholders, providing opportunities to emphasise that the Bill does not impact on existing protections for personal health data. An impact assessment for the Bill can be found here.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which topics she has approved for sustained monitoring by the National Security Online Information Team.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Shadow Minister (Education)
NSOIT remit and function is to tackle the greatest national security risks facing the UK from mis and disinformation. It is specifically tasked with looking at threats posed by foreign states, risks to elections and understanding how AI and deepfakes can be used by hostile actors to spread mis and disinformation narratives which are aimed at UK audiences. This remit is kept under regular review.