Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on providing small service providers with a mechanism to obtain a specific, binding assessment of whether an individual proposed feature would bring their service into a higher risk category under the Online Safety Act 2023, in addition to Ofcom's general published guidance.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government and Ofcom regularly engage on implementation of the Online Safety Act. The Act requires Ofcom to publish codes of practice, guidance and risk assessment resources that enable services of different sizes to understand what is expected of them under their duties. Ofcom has published material to help providers assess how the design and functionality of their services may affect risk and compliance

Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety. Operational decisions about whether to provide any additional case-specific compliance support or advisory mechanisms to service providers are matters for Ofcom.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Online Safety Act 2023's age assurance duties on (a) LGBTQIA+ and (b) other minority (i) community websites and (ii) support services; and what steps she is taking to ensure such services are not disproportionately affected relative to the risks they present.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Implementing a fair age assurance process is crucial to ensure that users are not unfairly excluded from online spaces to which they have legitimate access.

Providers in-scope of the OSA must consider the extent to which its chosen method avoids or minimises bias and discriminatory outcomes. As part of this, Ofcom recommends services consider a variety of age assurance methods to support accessibility.

We will continue to work with Ofcom to support solutions that protect children online while ensuring users from minority backgrounds are not unfairly excluded from accessing lawful content and services.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of using device or operating-system-level age signalling to reduce the need for individual websites to collect identity documents or biometric data for the purposes of age verification under the Online Safety Act 2023; and what discussions she has had with device manufacturers on this matter.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

We recognise the potential merits of safety protections at device-level, including age assurance. The Government is engaging with operating system providers and device manufacturers to make their products safer for children, including through technology to prevent children from taking, sharing or viewing nude imagery.

Ofcom’s guidance on highly effective age assurance recognises that services can use system-level age assurance approaches. However, responsibility for compliance with the Online Safety Act remains with regulated services.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered the merits of launching a investigation into chemical exposure from plastics during a baby's first 1000 days.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government takes the safety of baby products seriously and has robust regulations in place requiring that all products placed on the UK market are safe. Specific rules exist under product safety regulations to address chemical exposure from baby products, and these are kept under review.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her department has gathered on babies' exposure to bisphenols and phthalates from feeding bottles, dummies and teethers in their first 1,000 days.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government takes the safety of baby products seriously and has robust regulations in place requiring that all products placed on the UK market are safe. Specific rules exist under product safety regulations to address chemical exposure from baby products, and these are kept under review.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with Ofcom on the impartiality of reporting by public funded broadcasters of the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The two public funded broadcasters in the UK are the BBC and S4C.

Under its Royal Charter and Ofcom’s wider Broadcasting Code, the BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. S4C is also required by the Broadcasting Code to provide duly impartial news and information. The BBC and S4C are both independent of the Government in delivering on their respective duties.

The Government believes that it is important that stories about sensitive issues such as the conflict in Sudan are told and heard, but are done so with care, transparency and sensitivity.

Ofcom is responsible for ensuring BBC and S4C coverage is impartial and accurate in accordance with the Broadcasting Code. Ofcom operates independently of Government and DCMS has not had any discussions with it on this topic.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Leader of the House on the timetable for tabling a motion to establish a committee on the Defence Nuclear Enterprise.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Secretary of State for Defence and the Leader of the House continue to work with the House of Commons to set up a new Committee, under the House's Standing Orders, to scrutinise Defence Nuclear Enterprise expenditure and programmes. As set out in CP1668 (page 18), the intention is "to establish the new Committee by the end of the year".

Sickle Cell Awareness Month and blood donations

Publication of the final report of the Right to Food UK Commission

Celebrating Black History Month

Cleaning and catering workers on Transpennine Express

Cleaners on Merseyrail

Human rights in Bahrain

UK Disability History Month

Rent levels

Wishes for a full and speedy recovery for Pope Leo XIV

Cable Street 90th anniversary

Garvaghy Road

Retaining the Triple Lock on pensions

Post-16 education

Taxation of bank windfall profits

Abuse Doesn't Fly campaign

90th anniversary of the Jarrow Crusade

Cammell Laird 37

Birmingham Four

Undercover Policing Inquiry

Coventry City Council contract with Palantir Technologies

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Passenger safety, security and accessibility on East West Rail

Found: Prinsley (Labour; Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) Joani Reid (Labour; East Kilbride and Strathaven) Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: Q57 Bell Ribeiro-Addy: Is there an expectation about what time of year it will happen?

Found: sustainable and better-functioning system.86 84 HM Government (WRP0015) 85 See, for example: Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Found: KA7 1BG Energy, utilities or environment Committed North East, Cumbria and South West Scotland Bell Ribeiro-Addy

This inquiry will examine work migration to the UK. It will: