Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 adequacy of her Department's media literacy strategy in countering (a) mis- and (b) dis-information.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Improving media literacy is one of the government’s key tools in tackling the harm caused by misinformation and disinformation. To demonstrate how the Government is delivering against the objectives of the Online Media Literacy Strategy, we are publishing annual Action Plans each financial year until the end of 2024/25. Through media literacy grant schemes, we have provided almost £2 million in funding to a range of educational projects.
These projects seek to build the online safety and critical thinking skills of internet users, empowering them to respond effectively to the threats posed by mis- and disinformation, along with other online harms. All funded projects are evaluated robustly, including by independent experts, and findings will be published on gov.uk upon completion. This will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of future media literacy initiatives and inform government policy moving forward.
As part of this work, we established the Media Literacy Taskforce to bring together organisations in the media literacy landscape to amplify, increase and improve media literacy provision across underserved parts of the UK. Taskforce members advised the government on which projects should be awarded funding, and then helped grant recipients to maximise the impact of their projects.
Alongside the Strategy, the Online Safety Act updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2024 to Question 19061 on Afghanistan, how many ARAP scheme applications have been reassessed as of 12 April 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The reassessment of applications from those with credible links to former Afghan specialist units is well under way and is being conducted by staff independent of those who previously worked on these applications.
The first reassessment occurred on March 26, and we aim to complete reassessing the majority of the approximately 2,000 cases in scope of the review within around 12 weeks. Some complex cases might extend beyond this as we ensure all evidence is considered.
I will update the House once the review is completed, but my immediate priority is processing the cases as swiftly and diligently as possible and ensuring that the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme criteria is consistently applied to all applications being reassessed.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Defending Democracy Taskforce has made an assessment of the prevalence of (a) misinformation and disinformation and (b) AI in the Slovakian general election.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The FCDO will continue to work with international partners, including those holding elections this year, to exchange best practice on shared threats to our democratic processes including information threats and AI.
We continue to monitor international electoral events to inform our work to protect the UK from interference in our democratic process, including elections.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on the reassessment of ARAP eligibility decisions for former members of the ATF-444 and CF-333.
Answered by James Heappey
We are currently providing a comprehensive package of training and guidance to the team of case workers which will carry out the case-by-case reassessment of Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme applications from applicants with credible links to Afghan specialist units. The individuals in the case work team are independent of those who took the initial eligibility decisions on this tranche of applications.
Systems and processes are now in place, and we are due to start reassessing cases imminently. Once we begin reassessing cases, we estimate it will take approximately 12 weeks to complete the entire review.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans that the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme will go live.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
We intend that the scheme will become operational later this year. The work to deliver this, including establishing a Case Management Unit, the supporting IT, and developing relevant guidance, is happening at pace.
We are working on ensuring regulations on the new powers covered in the National Security Act are fully consulted on with operational partners and key stakeholders and are laid in Parliament as Statutory Instruments in advance of go live of the scheme.
The Government expects to publicise the intended ‘go live’ date several months in advance to ensure those affected by the scheme are given sufficient time to prepare.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if his Department will publish the recent work of the CSSF Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Government will routinely publish the programme summaries and annual review summaries of Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) programmes on gov.uk. Since its launch in 2022, the 'Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme' in Pakistan has trained university students on digital literacy; trained government officers to identify and tackle hateful narratives; and supported efforts to counter disinformation in the electoral process. The programme summary is due to be published by Summer 2024.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 9041 on Ecuador: Emergency Powers, what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to support Ecuador.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Staff in Quito and London remain in regular contact with the Ecuadorean authorities following recent security incidents and the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency in January. Our wide-ranging security cooperation includes practical capacity and capability support, such as the donation in early March of essential security equipment which will bolster frontline police capability and protection. I [Minister Rutley] spoke with Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Sommerfeld on 7 March and reaffirmed the UK's commitment to supporting Ecuador in its fight against serious organised crime. We are committed to supporting the country in ensuring that the rule of law prevails.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether officials in her Department have had discussions with Ofcom on the adequacy of Ofcom's plans in respect of regulation of the dark web.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act gives online user-to-user and search providers new duties to tackle illegal user content and activity and keep children on their services safe. Ofcom is the regulator for this regime. It will set out the steps providers can take to fulfil these duties in codes of practice, which must be approved by Parliament before they can take effect.
Ofcom is clear that services on the ‘dark web’ are in scope of the Act. For example, it set this out in its recent consultation on its proposals for how providers should approach their illegal content duties.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Ofcom are working closely together on the implementation of the Online Safety Act.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many cases of online (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation Ofcom has dealt with since the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023; and if he will ask Ofcom to publish those figures regularly.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom will have regular discussions with firms within its regulatory remit, details of those meetings are a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator.
Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have responsibility for regulating in-scope companies to ensure they are effectively taking action against illegal disinformation online and disinformation which intersects with the Act’s named categories of harmful content to children. These duties will come into force once Ofcom has completed its consultation and publication of the relevant Codes of Practice.
The Act also updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online. These duties are already in force.
It is a matter for Ofcom to decide what information to publish in the discharge of its regulatory responsibilities.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether Ofcom has had recent discussions with telecommunications companies on tackling online (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom will have regular discussions with firms within its regulatory remit, details of those meetings are a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator.
Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have responsibility for regulating in-scope companies to ensure they are effectively taking action against illegal disinformation online and disinformation which intersects with the Act’s named categories of harmful content to children. These duties will come into force once Ofcom has completed its consultation and publication of the relevant Codes of Practice.
The Act also updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online. These duties are already in force.
It is a matter for Ofcom to decide what information to publish in the discharge of its regulatory responsibilities.