Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many organisations and companies (a) reported cyber incidents in the last 12 months and (b) had adopted the Cyber Essentials scheme beforehand.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
While we do know which organisations are certified to the Cyber Essentials scheme, we do not hold data on whether they reported a cyber incident in the past 12 months.
We are confident that the controls are effective with insurance data indicating that organisations with Cyber Essentials are 92% less likely to make a claim on their cyber insurance than those without it.
That is why we have written to businesses and organisations encouraging them to use the Cyber Essentials scheme. We have been pleased with the positive feedback on this. The number of live certifications as of October 2025 was 54,678, representing an increase of 8,335 certificates on the previous 12 months (an 18% increase).
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what is the lifespan of the Semiconductor Advisory Panel; and when does he expect to receive any recommendations from it.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel was established to provide a formal mechanism for industry, academia and government to work closely together on delivering the government’s strategic aims for the semiconductor sector. It provides ongoing advice, rather than developing formal recommendations. Panel members serve 18-month terms.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will hold discussions with Innovate UK on holding Innovate Local events in the north west of Northern Ireland.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Innovate UK Local’s programme of events are designed to take a roadshow of funding opportunities into regions across the whole of the UK. Innovate UK is committed to engaging with innovative businesses in Northern Ireland and is consulting with Invest Northern Ireland on where to hold events over the next year. This will ensure there is strong local input on how best to serve Northern Irelands vibrant business communities.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assistance the Innovate UK Business Growth Delivery Programme offers to small businesses in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Innovate UK Business Growth supports innovation-driven businesses with high growth potential to reach scale in Northern Ireland - where it has supported 424 businesses to date - and across the UK by connecting a locally based innovation and growth specialist to act as a coach for suitable companies. By offering bespoke, sustained 1:1 support, Innovate UK Business Growth helps companies make faster progress towards their objectives as a business, and provides advice and access to the resources that can help them to grow and scale.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 67304 on Innovate UK: Northern Ireland, what data his Department holds on the reasons for the reduction in successful bids.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The numbers provided in the response to Question 67304 are the number of successful completed Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) projects in the specified years, and not the number of successful bids. The bids for the successful projects completing in 2022, 2023 and 2024 would have been made 3-4 years prior to completion. The number of applications in a given year may vary for many reasons and over this time period the number of applications may have been reduced by the Covid pandemic.
Innovate UK will continue to market the KTP across Northern Ireland to ensure businesses and universities understand the benefits it can bring.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2025 to Question 65724 on Innovate UK: Northern Ireland, how many projects have been successfully completed under the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme in Northern Ireland in each of the past three years.
Answered by Feryal Clark
59 Knowledge Transfer Partnership projects that involved either a Northern Ireland (NI) based business, or a NI based university or FE college successfully completed in the last 3 years. A breakdown of these projects in each year is:
2022 – 28
2023 – 17
2024 – 14
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will have discussions with the Semiconductor Advisory Panel on the ongoing work of Northern Ireland based clusters.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government recognises the strategic importance of the semiconductor sector across the UK, including the growing cluster in Northern Ireland with strengths in photonics, power, and sensors. The Semiconductor Advisory Panel, co-chaired by Lord Vallance, meets quarterly and plays a key role in shaping our national approach to support the semiconductor industry, including supporting the development of clusters. The Government is committed to supporting the Northern Irish cluster, such as through the SmartNano NI Initiative funded with £42.4 million from UKRI, and the Panel will continue to discuss the Northern Ireland cluster as part of its ongoing work.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many grant assistance programmes are run in partnership between Innovate UK and Invest NI for Companies based in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Innovate UK and Invest NI co-fund the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme, which partners businesses with graduates. Approximately 450 projects have been successfully completed in Northern Ireland since 2003.
More widely, Invest NI is part of the Innovate UK Business Growth Delivery Programme. Although not a grant assistance programme, this programme has supported 339 businesses in Northern Ireland in the last 3 years.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58921 on Innovate UK: Northern Ireland, how many companies were awarded contracts for Innovation grants in Northern Ireland in 2024.
Answered by Feryal Clark
In 2024, 3 Contracts for Innovation (CfI) grants were awarded by Innovate UK to companies in Northern Ireland, totalling just over £2 million.
The majority of CfI competitions in Northern Ireland are organised and delivered by other public bodies; for which Innovate UK do not hold data.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2025 to Question 61122 on Life Sciences: Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with Innovate UK on ensuring the Launchpad programme supports clusters of SMEs beyond the Greater Belfast area.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Health and Life Sciences Launchpad is already supporting clusters beyond the Greater Belfast area. For example, in Coleraine, it is funding EOSDX, which is developing an AI-driven, non-invasive structural biomarker test for breast cancer diagnosis. In Derry City and Strabane, it is funding ActionSense’s development of an innovative rehabilitation project aimed at transforming stroke recovery. And in Craigavon, it is supporting e-Clear to develop a dementia training platform. More information on funded projects is available at https://www.ukri.org/publications/innovate-uk-funded-projects-since-2004/. Innovate UK and the Launchpad Cluster Management Organisation HIRANI will continue to support stakeholders across Northern Ireland to drive innovation led growth.