Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to issue fines against social media companies which host sexualized deepfake content.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Sharing, or threatening to share, a deepfake intimate image without consent is a criminal offence - for individuals and for platforms. Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and has confirmed that they have opened an investigation into Grok’s production of sexualised deepfake content. They have the backing of this government to use the full powers which Parliament has given them.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of civil servants in her Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following web address:
Departmental expenditure on consultancy is published within the Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report for FY 2024/25 can be found at the following web address:
DSIT annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
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 the phasing out of telephone landlines on residents in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Landlines are not being phased out. The technology underpinning landline telephones is being modernised from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP enables clearer and better-quality phone calls, improved flexibility, and cost savings. Fibre cables are more resilient and less prone to damage during severe weather events.
However, the Government is committed to ensuring that any risks arising from the industry-led migration are mitigated for people across the UK, including in South Holland and the Deepings constituency and Lincolnshire. In November 2024, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry via the non-voluntary migrations checklist, including battery back-ups, and free engineering visits if needed.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many full time equivalent staff in her Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each year since 2023.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many firms have been fined for not complying with age verification rules in the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and is responsible for enforcing the Online Safety Act 2023.
On 4 December, Ofcom announced its largest online safety fine to date, a penalty of £1 million issued to a pornography provider for failing to have robust age verification checks in place. Further details on enforcement action are available on Ofcom’s website.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to increase spending on research and development in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT will invest a record £58.5 billion in R&D from 2026/27 to 2029/30, part of the £86 billion announced by the Chancellor—the largest government R&D investment ever.
UKRI investment in Lincolnshire increased by 43% between 2022/23 and 2023/24. Investment in the East Midlands also rose by 19%, reaching £596 million.
Lincolnshire and the East Midlands can bid for up to £20 million through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, to grow their high-potential innovation clusters. The fund empowers partnerships across the UK to target local R&D investment and aims to generate at least £1 billion of private co-investment across the programme.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many websites have been blocked by Internet service providers for failure to comply with the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As the independent regulator for online safety, Ofcom is responsible for enforcing the Online Safety Act.
Ofcom has a range of strong enforcement powers. These include imposing fines of up to £18 million, or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, and in the most severe cases, applying to the courts to initiate business disruption measures.
Ofcom is actively enforcing the regime, and we are clear that they have our full backing to take whatever action is necessary to keep people safe online. Ofcom continues to monitor compliance and publish updates on enforcement activity.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is monitoring the number of ID-linked data breaches following the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the application of data protection legislation in the UK. As the independent regulator of the Online Safety Act (OSA), Ofcom may refer matters to the ICO if it has concerns that a provider has not complied with its obligations under data protection law.
The ICO has several powers under the data protection legislation to tackle the unlawful processing of personal data, including the power to serve substantial civil monetary penalties for serious breaches of the legislation. Details of the ICO’s enforcement activity can be found on its website.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will list the titles of all the events organised by Civil Service networks in her Department since 2023.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We do not manage Civil Service Staff Networks and do not hold any records or information about their events.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many (a) single sex and (b) gender neutral bathroom facilities her Department provides in its Whitehall premises.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department is a customer of the Government Property Agency in its office locations, and does not hold a record of the number of single-sex or gender-neutral bathroom facilities provided there.