Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent conversations he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the introduction of a universal digital ID card.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.
We are looking at whether a new digital ID could help tackle illegal immigration, transform public services, and bring benefits to people’s everyday lives. No firm decision, estimate or assessment has yet been made.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to introduce a universal digital ID card.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.
We are looking at whether a new digital ID could help tackle illegal immigration, transform public services, and bring benefits to people’s everyday lives. No firm decision, estimate or assessment has yet been made.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will hold a consultation on the introduction of a digital ID system; and if she will publish the results.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.
We are looking at whether a new digital ID could help tackle illegal immigration, transform public services, and bring benefits to people’s everyday lives. No firm decision, estimate or assessment has yet been made.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Hybrid working is an informal, discretionary, non-contractual arrangement that enables employees to work partly in the workplace and partly at home. Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 40% of their working hours in the office. Office attendance requirements are managed locally to ensure the minimum requirement is met, and no central data is held on this.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what purposes their Department has used artificial intelligence in the last year.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is central to our plan for growth and transforming public services, guided by the Government AI Playbook.
We have adopted general-purpose AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot, enabling civil servants to draft, summarise, and analyse information. This is estimated to save a civil servant up to approximately 26 minutes per day. We have also built specific solutions, such as chatbots for operational queries and Impact Assessments.
For wider government, the Incubator for AI (i.AI) delivers solutions such as Redbox and Consult, and GDS is building GOV.UK Chat for citizens.
These tools improve efficiency and delivery of departmental outcomes. Further details have been published online as part of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have awarded two contracts for the total value of £97,848.94 since 2023 on translating documents into languages other than English and other native UK languages.
These languages were: French, Korean, Arabic and Mandarin
These translation services related to research on AI and Large Language Models and the material was not published.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of jobs that could be lost as a result of artificial intelligence.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Government is working to harness the benefits that AI can bring in terms of economic growth, rising living standards, and improved worker wellbeing; while mitigating the risks. 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: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 level of preparedness in the event of a coordinated cyber-attack on public service infrastructure.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Government is working tirelessly to improve the cyber resilience of the public sector, which includes some of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). Cyber risks are kept under review, through the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), and the external facing version, the National Risk Register (NRR), to ensure that we effectively plan at the national and local levels. The NSRA assesses a number of cyber risks, including the impact of a cyber-attack against government systems on the delivery of public services.
We face a persistent and evolving threat landscape, the intent and capability of both state and non-state threat actors is increasing, and the pace of this change has accelerated considerably over the last 24 months. Public service infrastructure and systems remain an attractive target for our adversaries and criminals, with recent incidents clearly highlighting the risk posed by cyber attacks on both private and public sector organisations.
Responding to a cyber incident is a cross-government responsibility with roles and responsibilities identified in the National Cyber Incident Management Framework. As well as developing a more sophisticated understanding of cyber risk across UK CNI, the Government is focussed on ensuring that CNI operators are prepared to respond to and recover from incidents through better planning and regular exercises across Government and as part of the National Exercising Programme. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also works with partners to help public and private CNI operators detect and respond to attacks.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 risk of a coordinated cyber-attack on public service infrastructure.
Answered by Feryal Clark
Government is working tirelessly to improve the cyber resilience of the public sector, which includes some of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). Cyber risks are kept under review, through the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), and the external facing version, the National Risk Register (NRR), to ensure that we effectively plan at the national and local levels. The NSRA assesses a number of cyber risks, including the impact of a cyber-attack against government systems on the delivery of public services.
We face a persistent and evolving threat landscape, the intent and capability of both state and non-state threat actors is increasing, and the pace of this change has accelerated considerably over the last 24 months. Public service infrastructure and systems remain an attractive target for our adversaries and criminals, with recent incidents clearly highlighting the risk posed by cyber attacks on both private and public sector organisations.
Responding to a cyber incident is a cross-government responsibility with roles and responsibilities identified in the National Cyber Incident Management Framework. As well as developing a more sophisticated understanding of cyber risk across UK CNI, the Government is focussed on ensuring that CNI operators are prepared to respond to and recover from incidents through better planning and regular exercises across Government and as part of the National Exercising Programme. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also works with partners to help public and private CNI operators detect and respond to attacks.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not currently have DEI recruitment targets.