Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
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 reduce digital exclusion in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue, and that a reported 6% of residents in the Outer London - South area do not use the internet. That is why we launched the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which sets out the first five actions we are taking over the next year to boost digital inclusion in every corner of the UK, including in Beckenham and Penge.
They will be targeted at local initiatives for boosting digital skills and confidence, widening access to devices and connectivity, and getting support to people in their own communities so everyone can reap the benefits of technology. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to phase out the use of animals in scientific research.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. The Government invests £10m annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to accelerate the development and adoption of 3Rs approaches. A significant amount of research funding in the UK also goes to underpinning technologies that have the potential to deliver the 3Rs, driving forward innovation.
The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that parents and carers understand the new protections for children under the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government recognises the vital role parents and carers play in supporting children’s online safety. Under the Online Safety Act (the ‘Act’), as of July, platforms are now required to protect children from harmful content and provide age-appropriate experiences. The government will continue to build on the Act to ensure digital environments are safe for children.
Additionally, Ofcom have released a guide for parents outlining how their new measures can help children to be safer online. This includes tips on what parents can do to protect their children online and links to a range of helpful resources from other organisations.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
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 effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 for reducing children’s exposure to harmful online content.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Since the child safety duties came into force in July, the way children experience the internet has fundamentally changed. Services are now required to protect children from both illegal and legal but nonetheless harmful content and provide age-appropriate experiences for them.
Ofcom has robust enforcement powers for platforms failing to fulfil these duties and is already exercising these powers.
Over 6000 services have implemented highly effective age assurance to prevent children from seeing the most harmful types of content; improving protections for millions of children online.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of new technologies in reducing the use of animals in scientific research.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to the development of alternatives to using animals in science and will publish a strategy to support their adoption. UK Research and Innovation supports new technologies and approaches that replace animal use in research, including organ-on-a-chip, functional genomics and computer modelling. The impact of individual technical advancements is a matter for individual regulators to consider. The Government’s strategy on this will facilitate the inclusion and adoption of alternative methods in these regulatory contexts.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve the access to digital services for small businesses in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity coverage by 2030. According to the independent website, Thinkbroadband.com, 93% of premises, including business premises, in the Beckenham and Penge constituency are already able to access gigabit speeds. According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report, over 99% of the constituency is covered by a 4G signal from at least one operator.
No-one, anywhere in the UK, should have difficulty using government services. The Government is committed to ensuring that its online and digital services are as accessible as possible for citizens and businesses.
Although there are globally recognised standards for digital accessibility, this is only part of designing an inclusive service. That is why we will be revising the government service standards to incorporate requirements covering wider issues of inclusion and looking at extending their scope into the wider public sector.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the use of artificial intelligence complies with existing copyright law.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is clear that making copies of protected material will infringe copyright unless it is licensed, or an exception to copyright applies.
However, the application of existing copyright law to generative AI models is untested in the courts, and there is a lack of legal certainty.
The Government published a consultation on Copyright and AI in December 2024, seeking views on how to create clarity in this area through a package of measures.
The Government recognises that this is a complex area and welcomes all views and evidence to help shape its thinking.
The consultation closes on 25 February.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
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 help protect people online.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is committed to keeping people safe online. Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so that users, especially children, can benefit from its wide-reaching protections.
In-scope services will have to take effective action to reduce the risk their service is used for illegal activity, and they must take appropriate measures to protect children against harmful or inappropriate content such as pornography and the promotion of self-harm and eating disorders. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers available against companies who fail to fulfil their duties.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he plans to take to help increase public confidence in the safety of AI.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government wants to ensure the safe development of AI models. As set out in the Manifesto, the Government intends to introduce targeted requirements on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI systems. We will be consulting on these proposals shortly.
These proposals will place the AI Safety Institute on a statutory footing. The AISI conducts research and model evaluations to assess the capabilities of frontier AI systems and works with developers and international partners to enhance the safety of models. Such policies are key to increasing public confidence in AI safety, which will drive adoption across the country.