Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will support Ofcom in developing best practice guidance for telecoms companies on (a) board leadership, (b) governance and (c) the role of internal audit in managing cyber and data security risks.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the financial health of the market under close review and Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers. The Telecommunications Security Code of Practice provides guidance on how communications providers can meet statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements on auditing, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce compliance with these requirements. Following detailed engagement with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ofcom and communications providers, the Government have launched a public consultation on proposed updates to the Code, which is open until 22 October.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 major broadband providers not having internal audit functions on (a) risk management and (b) cybersecurity governance .
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the financial health of the market under close review and Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers. The Telecommunications Security Code of Practice provides guidance on how communications providers can meet statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements on auditing, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce compliance with these requirements. Following detailed engagement with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ofcom and communications providers, the Government have launched a public consultation on proposed updates to the Code, which is open until 22 October.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including guidance on the role of internal audit in providing independent assurance on telecommunications security risks, in the context of the review of the Telecommunications Security Code of Practice.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the financial health of the market under close review and Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers. The Telecommunications Security Code of Practice provides guidance on how communications providers can meet statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements on auditing, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce compliance with these requirements. Following detailed engagement with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ofcom and communications providers, the Government have launched a public consultation on proposed updates to the Code, which is open until 22 October.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 governance arrangements for broadband providers regulated by Ofcom, in the context of the open letter from the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors to Ofcom of 1 August 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the financial health of the market under close review and Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers. The Telecommunications Security Code of Practice provides guidance on how communications providers can meet statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements on auditing, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce compliance with these requirements. Following detailed engagement with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ofcom and communications providers, the Government have launched a public consultation on proposed updates to the Code, which is open until 22 October.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he has made an assessment of the potential merits of rejoining the Galileo scheme.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government is implementing the October 2023 Government Policy Framework for Greater Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Resilience, which will provide greater resilience for the PNT services that the UK relies upon in the event of any disruption to Global Navigation Satellite Systems such as GPS and Galileo. The UK public and businesses still have access to the Galileo Open Service, though the UK no longer participates in Galileo, and the UK armed forces have access to the US GPS secure service. The Government will consider participation in EU programmes on a case by case basis where participation would meet the UK’s interests.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the cancer research sector.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The government is one hundred percent committed to tackling cancer. This is why we made cancer one of our eight healthcare missions, bringing together government, research funders, industry, NHS, and charities to tackle this critical challenge. Working together, the cancer mission will drive earlier diagnosis and improved therapies for UK cancer patients.
We also fund cutting-edge cancer research. The National Institute for Health and Care Research supports clinical research into all aspects of the disease, while UKRI spend on cancer research is in the region of £200M annually.
As well as academic research, we work with industry to bring the latest treatments to UK patients. Our strategic collaboration agreement with BioNTech aims to provide up to 10,000 UK patients with cutting-edge cancer immunotherapies by 2030. Through this partnership we have ensured UK patients are among the first to access clinical trials for ground-breaking cancer vaccines, with multiple trials already underway across the country.
Through my recent visits to Astra Zeneca and Bicycle Therapeutics in Cambridge, I have heard first-hand about some of the latest technologies for cancer diagnosis and treatment. As a government, we are committed to bringing cutting-edge innovations to our cancer patients.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 prevalence of house builders refusing to allow broadband Internet Service Providers other than one they have chosen onto their estates.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government has legislated to make sure that new homes will have gigabit connectivity as standard, amending the Building Regulations 2010 to place obligations on housing developers to work with network operators to install gigabit broadband, where this can be done within a commercial cost cap. This ensures that connectivity of new homes is prioritised by housing developers at the outset.
Under this legislation, housing developers are free to work with whichever Internet Service Provider (ISP) they choose, with the terms and conditions under which they enter into agreements being a commercial matter. Many Communications Providers (CPs)s offer wholesale access to their networks, but it is ultimately a choice for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to decide which networks they use to serve customers.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator for telecoms, is responsible for regulating monopolies in the telecoms market. Where it determines a provider has significant market power (SMP), it can impose a number of remedies aimed at opening up levels of competition, including requiring them to allow competitors to offer services over their infrastructure at regulated prices. Currently, Ofcom has determined that BT Group and KCOM have SMP in the UK, but to date it has not done so with other providers.