Oral Answers to Questions

Matt Turmaine Excerpts

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Kanishka Narayan]

We are looking very closely at that. Of course, under the Online Safety Act, platforms already have a responsibility to make sure that young people are not able to access harmful content. In relation to wider access methods—whether virtual private networks or others—we are looking very closely at patterns of behaviour. So far, we have been pretty successful; after an initial spike in the use of some of those platforms, we have seen a levelling-off, which I very much hope continues. We will continue to monitor the situation.

[Matt Turmaine (Watford) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Liz Kendall)]

We are in a race for the future, and this Government are determined to seize the opportunities of AI to win for Britain and the British people. Last week, I announced our Lanarkshire AI growth zone, creating 3,400 jobs. On Monday, I announced that Barnsley will be the UK’s first tech town, and we have announced free AI skills for all, because if we want AI to work for Britain, we need Britons who can work with AI.

[Matt Turmaine]

This Labour Government are making great strides in deploying digital technologies to provide access to public services and bring them bang up to date. Will my right hon. Friend please outline how this will benefit the residents of my constituency of Watford, while also offering some reassurance to those who are not digital natives that they will still be able to access the public services they need?

[Liz Kendall]

My hon. Friend has always been a powerful champion for the good people of Watford. This Government are determined to make sure that national and local public services are more easily accessible online, through things such as the NHS app, and that people can get driving licences and information about benefits online. However, we are really concerned about those without digital skills. That is why we launched the first digital inclusion plan in a decade, including free digital skills training, which my hon. Friend’s constituents can take advantage of.