Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking with relevant stakeholders to help improve transparency around the amplification, moderation and reporting of antisemitic content on Meta platforms.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Meta is regulated under the Online Safety Act. It must assess and mitigate the risk on its services of antisemitic content where it is illegal, or harmful to children.
The Government regularly engages online platforms, including Meta, on tackling online harms. In May 2026 the then Minister for Online Safety met Meta, other online platforms, community representatives and Ofcom to discuss antisemitism online. DCMS is considering further measures on online safety, algorithmic accountability and transparency under Protecting What Matters.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether existing laws are adequate where hostile actors use social media platform features to mass-mock victims rather than post explicit threats.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear that antisemitism online is unacceptable. The Online Safety Act places duties on providers of regulated services to tackle illegal user-generated content and activity on their services, including content that stirs up hatred. These duties apply to user-generated content and interactions on a service, including functionalities such as emojis and reactions.
Where the use of reactions forms part of behaviour that amounts to illegal content or activity, providers must take appropriate action in line with their duties under the Act. Ofcom has broad powers to require information from platforms, including Meta, to fulfil their functions and ensure platform duties are met.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had discussions with Meta on providing data on reactions, including laughing or mocking reactions, to murders or terrorist attacks.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear that antisemitism online is unacceptable. The Online Safety Act places duties on providers of regulated services to tackle illegal user-generated content and activity on their services, including content that stirs up hatred. These duties apply to user-generated content and interactions on a service, including functionalities such as emojis and reactions.
Where the use of reactions forms part of behaviour that amounts to illegal content or activity, providers must take appropriate action in line with their duties under the Act. Ofcom has broad powers to require information from platforms, including Meta, to fulfil their functions and ensure platform duties are met.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Online Safety Act adequately captures antisemitic abuse expressed through reaction tools rather than written posts.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear that antisemitism online is unacceptable. The Online Safety Act places duties on providers of regulated services to tackle illegal user-generated content and activity on their services, including content that stirs up hatred. These duties apply to user-generated content and interactions on a service, including functionalities such as emojis and reactions.
Where the use of reactions forms part of behaviour that amounts to illegal content or activity, providers must take appropriate action in line with their duties under the Act. Ofcom has broad powers to require information from platforms, including Meta, to fulfil their functions and ensure platform duties are met.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the use of social media platform reaction tools, including laughing reactions, to target Jews following terrorist attacks, murders or memorial posts.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is clear that antisemitism online is unacceptable. The Online Safety Act places duties on providers of regulated services to tackle illegal user-generated content and activity on their services, including content that stirs up hatred. These duties apply to user-generated content and interactions on a service, including functionalities such as emojis and reactions.
Where the use of reactions forms part of behaviour that amounts to illegal content or activity, providers must take appropriate action in line with their duties under the Act. Ofcom has broad powers to require information from platforms, including Meta, to fulfil their functions and ensure platform duties are met.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of specialised rocket propulsion testing facilities, in supporting academic research, student competitions, and start-up enterprise testing.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Space Agency (UKSA), in 2021/22, assessed the sector’s need for a publicly funded propulsion test facility. As a result, £4 million was invested into opening the National Space Propulsion Test Facility (NSPTF) at Westcott in 2022, providing UK industry and academia with access to specialist high-altitude and vacuum-enabled propulsion testing.
NSPTF strengthens UK sovereign capability, enabling domestic engine-testing, reducing reliance on overseas infrastructure.
Nammo UK’s LEROS engine, tested at NSPTF, powering Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost mission, successfully landing on the Moon in March 2025.
UKSA also supports skills development through University of Sheffield’s Race-2-Space competition, hosted at Westcott. Race-2-Space 2026 involved 30 student teams, giving future engineers practical, hands-on propulsion testing experience.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what funding or resources are being made available through the UK Space Agency to support university-led propulsion testing initiatives and competitions to encourage more STEM graduates into the domestic space sector.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Space Agency provides dedicated support for university-led rocketry and propulsion skills through its £5 million Rocketry Research, Training and Teaching programme. This funds research and doctoral training and student competitions, including Race2Space, where university teams design, build and hot-fire rocket engines at the Westcott Space Cluster, home to the National Space Propulsion Test Facility.
UKSA funds approximately 50 paid internship placements with space-sector employers yearly, providing students which hands-on experience of current space projects, and practical work experience. Internship placements include multiple propulsion projects.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support hands-on, practical student rocketry and space engineering competitions, to help tackle skills shortages in the UK space sector.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Space Agency supports practical routes into space careers through its Education and Future Workforce Programme.
In partnership with the European Space Agency, we deliver student competitions such as CanSat, and support university networks and UK Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.
UKSA’s £5 million Rocketry Research, Training and Teaching programme supports doctoral training and student rocketry competitions, helping participants develop technical, teamwork and project skills relevant to the UK launch sector.
The UKSA also funds approximately 50 paid internship placements with space-sector employers every year, providing students with hands-on experience of space projects, and practical work experience.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, on aligning university aerospace engineering curricula with the practical, hands-on skills required by the UK space industry.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right. Hon Friend, the Secretary of State has not had discussions with My right. Hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade on this issue. Universities are autonomous institutions and are responsible for determining the content of their courses. The government recognises the important role universities play in supporting economic growth, innovation and the development of highly skilled graduates. Through Skills England, government works with employers to identify current and future skills needs and to support better alignment between education and workforce demand across the economy.
Asked by: Oliver Dowden (Conservative - Hertsmere)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what conversations has his Department had with Race 2 Space.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Space Agency (UKSA), which is now part of the DBIST, is a key sponsor of Race 2 Space alongside a number of industry partners and Buckinghamshire Council.
The Race 2 Space competition provides student teams the opportunity to develop practical, hands-on experience of building and testing a rocket engine which are vital skills to support a thriving spacecraft propulsion and launch sector.
Alongside funding, UKSA has supported the team at the University of Sheffield in designing the competition and mentoring students.
The UKSA’s funding of the Race 2 Space Competition sits alongside a broader skills programme supporting students across the UK.