Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the cost to the Intellectual Property Office was in 2024–25 of policies, programmes or staffing related to net zero, sustainability or green innovation objectives.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Intellectual Property Office spent a total of £132,103 on policies, programmes or staffing related to net zero, sustainability or green innovation objectives in 2024-25.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the net zero targets for the Department and its arm’s-length bodies are; and what guidance has been issued on adopting net zero targets earlier than 2050.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Net Zero target in the Climate Change Act 2008, is a target for the whole of the UK, not individual departments or arms-length bodies.
Greening Government Commitments are the central framework setting out the actions UK government departments and their agencies will take to reduce their impacts on the environment, including setting targets to reduce emissions, during the framework period.
Defra are reviewing the Greening Government Commitments to ensure that they remain aligned with government priorities.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department occupies GPA and HMRC estate and therefore has not purchased any electric vehicle charging points at its sites or purchased any electric vehicles. Data for arms-length-bodies is not held centrally.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release entitled Digital driving licence coming this year, published on 21 January 2025, what the commencement date is for the pilot of the mobile driver's license; what is the proposed duration of that pilot; and what the proposed timetable is for the national rollout of digital driving licences.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We will begin testing an early version of the digital driving licence with a small group of users later this year. The exact date and format of the trial hasn’t yet been finalised.
Following best practice in developing this type of digital product, testing and iterating will take place over a number of months.
This follows on from the Blueprint for Modern Digital Government, requiring services to issue a digitally verified credential alongside any paper/card-based credential or proof of entitlement eligibility by the end of 2027.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to consolidate the gov.uk app with the (a) gov.uk one login, (b) gov.uk ID check and (c) HMRC app.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The GOV.UK app is designed to sit alongside existing government applications, including those operated by HM Revenue and Customs. My officials continue to work closely with colleagues across government to ensure these services complement one another.
We have already integrated GOV.UK One Login functionality into the GOV.UK app to enable a signed-in experience for users.
Utility and the user experience are key priorities, and we are committed to ensuring a seamless and cohesive experience for all users when interacting with government products and services.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions his Department has had with Ofcom on the potential impact of the Supreme Court ruling in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers on the guidance it issues.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
None.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had had with Ofcom to discuss the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025 within Ofcom guidance.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
None.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on plans to implement the Supreme Court judgment in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025 within Ofcom guidance.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
None.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has set a deadline for Ofcom to implement the Supreme Court judgment in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025 within Ofcom guidance.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference page 26 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what his Department's planned timetable is the publication of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill; and what plans he has for (a) pre-legislative scrutiny and (b) consultation in relation to that Bill.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill was announced at the King’s Speech. It will be introduced in this session of Parliament, as soon as parliamentary time allows.
The previous government consulted on the majority of measures in 2022, which demonstrated significant support. We published a policy statement in April detailing our plans for the Bill.