Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many civil servants employed by their Department work in roles primarily focused on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion; and at what annual salary cost.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In DSIT we have no colleagues in roles which are primarily focused on transgender policy. We have one colleague who is our Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion they are a Grade 7.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold a central record of feasibility studies undertaken for projects that subsequently did not proceed. Identifying the total cost over the last five years would require manual review of records across multiple directorates, our partner bodies and programmes, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Where appropriate, feasibility work is undertaken as part of standard business‑case development to inform decisions and ensure value for money.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an estimate of the total number of active mobile phone (a) connections (b) contracts/subscriptions in the UK.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom's Telecommunications Market Data Update, published on the 15th of January 2026, shows that the number of active mobile phone subscriptions in the UK was 91 million as of the end of September 2025. This figure represents an increase of 895,000 subscriptions, or a one per cent increase, compared with the previous year. These numbers exclude Machine-to-Machine SIMs.
Ofcom do not hold a figure for the number of active mobile phone connections in the UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by her Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
For FY24/25, DSIT spent £159,000 on LinkedIn subscriptions and £1,221,168 on other subscriptions. DSIT uses its LinkedIn subscription to support with recruitment efforts including role advertisement and usage of LinkedIn Insights which supports with strategic workforce planning. With more than 44 million registered users in the UK as of January 2025, LinkedIn offers DSIT the ability to promote live vacancies to as many potential external candidates as possible. This is particularly important for DSIT’s critical digital and data vacancies, whereby it is estimated that more than half of our applicants come from outside of the civil service market.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology routinely reports its sickness absence data on gov.uk alongside the rest of the Civil Service.
Information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence
This contains statistics for sickness absence by organisation and sickness reason, including Mental Ill-Health.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has been informed of any Palantir contracts or U.S. federal agreements referencing UK data-sharing or joint programme work since 2020.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is not responsible for holding information centrally on contracts or federal agreements that may be held in other government departments. Within DSIT there are currently no Palantir contracts or U.S. federal agreements referencing UK data-sharing or joint programme work since 2023 when DSIT was formed.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has held discussions with U.S. agencies or corporations on digital identity, interoperability, or trust frameworks since 2021.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is developing the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework to enable secure, interoperable digital identity services in the UK. Senior officials regularly collaborate with international partners, including US departments, agencies, tech companies and standards bodies, to align best practices and share insights. These efforts help ensure the UK trust framework is compatible with national and international standards, fostering interoperability and trust. The department remains committed to ongoing collaboration and knowledge exchange to address new challenges in digital identity.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has communicated with (a) U.S. federal agencies and (b) major social media platforms on the moderation or removal of UK-based content since 2020.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department regularly engages with international partners, including US federal agencies, on a range of technology-related issues.
The department also regularly engages with social media platforms to discuss online harms, including topics that pose a risk to the UK and its citizens. Using its trusted flagger status, the department can also refer online content to platforms that poses a risk to UK national security or public safety and is assessed as likely to violate platforms’ terms of service. It is then up to platforms to decide what action, if any, to take on content referred to them.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much his Department has spent on social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science Innovation and Technology has spent money on social media advertising over the last five years. Sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the number of additional (a) civil servants and (b) contractors required to administer a digital ID system.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.
We are looking at whether a new digital ID could help tackle illegal immigration, transform public services, and bring benefits to people’s everyday lives. No firm decision, estimate or assessment has yet been made.