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1699019

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Digital Technology: Disadvantaged
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the annual budget is of the inter-ministerial group on tackling digital exclusion.
	tabling member constituency	Rhondda
	tabling member printed	Sir Chris Bryant
	uin	20555
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government has been clear that ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age is a key priority and continues to take steps to offer the support needed.</p><p>Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue that spans social engagement, education, employment, access to services and many more elements of everyday life. Responsibility for relevant policies, activities and budgets sit across government. For example, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is exploring options for funding research to improve the Government’s evidence base on digital exclusion.</p><p>The Government established a cross-Whitehall ministerial group in response to a recommendation from the House of Lords Communication and Digital Committee’s report on ‘Digital Exclusion’. The ministerial group aims to drive progress and accountability on digital inclusion priorities across Government.</p><p>The most recent ministerial group meeting took place in March 2024, chaired by the Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy. The Department for Culture, Media &amp; Sport, Cabinet Office, Department for Work and Pensions, and His Majesty's Treasury were also in attendance.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti grouped question UIN 20556 question first answered 16/04/2024 08:22:49 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	1446 label Biography information for Sir Chris Bryant

1699020

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Digital Technology: Disadvantaged
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when the last meeting was of the inter-ministerial group on tackling digital exclusion; and who was in attendance.
	tabling member constituency	Rhondda
	tabling member printed	Sir Chris Bryant
	uin	20556
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2024 answer text <p>The Government has been clear that ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age is a key priority and continues to take steps to offer the support needed.</p><p>Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue that spans social engagement, education, employment, access to services and many more elements of everyday life. Responsibility for relevant policies, activities and budgets sit across government. For example, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is exploring options for funding research to improve the Government’s evidence base on digital exclusion.</p><p>The Government established a cross-Whitehall ministerial group in response to a recommendation from the House of Lords Communication and Digital Committee’s report on ‘Digital Exclusion’. The ministerial group aims to drive progress and accountability on digital inclusion priorities across Government.</p><p>The most recent ministerial group meeting took place in March 2024, chaired by the Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy. The Department for Culture, Media &amp; Sport, Cabinet Office, Department for Work and Pensions, and His Majesty's Treasury were also in attendance.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti grouped question UIN 20555 question first answered 16/04/2024 08:22:49 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	1446 label Biography information for Sir Chris Bryant

1697820

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Social Media: Mental Health
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with social media companies on the potential effects of social media on mental health.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	19903
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2024 answer text <p>Ministers hold regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, including social media platforms, on a range of issues. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Gov.uk</a> website.</p><p> </p><p>While most children have a positive experience online, using the internet to connect with peers and to access educational resources, information, and entertainment, the government is concerned about the impact of harmful and age-inappropriate content and activity online.</p><p> </p><p>The Online Safety Act places robust, much-needed responsibilities on technology companies – including social media platforms – to keep all users, but particularly children, safe online.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 02/04/2024 09:23:17 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1697541

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Digital technology: Disadvantaged
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is taking steps with (a) tech companies and (b) non-profits to improve the accessibility of digital content for people facing literacy barriers.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	19689
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2024 answer text <p>This Government has been clear that ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age is a key priority and continues to take steps to offer needed support, including through the new Cross-Whitehall Ministerial Group for Digital Inclusion.</p><p>Our 2021 Online Media Literacy Strategy seeks to support organisations to undertake activity in a more coordinated, wide-reaching, and high-quality way. Over the last year, we have funded 13 media literacy projects aimed at vulnerable and/or hard-to-reach citizens, including young women excluded from mainstream education and children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.</p><p>The Online Safety Act empowers Ofcom to request information from in-scope companies about their media literacy activities to allow better visibility of tech industry efforts.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 28/03/2024 09:47:57 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1697145

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Digital Technology: Wigan
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to tackle digital exclusion among older people in Wigan constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Wigan
	tabling member printed	Lisa Nandy
	uin	19342
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2024 answer text <p>The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is responsible for coordinating HMG digital inclusion policy as part of its commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age. Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue that spans social engagement, education, employment, access to services and many more elements of everyday life.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology leads on telecoms and digital infrastructure, including Project Gigabit, the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband to the hardest to reach parts of the UK. In the Wigan constituency, over 98% of premises can access a superfast connection (&gt;=30Mbps), while 92% can access a gigabit-capable connection, up from 0.8% in December 2019. Both of these current figures are higher than the national averages of 97% and 81% for superfast and gigabit-capable coverage, respectively.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly across Government, the Cabinet Office is working to remove barriers and ensure online services are as inclusive as possible by making public sector websites accessible to as many people as possible. The Cabinet Office leads on the Service Standard, a set of principles government service teams and departments must adhere to when creating and running new public services – such as the NHS – and some Local Authorities, including Greater Manchester Combined Authority, have committed to using these as well.</p><p> </p><p>Training is available for elderly people wishing to acquire essential digital skills. Department for Education has introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications, up to level 1, free of charge. Essential Digital Skills Qualifications, introduced alongside the digital entitlement, are based on new national standards which set out the digital skills people need to get on in life and work.</p><p> </p><p>We also recognise that ongoing support is essential to overcome barriers of access. Our network of 2,900 public libraries across England provide a trusted network of accessible locations with staff, volunteers, free Wi-Fi, public PCs, and assisted digital access to a wide range of digital services.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 22/03/2024 16:48:56 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	4082 label Biography information for Lisa Nandy

1696153

	registered interest
	date	14/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Semiconductors
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure regional representation on the UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	18678
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2024 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member to the answer the previous Minister for Tech and Digital Economy gave on <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-10-18/203233" target="_blank">23 October 2023.</a> In setting up the UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel, the government aimed for a small, focused group while ensuring representation across the semiconductor supply chain, UK domestic strengths, geographical locations and company size. We continue to speak with the full spectrum of the UK’s semiconductor industry, including regular engagement with companies and representatives from across the UK.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 19/03/2024 16:06:25 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1695787

	registered interest
	date	13/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Digital Technology
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how she measures digital inclusion.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	18498
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2024 answer text <p>Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue that spans social engagement, education, employment, access to services and many more elements of everyday life. Responsibility for relevant policies and activities, including monitoring and evaluation, sit across government.</p><p>Government draws on evidence from a variety of sources including the Office for National Statistics, regulators, and trusted partners and stakeholders from across the sector. Importantly, we seek to use such data and evidence to better understand the impact on day to day lives.</p><p>DSIT will continue to work with Government colleagues and with key external stakeholders from across the sector to better understand the impacts of overcoming digital exclusion and ensure that policy interventions are evidence driven. DSIT has also committed to exploring options for funding research to improve the Government’s evidence base on digital exclusion.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 21/03/2024 12:57:52 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1695249

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Departmental Coordination
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to paragraph 21 of the report entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Government response, CP 1019, published on 6 February 2024, whether the (a) lead AI Ministers and (b) new Inter-Ministerial Group to drive effective coordination across government on AI issues have met.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	18176
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2024 answer text <p>It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 15/03/2024 09:16:18 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1695538

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Expenditure
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to paragraph 5.174, page 105 of the Autumn Statement 2023, what steps her Department is taking through (a) distribution decisions and (b) monitoring of expenditure to help optimise the impact of funding for AI compute on the UK's (i) technological advancement and (ii) economic competitiveness.
	tabling member constituency	Southport
	tabling member printed	Damien Moore
	uin	18285
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2024 answer text <p>UKRI is working with its delivery partner UKRI to identify appropriate host sites for the £500m AIRR expansion through a competitive process. We will provide updates on the outcomes in due course.</p><p> </p><p>DSIT is working with industry and academia to understand how AI and compute technologies are developing over time to ensure the UK secures best value for money and maximum impact from our investments.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the 2024 Spring Budget, DSIT will set out in due course the access model for public compute facilities, ensuring that both researchers and innovative companies can access the compute they need.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 20/03/2024 11:39:32 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	4669 label Biography information for Damien Moore

1695091

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2024
	answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept id	216
	answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
	hansard heading	National Security Online Information Team
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the (a) role and (b) annual cost is of the Counter Disinformation Unit.
	tabling member constituency	Brent Central
	tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
	uin	17886
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2024 answer text <p>In October 2023 the Counter Disinformation Unit became the National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT). The name more accurately reflects the team’s revised remit and function, which is to tackle the greatest national security risks facing the UK from mis and disinformation, specifically looking at threats posed by foreign states, risks to elections and from the use of AI and deepfakes. This revised remit is kept under regular review.</p><p> </p><p>It would not be appropriate to publicly comment on NSOIT’s funding levels, as doing so would give malign actors insight into the scale of the Government’s capabilities in this area. Nevertheless, DSIT continues to account to parliament for the use of public funds in relation to the NSOIT and other teams within the department.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 14/03/2024 12:49:14 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
	tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler