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1666326

registered interest
date	20/10/2023
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	AI Council and Frontier AI Taskforce
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what reason the AI Council was disbanded; whether the AI taskforce includes any members of the AI council; and what the terms of reference are for each of those bodies.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	203678
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Now the terms of the AI Council members have come to an end, DSIT will be establishing a wider group of expert advisers to input on a range of priority issues across the department, including artificial intelligence, in order to expand the diversity of input on policy issues.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The AI Council’s terms of reference established members would sit on the council for a fixed-term period of up to three years, and all current members are invited to join this wider group of expertise.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The wider group of expertise will be separate but complementary to the recently established Foundation Model Taskforce which will drive forward critical work on AI safety and research.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Since it was established, the Council has advised Government on landmark policies including the National AI Strategy and the recent AI Regulation White Paper, which committed to reviewing its role and how Government structures and experts can support the UK’s evolving AI priorities. AI Council members have been invited to join the wider group of technology advisors as we establish the Foundation Model Taskforce.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 26/10/2023 11:06:43 question first ministerially corrected 26/10/2023 12:08:37 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully previous answer version 104418 answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1666257

registered interest
date	19/10/2023
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 Economy Council
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 digital economy council last met.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	203486
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2023 answer text <p>The Digital Economy Council (DEC) last met on the 18th of January 2023. This meeting addressed the department’s priorities for 2023 and sought feedback from members on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill. Discussions were also held on the Patrick Vallance Regulatory Review. The DEC was also an important contributor to my department’s efforts to help facilitate HSBC’s purchase of Silicon Valley Bank UK earlier this year. <br> <br>This department recognises the importance and value of engaging with the tech sector via the Digital Economy Council and other complementary fora. The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology also met with the Council for Science and Technology in March 2023; and I continue to co-chair the Digital Skills Council, working closely with industry.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 24/10/2023 16:36:33 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1659301

registered interest
date	08/09/2023
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	Tech Nation: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department provided to Tech Nation for its Libra Growth programme between March 2021 and March 2023; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Tech Nation ceasing its (a) Libra Growth programme and (b) the other operations on equalities and diversity in the technology ecosystem.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	198499
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2023 answer text <p>Between March 2021 and March 2023, the Department awarded a total of £10.8 million in grant-funding to Tech Nation to support UK tech businesses. Of this, £111,804 was allocated to the Libra programme, excluding Tech Nation’s staff overhead costs. We thank Tech Nation for their valuable work and are pleased to hear that Founders Forum will be relaunching Tech Nation later this year. The Department is not involved in any decisions regarding the continuity of the Libra programme.</p><p> </p><p>The Department assessed the impact of Tech Nation’s growth programmes, such as Libra, through the recently published independent evaluation of DSIT funding to Tech Nation between FY 2020-21 and FY 2022-2023. The Libra Programme supported at least 75 founders from ethnic minority backgrounds.</p><p> </p><p>Given the importance of this issue, the Department embedded diversity and inclusion in the design of the £12m Digital Growth Grant competition. Via this new grant delivered by Barclays Eagle Labs, the Department is continuing to fund dedicated programmes that support underrepresented tech founders. Targeted programmes include the Black Venture Growth Programme, which will support 20 founders per year, and the Female Founders Programme, supporting over 100 founders per year. In addition, Barclays Eagle Labs aims for all grant-funded activities to support a minimum of 35% of founders from backgrounds underrepresented in the tech sector.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to the Digital Growth Grant, the Department also continues to support equality and diversity initiatives in the tech ecosystem more widely, including via its funding to the Tech Talent Charter (TTC). Government has supported the Tech Talent Charter (TTC) since 2017 and this funding has enabled TTC to support over 800 organisations to drive diversity and inclusion in their workforces.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 18/09/2023 15:28:07 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1652114

registered interest
date	11/07/2023
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	Cybersecurity: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information her Department holds on the usage of the cyber explorers online learning platform in each region in the latest period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	193398
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2023 answer text <p>Cyber Explorers was launched in February 2022 and has so far registered 51,937 students, 2,541 teachers and 2,078 schools. The regional breakdown for usage, as of June 2023, is set out below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Region</p></td><td><p>Learners Registered</p></td><td><p>Educators Registered</p></td><td><p>Schools Registered</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and Humber</p></td><td><p>5927</p></td><td><p>201</p></td><td><p>155</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>1385</p></td><td><p>143</p></td><td><p>136</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>2405</p></td><td><p>94</p></td><td><p>72</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>2283</p></td><td><p>101</p></td><td><p>80</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>7917</p></td><td><p>274</p></td><td><p>203</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>7348</p></td><td><p>299</p></td><td><p>238</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>3037</p></td><td><p>205</p></td><td><p>163</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Northern Ireland</p></td><td><p>1857</p></td><td><p>60</p></td><td><p>49</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>5568</p></td><td><p>247</p></td><td><p>204</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td><p>4304</p></td><td><p>235</p></td><td><p>203</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>5537</p></td><td><p>402</p></td><td><p>345</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Greater London</p></td><td><p>4369</p></td><td><p>280</p></td><td><p>230</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>51937</p></td><td><p>2541</p></td><td><p>2078</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 19/07/2023 13:26:33 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1652115

registered interest
date	11/07/2023
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	Cybersecurity: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the impact of (a) the Upskill in Cyber, (b) Cyber First and (c) Cyber Explorers programme on the level of skills shortages in cyber security.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	193399
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2023 answer text <p>The Department has evaluated and developed the initial cohorts of the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1154882/Upskill_in_Cyber_pilot_evaluation.pdf" target="_blank">Upskill in Cyber</a>, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-evaluations-of-cyber-discovery-and-cyberfirst-programmes/cyberfirst-evaluation" target="_blank">CyberFirst</a> and <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1156124/cyber_explorers_pilot_evaluation_final_report.pdf" target="_blank">Cyber Explorers</a> programmes.</p><p>The Upskill in Cyber programme ran a pilot cohort in 2022 and has just commenced its second cohort. This has provided 400 individuals with an opportunity to upskill into a career in cyber security. The National Cyber Security Centre CyberFirst programme delivers a range of initiatives, in partnership with over 200 industry partners and this supports approximately 15,000 young people annually. This is alongside Cyber Explorers, which has now reached 51,937 students across 2,078 schools.</p><p>In order to close the annual shortfall of c.14,100 cyber professionals in the labour market, the government continues to engage closely with industry and academic partners to increase the range of opportunities available to individuals across all regions of the UK.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 19/07/2023 13:27:48 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1652117

registered interest
date	11/07/2023
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	Cybersecurity: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many (a) schools and (b) students are participating in CyberFirst programmes in (i) Newcastle Central constituency and (ii) the North East.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	193401
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2023 answer text <p>The National Cyber Security Centre delivers a range of initiatives through CyberFirst, including a schools and colleges recognition programme, the undergraduate bursary scheme, and the CyberFirst Girls Competition for 12-13 year olds. As part of this effort, DSIT also delivers the Cyber Explorers platform for 11-14 year olds.</p><p>In the North East, girls from 17 schools entered the CyberFirst Girls Competition and 15 institutions are recognised as CyberFirst Schools and Colleges. Also, 80 schools participate in the Cyber Explorers online platform, including 6 in Newcastle Central.</p><p>There are 89 undergraduate bursary students studying at universities in the North East. A further 2,283 learners are registered on Cyber Explorers, including 50 in Newcastle Central, as well as 122 students who have applied to attend a CyberFirst summer course at Durham University.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 19/07/2023 13:30:52 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1652118

registered interest
date	11/07/2023
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	Cybersecurity: Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of applications for the Upskill in Cyber programme in 2023 were from people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	193402
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2023 answer text <p>The Department launched the Upskill in Cyber Programme in May 2023. As of 23 June, three days before closing to new applicants, the programme had received 3750 applications, compared to the previous year's total of 1,876. 70% of these applications were from people from ethnic minority backgrounds.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 19/07/2023 13:33:20 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1641952

registered interest
date	05/06/2023
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: Intellectual Property
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made a recent estimate of the level of IP infringement being undertaken by developers of artificial intelligence.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	187636
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2023 answer text <p>There have been no recent estimates of the level of intellectual property infringement undertaken by developers of artificial intelligence (AI), but the government is keeping abreast of developments.</p><p> </p><p>The Intellectual Property Office is due to publish independent research into ‘<em>Artificial Intelligence and Enforcement: Opportunities and Challenges</em>’. This report outlines how AI can be used to track and trace Intellectual Property Right (IPR) infringing goods, as well as assessing resulting money flows and the potential use of AI by those infringing IPR.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 08/06/2023 16:00:07 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1641953

registered interest
date	05/06/2023
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: Intellectual Property
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has had discussions with the artificial intelligence sector on ensuring that (a) the ingestion of content does not infringe IP rights and (b) companies seek licensing when using licensed material.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	187637
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2023 answer text <p>The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) speaks to representatives of the artificial intelligence sector on a regular basis.</p><p> </p><p>Following the recommendation of the Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review on generative AI, the Intellectual Property Office is working with the artificial intelligence sector and the creative industries to produce a code of practice on AI and copyright. This includes discussions on licensing copyright-protected material and the ingestion of protected content.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 13/06/2023 12:02:31 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1641954

registered interest
date	05/06/2023
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	Life Sciences: Finance
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 her Department's news story entitled Chancellor reveals life sciences growth package to fire up economy, published on 25 May 2023, whether the £650 million package for UK life sciences including (a) £121 million to improve commercial clinical trials, (b) £154 million to increase the capacity of the UK’s biological data bank and (c) £250 million to incentivise pension schemes to invest in science and tech firms represents new funding; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	187638
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2023 answer text <p>This package is supported by new and existing funding. £121 million for clinical trials includes £20 million new funding to establish clinical trial acceleration networks (CTANs). The £154 million upgrade to UK Biobank is new money, previously announced subject to business case as part of a package of R&amp;D infrastructure projects in 2022. The precise form the £250 million government support will take through the Long-Term Investment for Technology and Science (LIFTS) initiative will depend on the viable proposals coming forward through the call for proposals. A Written Ministerial Statement regarding this package was made on 5th June 2023.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 08/06/2023 16:00:16 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah