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1687530

registered interest
date	05/02/2024
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: Disinformation
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 help tackle digital astroturfing on social media.
tabling member constituency	South Swindon
tabling member printed	Sir Robert Buckland
uin	13003
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government recognises the range of tactics which could be employed to spread mis- and disinformation and the threat that these can pose. DSIT’s National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) analyses coordinated attempts to artificially manipulate the online information environment, working with a range of partners, including social media platforms, civil society groups, academia, and international partners, to tackle it.</p><p> </p><p>Digital astroturfing, amongst other techniques sometimes used by state actors to interfere with UK society, will be captured by the Foreign Interference Offence. This has been added as a priority offence in the Online Safety Act and will capture a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and state-backed operations. Companies will have a legal duty to take proactive action to prevent users from encountering material that amounts to an offence of Foreign Interference, which could include content linked to digital astroturfing, and minimise how long any such content is present on their services.</p><p> </p><p>Under the Act, Ofcom’s Disinformation Advisory Committee is empowered to conduct research and build understanding on mis- and disinformation related issues, which may include the threats posed by digital astroturfing. In addition, Ofcom’s updated statutory duty to promote media literacy includes specific duties to raise the public’s awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe online, including by understanding the nature and impact of mis- and disinformation. This could include initiatives related to specific malicious tactics.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 13/02/2024 13:53:36 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland

1687552

registered interest
date	05/02/2024
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	Patents: Licensing
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 ensure that the process for the licencing of standard essential patents is equitable for small and medium enterprises.
tabling member constituency	Selby and Ainsty
tabling member printed	Keir Mather
uin	13151
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government recognises the growing importance of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) to the UK economy. The Government has been actively working since 2021 to better understand how the SEPs framework functions to ensure the balance between innovation and competition is maintained. This included launching a questionnaire for small and medium businesses (SMEs) in March 2023, to better understand their SEP licensing experiences. Subsequently, the IPO presented recommendations to Ministers who are currently reviewing those recommendations with a view to ensuring Government helps implementers, especially SMEs, navigate and better understand the SEPs ecosystem and Fair Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) licensing.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 13/02/2024 13:46:50 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4993 label Biography information for Keir Mather

1686845

registered interest
date	01/02/2024
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	ICT: Employment
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 help increase the number of potential employees with sufficient (a) software and (b) data skills in the labour market.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	12614
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2024 answer text <p>The government is investing a total of £3.8bn in skills in England by 2024-25 and at the most recent SR we quadrupled the scale of free <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-a-skills-bootcamp" target="_blank">Skills Bootcamps</a> in digital skills, including software and data skills.</p><p> </p><p>My department recognises that Digital Skills shortages cannot be tackled by government alone, which is why we established the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/digital-skills-council" target="_blank">Digital Skills Council</a> in 2022. Government offers a range of free in digital skills, including software and data skills.</p><p> </p><p>DSIT is taking proactive steps to address the distinct skills needs of our priority technology sectors. For example, through the £30 million <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/23-million-to-boost-skills-and-diversity-in-ai-jobs" target="_blank">AI and Data Science Conversion Course</a> programme.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 09/02/2024 12:51:55 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1685115

registered interest
date	25/01/2024
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: Fraud
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 officials in her Department have had with social media companies on safeguarding users from scams; and what steps she is taking to protect users from scam content.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	11483
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2024 answer text <p>My department has regular meetings with online platforms on a number of issues. The Government is committed to protecting users from online scams and fraud, which is why new regulations were introduced through the Online Safety Act.</p><p>The Act gives user-to-user and search service providers new duties for tackling fraudulent content. They will need to conduct risk assessments and ensure they put in place systems and processes that proactively tackle it. The largest user-to-user and search service providers have additional duties to proactively tackle fraudulent advertising.</p><p>Ofcom will set out details about how providers can comply with their duties in codes of practice.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 02/02/2024 13:59:49 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1683663

registered interest
date	19/01/2024
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 and ICT: Postgraduate 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 assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness of and (b) adequacy of the levels of industry co-funding for the AI and data science postgraduate conversion course scholarship programme.
tabling member constituency	Hove
tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
uin	10644
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2024 answer text <p>The £30 million AI and Data Science Conversion Course programme was established in 2020 to broaden the supply of talent in the UK AI labour market. It funded universities to develop masters level AI or data science courses suitable for non-STEM students and 2,600 scholarships for students from backgrounds underrepresented in the tech industry.</p><p> </p><p>We are already seeing the <strong>positive impact</strong> the programme is having in addressing the AI skills gap. As of March <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/evaluation-of-new-data-science-and-artificial-intelligence-conversion-masters-courses/" target="_blank">2023</a> 6,300 students have enrolled on the programme, almost three times our targets. 73% of scholarships awarded to women, 35% awarded to Black students, and 26% awarded to disabled students. The courses are successfully converting non-STEM students to enter the AI labour market: 88% of employed graduates were in employment directly related to AI or data science, either in the public or private sector.</p><p> </p><p>In 2023 an industry co-funding element was added, whereby industry could support the programme through in-kind support or scholarship funding. As of November <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/evaluation-of-artificial-intelligence-and-data-science-scholarship-funding/" target="_blank">2023</a>, this amounted to over £6.5 million in in-kind support and scholarship funding. The in-kind contributions directly support student employability and includes co-design and delivery of course content to ensure students gain skills to meet sector need; providing access to software and applications to support learning and skills development; and opportunities to engage with industry through employer-led talks and workshops, industry mentoring support, and provision of work-based projects and placements.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 24/01/2024 16:04:22 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1683519

registered interest
date	18/01/2024
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	AI Safety Summit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will publish the names of people who attended the AI Summit 2023 on behalf of (a) organisations and (b) governments.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Andrew Western
uin	10576
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2024 answer text <p>The names of the organisations and governments who confirmed their attendance prior to the AI Safety Summit was previously published here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-safety-summit-introduction/ai-safety-summit-confirmed-governments-and-organisations" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-safety-summit-introduction/ai-safety-summit-confirmed-governments-and-organisations</a></p><p>A more detailed list of attendees is due to be published in due course. In the meantime, we have been following procedures to ensure GDPR compliance and a more detailed list of attendees is to be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 24/01/2024 17:34:30 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4979 label Biography information for Andrew Western

1682946

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
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	Intimate Image Abuse: Internet
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 impediments are to the removal of non-consensual intimate images posted online.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	10099
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2024 answer text <p>Where non-consensual intimate images are posted online via user-to-user services, then the providers who operate these services should have the technical ability to remove these images.</p><p> </p><p>The Online Safety Act received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. This legislation will give online service providers new duties to implement systems and processes to tackle illegal content on their services and take this content down, including illegal intimate image abuse content.</p><p> </p><p>The Act also updates the law, to make sure that offences criminalising intimate image abuse are fit for the digital age. The intimate image abuse offences, along with the other offences in Part 10 of the Act, will come into force on 31 January.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti grouped question UIN 10100 question first answered 22/01/2024 16:52:29 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1682947

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
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	Intimate Image Abuse: Internet
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 require website providers to remove intimate online images that have been published without consent.
tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
uin	10100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2024 answer text <p>Where non-consensual intimate images are posted online via user-to-user services, then the providers who operate these services should have the technical ability to remove these images.</p><p> </p><p>The Online Safety Act received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. This legislation will give online service providers new duties to implement systems and processes to tackle illegal content on their services and take this content down, including illegal intimate image abuse content.</p><p> </p><p>The Act also updates the law, to make sure that offences criminalising intimate image abuse are fit for the digital age. The intimate image abuse offences, along with the other offences in Part 10 of the Act, will come into force on 31 January.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti grouped question UIN 10099 question first answered 22/01/2024 16:52:29 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1683181

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
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, whether her Department plans to update the Digital Inclusion Strategy, published 4 December 2014.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	10331
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring no-one is left behind in this digital age. The 2022 UK Digital Strategy outlined work that will promote digital inclusion and help people to get online, including committing to at least 85% gigabit broadband coverage by 2025 and delivering legislation that will mitigate online harms through the Online Safety Bill (now Act).</p><p> </p><p>Rather than write a standalone Digital Inclusion strategy, the Government is focused on delivering work that will address this issue. This is a cross-Government effort, with work being overseen by a new ministerial group, which will meet twice a year to drive progress.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 25/01/2024 11:38:24 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1682549

registered interest
date	16/01/2024
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: Women
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 encourage women and girls' involvement in artificial intelligence.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	9844
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2024 answer text <p>Government is committed to helping diversify the whole ecosystem and empower diverse, brilliant people right across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>That’s why the government invested £30 million into the AI and Data Science Conversion Course program, which was established to broaden the supply of talent in the UK AI labour market. We are already seeing the positive impact the programme is having: it is increasing the diversity of the student cohort and successfully converting non-STEM students to enter the AI labour market. So far, 73% of scholarships were awarded to women.</p><p> </p><p>Digital skills are fundamental to ensuring everyone can make the most of a digital future. As the department that leads on digital skills, we are focusing on broadening and deepening the pool of talent. The Digital Skills Council convenes stakeholders from across the sector to deliver industry led action on driving the growth of the digital workforce, including widening the skills pipelines, and ensuring tech roles are accessible for all. One of the council’s objectives is to promote mechanisms to provide increasingly diverse access to digital roles and digitally enabled roles.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, since 2017, we have supported the Tech Talent Charter (TTC), a not-for-profit organisation providing research, insights and a practical toolkit to promote diversity in the tech companies. They bring together over 700 signatory organisations, across 42 industry sectors, representing 160,000 people, equipping them with the networks and resources to drive their diversity efforts.</p> answering member constituency Meriden answering member printed Saqib Bhatti question first answered 24/01/2024 10:47:49 answering member 4818 label Biography information for Saqib Bhatti
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra