Home Office<p>We intend that the scheme will become operational later this year. The work to deliver this, including establishing a Case Management Unit, the supporting IT, and developing relevant guidance, is happening at pace.</p><p>We are working on ensuring regulations on the new powers covered in the National Security Act are fully consulted on with operational partners and key stakeholders and are laid in Parliament as Statutory Instruments in advance of go live of the scheme.</p><p>The Government expects to publicise the intended ‘go live’ date several months in advance to ensure those affected by the scheme are given sufficient time to prepare.</p>Tonbridge and MallingTom Tugendhat2024-03-21false2024-03-21T12:43:26.093Z1Home OfficeHome Office2024-03-18Foreign Influence Registration Scheme1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans that the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme will go live.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis19060Ministry of Defence<p>We are currently providing a comprehensive package of training and guidance to the team of case workers which will carry out the case-by-case reassessment of Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy scheme applications from applicants with credible links to Afghan specialist units. The individuals in the case work team are independent of those who took the initial eligibility decisions on this tranche of applications.</p><p>Systems and processes are now in place, and we are due to start reassessing cases imminently. Once we begin reassessing cases, we estimate it will take approximately 12 weeks to complete the entire review.</p>WellsJames Heappey2024-03-21false2024-03-21T16:52:35.013Z11DefenceDefence2024-03-18Afghanistan: Refugees1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on the reassessment of ARAP eligibility decisions for former members of the ATF-444 and CF-333.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis19061Home Office<p>The FCDO will continue to work with international partners, including those holding elections this year, to exchange best practice on shared threats to our democratic processes including information threats and AI.</p><p>We continue to monitor international electoral events to inform our work to protect the UK from interference in our democratic process, including elections.</p>Tonbridge and MallingTom Tugendhat2024-03-21false2024-03-21T14:29:55.107Z1Home OfficeHome Office2024-03-12General Elections: Slovakia1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Defending Democracy Taskforce has made an assessment of the prevalence of (a) misinformation and disinformation and (b) AI in the Slovakian general election.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis18169Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office<p>The Government will routinely publish the programme summaries and annual review summaries of Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) programmes on gov.uk. Since its launch in 2022, the 'Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme' in Pakistan has trained university students on digital literacy; trained government officers to identify and tackle hateful narratives; and supported efforts to counter disinformation in the electoral process. The programme summary is due to be published by Summer 2024.</p>Sutton ColdfieldMr Andrew Mitchell2024-03-20false2024-03-20T17:35:23.2Z208Foreign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office2024-03-12Disinformation and Hate Crime1House of CommonsTo ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if his Department will publish the recent work of the CSSF Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis18170Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office<p>Staff in Quito and London remain in regular contact with the Ecuadorean authorities following recent security incidents and the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency in January. Our wide-ranging security cooperation includes practical capacity and capability support, such as the donation in early March of essential security equipment which will bolster frontline police capability and protection. I [Minister Rutley] spoke with Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Sommerfeld on 7 March and reaffirmed the UK's commitment to supporting Ecuador in its fight against serious organised crime. We are committed to supporting the country in ensuring that the rule of law prevails.</p>MacclesfieldDavid Rutley2024-03-11false2024-03-11T17:11:26.3Z208Foreign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeForeign, Commonwealth and Development Office2024-03-06Ecuador: Emergency Powers1House of CommonsTo ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 9041 on Ecuador: Emergency Powers, what steps his Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to support Ecuador.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis17357Department for Science, Innovation and Technology<p>The Online Safety Act gives online user-to-user and search providers new duties to tackle illegal user content and activity and keep children on their services safe. Ofcom is the regulator for this regime. It will set out the steps providers can take to fulfil these duties in codes of practice, which must be approved by Parliament before they can take effect.</p><p> </p><p>Ofcom is clear that services on the ‘dark web’ are in scope of the Act. For example, it set this out in its recent consultation on its proposals for how providers should approach their illegal content duties.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Ofcom are working closely together on the implementation of the Online Safety Act.</p>MeridenSaqib Bhatti2024-03-07false2024-03-07T11:12:44.463Z216Science, Innovation and TechnologyScience, Innovation and Technology2024-03-04Internet: Regulation1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether officials in her Department have had discussions with Ofcom on the adequacy of Ofcom's plans in respect of regulation of the dark web.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis16788Department for Science, Innovation and Technology<p>Ofcom will have regular discussions with firms within its regulatory remit, details of those meetings are a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have responsibility for regulating in-scope companies to ensure they are effectively taking action against illegal disinformation online and disinformation which intersects with the Act’s named categories of harmful content to children. These duties will come into force once Ofcom has completed its consultation and publication of the relevant Codes of Practice.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Act also updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online. These duties are already in force.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>It is a matter for Ofcom to decide what information to publish in the discharge of its regulatory responsibilities.</p>MeridenSaqib Bhatti2024-03-0516358false2024-03-05T15:42:01.917Z216Science, Innovation and TechnologyScience, Innovation and Technology2024-02-29Internet: Disinformation1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether Ofcom has had recent discussions with telecommunications companies on tackling online (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis16356Department for Science, Innovation and Technology<p>Ofcom will have regular discussions with firms within its regulatory remit, details of those meetings are a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have responsibility for regulating in-scope companies to ensure they are effectively taking action against illegal disinformation online and disinformation which intersects with the Act’s named categories of harmful content to children. These duties will come into force once Ofcom has completed its consultation and publication of the relevant Codes of Practice.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Act also updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online. These duties are already in force.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>It is a matter for Ofcom to decide what information to publish in the discharge of its regulatory responsibilities.</p>MeridenSaqib Bhatti2024-03-0516356false2024-03-05T15:42:01.96Z216Science, Innovation and TechnologyScience, Innovation and Technology2024-02-29Internet: Disinformation1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many cases of online (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation Ofcom has dealt with since the implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023; and if he will ask Ofcom to publish those figures regularly.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis16358Department for Science, Innovation and Technology<p>The Media Literacy Taskforce provides the government with expert advice on how best to implement our Online Media Literacy Strategy. In the past 12 months we have convened the Taskforce four times. This has included meetings to seek their advice on delivery of the interventions we are funding through our Media Literacy Taskforce Fund, and to consult on research exploring citizens’ barriers to engagement with media literacy initiatives. The report from this research has been published on gov.uk.</p>MeridenSaqib Bhatti2024-03-04false2024-03-04T15:05:41.353Z216Science, Innovation and TechnologyScience, Innovation and Technology2024-02-28Media Literacy Task Force1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many times the Media Literacy Taskforce has met in the last 12 months.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis16122Department for Science, Innovation and Technology<p>The National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT) tackles online attempts to manipulate the information environment while respecting the right to free speech, by only monitoring themes and trends - not individuals. The team is focused solely on risks posed to national security and public safety, including threats posed by foreign states as well as risks to election integrity.</p><p> </p><p>NSOIT is comprised of civil servants who are employed by DSIT. The team’s size and membership is adjusted according to the nature of the threat which is being faced at any one time. The work produced by NSOIT is shared with other Government departments who have an interest in its areas of focus. However, there are no plans for this work to be published or shared more widely, as this would give malign actors, including hostile states, insights into NSOIT’s capabilities and areas of focus.</p>MeridenSaqib Bhatti2024-03-0416126false2024-03-04T15:03:42.923Z216Science, Innovation and TechnologyScience, Innovation and Technology2024-02-28National Security Online Information Team1House of CommonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to publish any of the work produced by the National Security Online Information Team.falseBarnsley CentralDan Jarvis1612510011524