theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Chris Coghlan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet the honourable Member for Dorking and Horley to discuss his proposed amendment to the Mental Health Bill. \p Stephen Kinnock: I would be happy to meet with the Hon. Member to discuss his proposed amendment to the Mental Health Bill. My Private Office will be in touch with him shortly to make the arrangements.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospital admissions were recorded for inflammatory bowel disease in the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset in (a) Hazel Grove constituency and (b) England in each of the last five years. \p Karin Smyth: The following table shows the annual number of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis recorded for inflammatory bowel disease in England, in each of the last five years:

Year

Finished admission episodes

2023/24

358,063

2022/23

327,693

2021/22

308,528

2020/21

259,058

2019/20

282,335

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.

Data on the number of admissions for the Hazel Grove constituency is not available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Brian Mathew:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) access to training and (b) the integration of Ukrainian doctors into the NHS. \p Karin Smyth: There are various local schemes to support refugee health and care staff into National Health Service employment. The training and integration of refugee doctors into the NHS, including those from Ukraine, is managed at a local level by NHS employers according to local requirements.

It is our ambition that all Ukrainian refugees who are healthcare professionals in their home country and who meet the standards required in the United Kingdom are able to achieve registration efficiently and use their skills within our NHS.

A page has been published on the GOV.UK website specifically for Ukrainian refugees which aims to provide an overview of the processes required by specific healthcare professional regulators, and which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-in-healthcare-in-the-uk-homes-for-ukraine

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors in the UK. The GMC has introduced a number of measures to support applications from refugees. Information about these measures is available at the following link:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/join-our-registers/before-you-apply/help-for-refugee-doctors
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Connor Naismith:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) support and (b) resources his Department are providing to help support medical facilities in Crewe and Nantwich constituency. \p Karin Smyth: The Crewe and Nantwich constituency, like all constituencies, will benefit from a fair share of the £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and the £3.1 billion increase to the capital budget over the 2024/25 to 2025/26 period, as announced at the Autumn Budget 2024.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been provisionally allocated £43.3 million from our Constitutional Standards Recovery Fund for 2025/26 to deliver new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners, and beds to increase capacity for elective and emergency care. In addition, it has been provisionally allocated £5 million from our Primary Care Utilisation Fund to modernise and upgrade general practice surgeries, and £18.1 million from our Estates Safety Fund to address critical infrastructure and safety risks.

The ICB has also been provisionally allocated £61.7 million for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) mitigation and eradication for trusts that are part of the National Health Service’s RAAC programme. This includes funding for the RAAC mitigation works at Leighton Hospital. Funding is subject to business case approval.

Alongside national programme allocations, the ICB has been provisionally allocated £214.7 million in operational capital funding, including primary care business-as-usual capital, for 2025/26, to be prioritised according to local needs such as investing in hospital infrastructure.

Leighton Hospital in Crewe is part of Wave 1 of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) with construction of the new hospital expected to commence in 2027/28. As an RAAC scheme, we are working at pace to ensure Leighton Hospital will be replaced as quickly as possible and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned an updated site by site report, due in summer 2025, to inform decisions on the delivery of the replacement RAAC hospitals. The Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is also being supported by the NHP to develop their Strategic Outline Case as part of the business case process for their main hospital.
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Melanie Ward:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists. \p Karin Smyth: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not made a formal assessment of the adequacy of the regulation of counsellors and psychotherapists. The Government is clear that the level of regulatory oversight must be proportionate to the risks to the public, and that statutory regulation of healthcare professionals should only be used where the risks to public and patient protection cannot be addressed in other ways, such as through employer oversight or accredited voluntary registration.

The Government believes that anyone using counselling or psychotherapy services deserves to have confidence and trust in their healthcare professionals, which is why we urge the use of qualified practitioners holding voluntary registration accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how revenues from the sale of NHS Property Services assets are re-allocated. \p Karin Smyth: Where integrated care boards (ICBs) declare NHS Property Service (NHSPS) owned assets surplus to their future clinical requirements, the NHSPS markets these properties for sale with the net proceeds, after the cost of sale, being reinvested into operational healthcare facilities. All sales follow the process set out in Managing Public Money, to maximise value for the taxpayer.

All net proceeds from the sale of surplus NHSPS assets are split equally between local and national capital investment projects, with half of the proceeds being invested in local priority capital investment schemes agreed with the local ICB, and the remainder being reinvested in NHSPS owned properties, to ensure that all NHSPS properties continue to meet statutory requirements. Running cost and rental savings associated with the rationalisation of the estate and the disposal of surplus sites accrue to the National Health Service. NHSPS is a not-for-profit company wholly owned by My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by what date Integrated Care Boards will be expected to decarbonise in accordance with their Green Plans; and how this will be monitored. \p Karin Smyth: Green plans set out the key actions each trust and integrated care board (ICB) will take to deliver emissions reductions and support resilience to climate impacts over three-year periods. This work supports the delivery of the National Health Service’s system targets of achieving Net Zero for directly controlled emissions by 2040, and for emissions that the NHS can influence by 2045.

ICBs and trusts are required to report an annual summary of progress on the delivery of green plans to their board and to publish this in their annual report, including actions taken and planned, with quantitative progress data. In addition, NHS England estimates emissions and progress towards Net Zero on behalf of all NHS organisations in its Annual Report and Accounts.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43516: Maternity Services, and with reference to the Final report of the Ockenden Review, published on 30 March 2022, which (a) Trusts and (b) systems have implemented (i) immediate and (ii) essential actions. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the average waiting time for museums to receive a review of their national professional museums standard accreditation in the latest period for which data is available. \p Chris Bryant: Arts Council England publishes detailed Accreditation data at regular intervals, including a schedule of museums awaiting review of their Accredited status, and the list of museums working towards Accreditation with support from ACE: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/uk-museum-accreditation-scheme

The Accreditation scheme has been a mainstay of the museums sector for 35 years, inspiring similar models overseas. With support from the department, ACE has this year begun a redesign of Accreditation, to continue meeting diverse user needs in changing operating environments.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to celebrate the feast day of Saint Andrew in 2025. \p Chris Bryant: I refer the Hon member to my answer to PQ 38000 answered on the 26th March. In addition to the regular annual celebrations of St George’s Day, this year St George’s Day marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner, which has been celebrated in many museums and galleries up and down the country.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the press release entitled Multi-billion-pound investment secured as Universal theme park and resort set to be built in Bedford, bringing thousands of jobs, published on 9 April 2025, whether (a) Government funding and (b) bespoke tax relief is being provided to (i) Universal Studios and (ii) the local council to support the deal. \p Chris Bryant: Details of negotiations between private investors and the Government are currently confidential but will be set out in due course.
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Neil O'Brien:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answers of 1 March 2024 to Questions 15743 and 15744, how many staff in (a) her Department, (b) Arts Council England and (c) the National Lottery Community Fund have job titles which include the words (i) equality, (ii) diversity, (iii) inclusion, (iv) gender, (v) LGBT and (vi) race. \p Chris Bryant: The requested figures are

DCMS

2

Arts Council England

11

National Lottery Community Fund

4
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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the potential economic value of the business events sector; and how many civil services in her Department work on supporting and growing the sector. \p Chris Bryant: DCMS recognises that the business events sector is a machine for economic growth and local prosperity. The business events sector is estimated to be worth £34 billion to the UK Economy and an additional £200 billion in trade established at Business Events.

The Business Events Growth Programme (BEGP), led by VisitBritain, forms part of the UK Government’s commitment to grow the business events sector across Britain. Every pound invested in the programme supported £33 of revenue being generated for the British economy through new events secured, or in additional delegate spend, during the five-year review period from 2018 to 2023.

Within DCMS, we have one civil servant who works full time on supporting the business events sector, plus a percentage of time from senior colleagues who provide oversight.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department's planned national mandatory registration scheme will apply to (a) second homes and (b) second homes which are let occasionally. \p Chris Bryant: The registration scheme for short-term lets legislated for in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 will apply to specified short-term rental properties in England. The detailed scope of the scheme, including how it will apply to second homes, and second homes which are let occasionally, is still being determined and details will be announced in due course.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Arts Council is taking to support museums. \p Chris Bryant: This Government supports museums nationwide through Arts Council England (ACE), as the national development agency for museums, offering funding and professional advice to museums of all sizes in England.

ACE typically invests over £44 million in museums annually, through the National Portfolio, the Museum Development Network, and National Lottery Project Grants. In addition, DCMS is funding ACE to deliver an additional £45 million of support for museums this financial year, through the new £20 million Museum Renewal Fund, and a new £25 million investment in the Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND).

ACE further supports (worth £70m a year), which provides an alternative to the cost of insurance for loans, without which many major exhibitions would not be possible. ACE also operates the Cultural Gifts and Acceptance in Lieu schemes, enabling important new acquisitions for museums (worth £45m in 2023/24), and other schemes such as the UK Museum Accreditation Standard, and Collection Designation.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support emerging artists in Lincolnshire. \p Chris Bryant: The Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund on 20 February. This will include support to museums, arts and music venues across the country and is a critical step that this Government is taking to help create jobs, boost local economies, and expand access to arts and culture for communities.

This is in addition to steps already being taken to support arts and culture via Arts Council England (ACE) through various programmes, including its National Portfolio Organisation investment programme (NPO). In Lincolnshire, ACE has provided over £27 million of funding between 2021-2025 to local organisations such as the SO Festival (an NPO), a Combined Arts organisation receiving over £320,000 per annum, that brings international artists and performers to Mablethorpe and Skegness each year, increasing engagement and interest in the arts within local communities.

Zest Theatre (also a NPO) is a national touring theatre company that creates work with and for young people which receives £180,000 per annum. They are particularly well known for their outdoor immersive work, including ‘The Zone’ – a pop up creative space for young people aged 11-18 in Lincoln each summer – and installations that amplify the voices of young people in the region.

Within the South Holland and The Deepings constituency, ACE supports organisations such as Transported (£275,00 per annum), through its Creative People and Places programme, which is a strategic, community-focused programme which aims to get more people in Boston and South Holland enjoying and participating in arts activities.

Through the National Lottery Project Grants ACE has made nine awards, since 2021, across museums, visual arts and theatre, totalling more than £241,000. Also through its Developing Your Creative Practice programme, ACE has supported three individual artists with a total of £33,324 across visual arts and music since 2021.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what artworks owned by (a) the Government Art Collection and (b) her Department have been removed from public display from her Department's offices since 5 July 2024. \p Chris Bryant: The Government Art Collection is a working collection, used across government buildings in the UK and the global estate, which means that artworks may change their display location from time to time in response to new display steers and requests.
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Liz Saville Roberts:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing an independent regulator for holiday parks. \p Chris Bryant: Holiday parks are already subject to licensing and oversight by local authorities and we have no plans to establish a dedicated independent regulator although we continue to monitor the effectiveness of the existing regulatory framework.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many public libraries have closed in each of the last ten years. \p Chris Bryant: DCMS estimates the number of static libraries that have permanently closed (and not been replaced by or relocated to a new static library) in England in each of the last 10 years is as follows:

Calendar Year

Estimated Permanent Static Library Closures

2014

7

2015

19

2016

20

2017

35

2018

26

2019

17

2020

14

2021

17

2022

17

2023

9

This data is DCMS estimates based upon Arts Council England’s basic library dataset for 2023. The ACE dataset details the status (statutory and non-statutory) and operational models of each library including whether they are local authority run, community run, commissioned by the local authority to a separate trust or organisation, or delivered by alternative methods. The dataset can be found at the following link: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-libraries

ACE’s 2024 basic library dataset is due to be published shortly.
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Mr James Frith:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a regulator levy to fund compensation for people who lost money through the collapse of Football Index and BetIndex. \p Stephanie Peacock: I refer my Honourable Friend to the answer I gave on 8 January 2025 to Question UIN 21381.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024, to Question 11648, on FCDO: Cultural Heritage, whether the Government Art Collection holds a record of each artwork in each (a) Embassy, (b) High Commission and (c) Residence. \p Chris Bryant: Artworks and their locations can be searched for on the Government Art Collection website.
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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has considered reintroducing a skills investment fund dedicated to the games industry to help tackle skills shortages. \p Chris Bryant: The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.

£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been announced for 2025/26, which will provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates.

Video games companies can also access the International Business Development strand of the UK Global Screen Fund, which provides financial support for business strategies that drive international growth and IP development for companies working in film, TV (animation, drama and documentary) and interactive narrative gaming.

Additionally, video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit, and access support from the Create Growth Programme.

We are working closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Skills England on skills policy to address skills shortages in the creative industries, including the games sector. This includes DfE’s work on growth and skills levy reform. We will set out more detail as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, to be published in coming months.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential economic impact of generative artificial intelligence on the creative sectors. \p Chris Bryant: DCMS Ministers have met on numerous occasions with stakeholders from across the creative industries, including the music, film and book publishing industries, to discuss the impact of generative AI and the government’s consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence.

AI is increasingly being used as a tool in the creative process, from music and film production to publishing, architecture and design. As of September 2024 more than 38% of Creative Industries businesses said they have used AI technologies, with nearly 50% using AI to improve business operations. It may foster innovation and efficiency but may also disrupt the sector. We are working with the creative sector and committed to ensuring our brilliant artists benefit in working with the AI sector to harness the opportunities this technology provides. In addition, we are aware that several publishing houses have licensed their content with AI companies.
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Saqib Bhatti:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which stakeholders (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department had discussions with on the consultation on copyright and artificial intelligence between 1 September 2024 and 4 April 2025. \p Chris Bryant: Between 1 September 2024 and 4 April 2025 DCMS Ministers have met with numerous stakeholders from across the creative industries, including trade bodies and industry leaders, to discuss the government’s consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence. These meetings have included roundtable discussions, as well as individual meetings with stakeholders.

Details of all meetings undertaken by DCMS ministers are included in DCMS transparency data, published on Gov.uk each quarter.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support young people in the music industry in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport. \p Chris Bryant: The government is committed to extending music opportunities for young people across the UK. As part of this, in March, we launched a National Music Education Network to promote arts opportunities to children and young people, support excellent teacher training in the arts, and boost partnerships between schools and arts organisations.

We are providing an additional £3m to expand the Creative Careers Programme (CCP) in 2025/26. Stockport has been identified as a priority area for the CCP, which seeks to boost opportunities and provide information on creative careers and pathways for young people aged 11 - 18 from backgrounds that are under-represented in the creative industries.

The government has announced £2.5m of continued funding to Arts Council England (ACE)’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund for 2025-26. In Stockport, The Strines Nightingale, which is based in Hazel Grove, has received £26,592 to allow them to expand their live music programming and improve their accessibility and infrastructure.

Through ACE’s investment in National Portfolio organisations and through our Music Education Hub programme, we fund organisations that provide music education and opportunities to young people from every background and in the boroughs across Greater Manchester. Examples include Brighter Sound and Factory International, both of which are based in Manchester city but which have a number of programmes aimed at developing talent in the region.
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Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on what grounds her Department decided to extend the opening of papers relating to the 1959 murder of Martha Giles to 2055. \p Chris Bryant: During a review of the records held at The National Archives concerning the murder of Martha Giles, a record was found to contain the personal data of several individuals who are assumed to still be living. Consequently, in accordance with the 100-year principle that is set out in the Guide to Archiving Personal Data, the record in question will be kept closed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the assumed lifetime of the youngest individual identified (2055).
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will (a) publish the results of the user survey for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and (b) use those results in future policy development. \p Chris Bryant: DCMS is currently evaluating the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. We will take a decision on publishing the findings of the evaluation, including a user survey, once completed.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the grant making agencies on the potential merits of providing additional financial support to buildings with projects valued at over £25,000 that are (a) underway and (b) about to commence work that will not be able to claim back VAT under the proposed changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. \p Chris Bryant: Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000. We believe that the modifications were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and the capital pressures on other parts of the heritage sector.

Guidance has now been published on changes to the Scheme from 1 April 2025, which includes the treatment of works already underway and works about to commence. Claimants should ensure that all claims for work already carried out are submitted before or at 23:59 on 31 March 2025. Claims for work that are submitted from 00:00 on 1 April 2025 will be subject to the cap.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has committed to investing around £100m between 2023 and 2026 to support places of worship. On 20 February, DCMS Secretary of State announced £15 million of additional funding for Heritage at Risk, building on Historic England's existing Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk programme. Listed places of worship may be eligible for this funding in certain circumstances.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the UK Space Agency has offered apprenticeships since it was established. \p Chris Bryant: The Civil Service is committed to using apprenticeships to break down barriers to opportunity, support skills development and deliver more effective public services.

The UK Space Agency has previously offered apprenticeships in Communications and Business Administration. The last cohort was in 2017. The UK Space Agency will be reestablishing apprenticeships between now and 2029, specifically targeting Digital, Data, and Science & Engineering skills to align with Civil Service wide skills and workforce ambitions.

The UK Space Agency has made use of apprentices in its workforce since 2014 and recruitment data, where available, has been provided below:

2014 – 1 (Communications)

2015 – 1 (Communications)

2016 – 0

2017 – 3 (1 Communications, 2 Business Administration)
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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps to help protect authors who do not want their works to be used by AI models. \p Feryal Clark: Copyright law already protects the rights of authors, who have several means of asserting their moral and economic rights. The Government published its consultation on Copyright and AI on 17 December 2024. This sought views on giving rights holders of creative works greater control over use of their material to train AI models and supporting their ability to be remunerated where it is used. The consultation closed on 25 February 2025.

The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its approach to copyright and AI. The Government will continue to engage extensively as it considers next steps, and its proposals will be set out in due course.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if the Meteorological Office has offered apprenticeships in each year since 2010. \p Feryal Clark: The Civil Service is committed to using apprenticeships to break down barriers to opportunity, support skills development and deliver more effective public services.

The Met Office has offered apprenticeships at Level 2 through to Level 7 across a breadth of professions and has a continued commitment to do so.

The department has made use of apprentices in its workforce since 2016 and recruitment data, where available, has been provided below:
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of working with (a) Building Digital UK and (b) Openreach to expedite the rollout of broadband through Project Gigabit in Moor Park, Farnham. \p Chris Bryant: Openreach is delivering a Project Gigabit contract for Surrey (and surrounding areas) in which premises in the area of Moor Park, Farnham are included.

Project Gigabit contracts are typically delivered in stages, enabling suppliers to build out to rural and harder-to-reach areas from the central network in a quick and efficient way. The delivery timeframe of the Project Gigabit rollout in Moor Park is highly dependent on the placement of Openreach’s existing network and is therefore at Openreach’s discretion.

Build on this contract has already commenced and is scheduled to complete by 2030.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of replacing experiments on animals with non-animal methods. \p Feryal Clark: The Labour Manifesto commits to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. While it is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements, we support the development and application of approaches that replace, reduce and refine animal use in research (the 3Rs). Work to support this transition must be science-led and in lock step with partners.

The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Sarah Owen:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to encourage international scientists to carry out research in British (a) universities and (b) laboratories. \p Feryal Clark: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 March to Question 36277.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Ms Julie Minns:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of physical infrastructure access fees on the ability of alternative network providers to roll out full fibre broadband in rural areas. \p Chris Bryant: The government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity coverage by 2030. Today, 86% of premises can access gigabit-capable networks.

The government's strategy supports market entry and expansion by alternative network operators via easy access to Openreach’s infrastructure including ducts and poles under Ofcom’s Physical Infrastructure Access framework (PIA). Government has set out in its Statement of Strategic Priorities that: “Government regards effective access to Openreach’s national network of underground ducts and poles as a key enabler of competitive network deployment.”

Ofcom governs the PIA framework. Ofcom has powers to impose access conditions on electronic communications networks, enabling third parties to use Openreach’s ducts and poles on fair and reasonable terms, conditions and charges, and without undue discrimination.

The government supports this framework but will not intervene in independent Ofcom decisions regarding the PIA price levels.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) the Information Commissioner’s Office and (b) Ofcom in assessing how regulated services are enforcing their minimum age limits to ensure children’s safety and data protection. \p Chris Bryant: In 2024, the ICO updated its Age assurance opinion for the Children’s code, with guidance on what online services must do if they are likely to be accessed by children. We welcome the ICO’s ongoing work to assess how services are applying age assurance measures to identifying child users and through the Data (Use and Access) Bill we are taking steps to require the ICO to have regard to the fact that children merit specific protection.

Under the Online Safety Act services in scope must use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from encountering the most harmful content. Additionally, services which have a minimum age limit must specify in their terms of service how these restrictions are enforced and apply these terms consistently. Ofcom must publish a report on services’ use of age assurance within 18 months of child safety duties coming into effect.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with AI developers on material used to train generative AI models. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is committed to hearing a broad range of views to ensure it meets all 50 recommendations outlined in the Action Plan. We have recently consulted with a variety of stakeholders, which included AI developers, to inform our approach to copyright and AI.

Ministerial meetings are published according to normal transparency requirements on the gov.uk website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Dr Kieran Mullan:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the impartiality of its review into the impact of smartphones on teenagers. \p Feryal Clark: In December 2024, DSIT launched a feasibility study on methods and data to research the impact of smartphones and social media on children. DSIT awarded the contract through an impartial tender process, which required all bids to declare any conflicts of interest. The winning bid was submitted by a consortium of academics with extensive published, peer-reviewed research on the topic, from nine of the UK’s leading universities. Following scientific best practice, the research team pre-published the details of their evidence synthesis, which is available here: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42025641338.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing financial penalties on companies that replace more than 10% of their workforce with AI. \p Feryal Clark: We are working to harness the benefits that AI can bring – such as productivity gains, rising living standards, and improved worker wellbeing; while mitigating the risks. Government is planning for a range of plausible outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help us track and prepare for these.

The Get Britain Working White Paper from DWP, HMT and DfE also sets out how government will address key labour market challenges. We will continue to work closely with these and other government departments through the AI Opportunities Action Plan on this rapidly developing area.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what measures his Department has discussed with social media companies to help tackle the spread of misinformation online. \p Feryal Clark: The Online Safety Act focuses on the worst kinds of mis- and disinformation - that which is illegal content or content harmful to children. For example, its Foreign Interference Offence forces platforms to take proactive action against state-linked online interference. Platforms must remove other in-scope illegal mis- and disinformation where they become aware of it.

The government is clear on platforms’ responsibility to keep their users safe and tackle harmful content, and DSIT engages with major social media platforms on issues or events that create risks for public safety or national security.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Anneliese Midgley:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps to support fair remuneration for creatives whose works are used in AI datasets. \p Feryal Clark: The Government published its consultation on Copyright and AI on 17 December 2024. This sought views on giving rights holders of creative works greater control over use of their material to train AI models and supporting their ability to be remunerated where it is used. The consultation closed on 25 February 2025.

The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its approach to copyright and AI. The Government will continue to engage extensively as it considers next steps, and its proposals will be set out in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will take steps to provide financial support to help scientists phase out the use of animals in medical research. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. UK Research and Innovation is committed to reducing the use of animals in research and provide a number of financial support mechanisms to do that. This includes, for example, core funding to the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, and supporting ‘human-specific’ research through the MRC Experimental medicine programme.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Alison Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to train civil servants in the use of AI. \p Feryal Clark: DSIT has published guidance and launched training to upskill civil servants in the use of AI. These resources include the AI Playbook for the UK Government offering public services up-to-date guidance on AI technologies, their capabilities and limitations and 70 AI Civil Service Learning courses. The AI Community of Practice builds on this, offering knowledge sharing from teams who have developed AI solutions in government. GDS has built AI content into their Faststream Graduate and TechTrack Apprenticeship upskilling programmes, which are open to Civil Servants. In addition GDS has launched the AI Accelerator, an upskilling pipeline for existing civil servants within the Government Digital and Data profession to gain Machine Learning Engineering skills to work on AI tools.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions his Department has had with social media companies on age restrictions for accessing social media. \p Feryal Clark: Government is committed to protecting children’s safety online across the UK.

The Online Safety Act requires social media platforms to consider, as part of their risk assessments, how their algorithms impact children’s exposure to illegal and harmful content. Additionally, platforms are required to consider how their functionalities, including algorithms, affect the time children spend on the platform.

Ofcom’s draft Children’s Safety Codes include measures that prevent harm related to algorithms, including by recommending that algorithms and other recommender systems filter harmful content out of children’s feeds.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the potential impact of social media algorithms on addiction of young people to social media in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) England. \p Feryal Clark: Government is committed to protecting children’s safety online across the UK.

The Online Safety Act requires social media platforms to consider, as part of their risk assessments, how their algorithms impact children’s exposure to illegal and harmful content. Additionally, platforms are required to consider how their functionalities, including algorithms, affect the time children spend on the platform.

Ofcom’s draft Children’s Safety Codes include measures that prevent harm related to algorithms, including by recommending that algorithms and other recommender systems filter harmful content out of children’s feeds.