Written questions by Maguire.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the ICO's statutory duty to enforce SAR disclosures are met within a one month timeframe.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) provide individuals with the right to access their personal data, subject to relevant exemptions. A subject access request must be responded to within one month of receiving the request. The response time may be extended by a further two months if the request is complex, or if the individual has submitted a number of requests, provided the organisation informs the requestor within the one-month period and provides reasons for the delay.The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the data protection legislation independently of government, and is accountable to Parliament.

Innovation and Technology, if she will made an assessment of the potential impact of SARs not being disclosed by NHS hospital trusts within the statutory one month timeframe.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) provide individuals with the right to access their personal data, subject to relevant exemptions. A subject access request must be responded to within one month of receiving the request. The response time may be extended by a further two months if the request is complex, or if the individual has submitted a number of requests, provided the organisation informs the requestor within the one-month period and provides reasons for the delay.NHS England has produced guidance for patients and service users on making a Subject Access Request (SAR), and for professionals to ensure they can respond to requests in a timely manner. It can be found here: https://transform.england.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/subject-access-requests/The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the data protection legislation independently of government, and is accountable to Parliament.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department will assess the potential merits of allowing non-digital verification routes for veterans who do not wish to use GOV.UK One Login in order to obtain a digital Veteran Card.

Individuals must prove their identity through GOV.UK One Login if they would like a digital Veteran Card. They can do this by verifying their identity via the GOV.UK One Login app, web, or at the Post Office. There are currently no plans to introduce a fully non-digital verification route for obtaining a digital Veteran Card because this is designed to be a digital service. For those who do not wish to use or are unable to verify their identity with GOV.UK One Login, it remains possible to apply for a physical Veteran Card by completing a paper application form and submitting it by post.

Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department has to undertake a Data Protection Impact Assessment on the integration of the digital Veteran Card with GOV.UK One Login.

The Department has undertaken a full Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for the digital Veteran Card service, which has been signed off by the One Login Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s Data Protection Officer (DPO). Further to this, the DPIA has been reviewed by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Data Protection Act 2018 and Article 5 of the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the safeguards to ensure that personal data gathered through the digital Veteran Card service is not shared across Government departments without the explicit consent of the veteran.

The Department has conducted a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) for the digital Veteran Card, approved by the One Login Senior Responsible Officer and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s Data Protection Officer, in consultation with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). A Data Sharing Agreement governs processing between the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ensures that data is only used for its intended and agreed purpose.Personal data is stored locally on the veteran’s mobile device and is only shared when the veteran actively chooses to present their digital card. There is no automatic cross-government data sharing. Veterans retain full control of their data and can delete their card at any time.

Innovation and Technology, what funding streams are available for SMEs offering (a) patented and (b) environmentally beneficial technologies in the water sector.

There are a number of funding schemes available to innovative companies and SMEs in the water sector. Since 2020, Ofwat’s £600m Innovation Fund has supported 109 projects and facilitated almost 300 collaborations between companies, universities, charities, and other organisations. The Government is also supporting innovation through Ofwat’s £100m Water Efficiency Fund, which seeks to stimulate a reduction in water demand across England and Wales. Furthermore, UKRI runs a range of competitions open to SMEs in the water sector. For example, Innovate UK’s Growth Catalyst supports innovative start-ups, particularly those in the clean energy and climate technology sectors. There are also opportunities for firms developing water innovations within Horizon Europe programmes.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to prevent foreign actors from influencing UK democratic processes through social media.

The Government takes the integrity and security of our democratic processes seriously, including the threat of influence from foreign actors.The UK’s Online Safety Act, will capture disinformation aimed at disrupting elections where it is a criminal offence in the scope of the regulatory framework. This includes the Foreign Interference Offence, which will shortly be in force, requiring all in-scope companies to take action against a range of state-linked disinformation and interference online.DSIT, as a member of the government’s Defending Democracy Taskforce, also supports ongoing work to protect the democratic integrity of the UK from threats of foreign interference.

Innovation and Technology, whether there are funds available under the Shared Rural Network; and whether he has plans to use the network to eliminate partial non-spots in North Cornwall constituency.

North Cornwall has already benefited from the industry-funded part of the Shared Rural Network which aimed to tackle the majority of partial not-spots across the UK. In North Cornwall, 4G coverage from all four mobile network operators has risen from 68% to 83%, and 99% of the constituency now has 4G coverage from at least one mobile network operator, up from 97% at the start of the programme. This part of the programme has now been completed, and we do not expect there to be further improvements in this constituency from the programme.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rural communities remain connected following the digital switchover.

The digital switchover is an industry led programme. Customers in rural communities will not have their landlines migrated to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) without an available stable internet connection (VoIP only requires a minimum speed of 0.5mbps).The Government has taken several initiatives to boost rural connectivity and mobile coverage throughout the UK, including Project Gigabit, the Shared Rural Network deal with the industry, and publishing the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy 2023.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of attaching emergency batteries for mobile phones to telephone masts in rural areas.

Communications providers have a statutory responsibility to take measures to identify, prepare for and reduce anything that compromises the availability, performance or functionality of their networks and services. Some mobile phone masts have battery back-up so that they can continue operating despite a power outage, although the amount of back up currently varies across the access network.Ofcom have recently undertaken a public Call for Input on this issue, and in September 2024 they announced they will undertake further analysis to consider whether additional measures are needed. Government will continue working closely with Ofcom, mobile operators and the power sector to ensure there is appropriate and proportionate resilience across the network.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) improve internet services for rural communities and (b) ensure that internet companies do not have monopolies in rural areas.

The government helped create a competition-friendly environment which supports over 100 providers in the UK deploying broadband in commercially viable areas. Through Project Gigabit, the government is delivering gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans, predominantly in rural areas, with nearly £2 billion of contracts now secured to connect over a million more premises.Regulating monopolies is a matter for Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator and it can impose pro-competition remedies on providers with significant market power (SMP). Currently, Ofcom has determined that only BT Group and KCOM have SMP.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the (a) reliability and (b) longevity of back-up Voice over Internet Protocol phone batteries for vulnerable people; how many (i) telephone exchanges and (ii) mobile telephone masts have back-up generators; and if he will take steps to ensure that (A) the 999 service and (B) other critical infrastructure in Cornwall remains telecommunication operational at all times.

On 18 November, the Department published guidance which defines the groups of vulnerable people to whom Communication Providers must provide extra support as they are migrated from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony. The Department also published a checklist of actions that telecoms companies should take before migrating customers to VoIP without their active consent. One of the actions stipulated in the checklist is for telecoms companies to provide resilience solutions that go beyond Ofcom’s regulatory minimum of 1 hour of continued, uninterrupted access to emergency services during power outages for users that depend on their landline. The Department does not record the number of telephone exchanges and mobile telephone masts with back-up generators in the UK. However, the Communications Act 2003, mandates public telecom providers to take measures to protect the security and resilience of their networks, including critical infrastructure and access to 999. The sector does this by having backup generators in phone exchanges and allowing all 999 calls from mobiles to switch to another network if needed. Ofcom sets, monitors, and enforces these regulations. The Department is working together with Ofcom and other key stakeholders to enhance the power resilience of telecommunications across the UK.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure equality of access to rural fibre-optic infrastructure.

Poor internet access can pose significant challenges for rural and urban communities alike, which is why the government is determined to improve access and promote digital participation. The Government is committed to improving broadband access in rural areas through Project Gigabit, which is delivering gigabit capable connectivity for millions of rural homes. While we expect most premises will be covered by commercial activity or Project Gigabit, for those parts of the UK where this is not possible, government is considering alternative ways to improve connectivity.