Written questions by Thomas.

Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to take steps to the Government plans to engage civil society on strengthening trusted information ecosystems.

Making information ecosystems stronger requires collaboration between Government, industry and civil society. Last year, Ofcom established the Online Information Advisory Committee, bringing together civil society and industry to build a deeper understanding of challenges relating to the online information environment, including suggesting options to tackle mis- and disinformation.DSIT’s media literacy work supports people to navigate online systems safely. We are improving media literacy through coordinated cross-government delivery and collaboration with Ofcom and civil society. Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom also have a media literacy strategy, which prioritises work with civil society and communities to build online resilience.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce rates of digital exclusion among the elderly population.

Everyone should be able to benefit from the digital world, but we know that certain groups are more likely to be digitally excluded than others. This includes older people, with statistics showing 86% of adults aged 60+ are online, compared to 95% of all UK adults in 2025.That is why, we have launched the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund - backing local communities to lead the way in closing the digital divide. This is supporting 85 projects in England, including highly tailored and targeted interventions to help more digitally excluded older people get the access, skills and confidence to get online. More broadly, we are ensuring public services are accessible and inclusive, designing web and digital services that work for everyone so more people can access services quickly and easily.

Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of effect of the monopolisation of broadband provision on developments where the broadband provider is owned by the property developer.

Ofcom is responsible for regulating the telecoms sector, and it has a duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition.Developers decide which network operators they would like present in their buildings and negotiate commercial agreements with those operators. Developers are free to approach as many network operators as they wish and to secure multiple connections on a voluntary basis. As regulator for the sector, it is for Ofcom to assess whether there is a competition issue with housing developments and put remedies in place as appropriate.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to prevent the monopolisation of broadband provision in developments where the broadband provider is owned by the property developer.

Ofcom is responsible for regulating the telecoms sector, and it has a duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition.Developers decide which network operators they would like present in their buildings and negotiate commercial agreements with those operators. Developers are free to approach as many network operators as they wish and to secure multiple connections on a voluntary basis. As regulator for the sector, it is for Ofcom to assess whether there is a competition issue with housing developments and put remedies in place as appropriate.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to tackle monopolistic practices amongst broadband providers.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for regulating the telecoms sector with a duty to further the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition.Where Ofcom determines a provider has significant market power (SMP) in a market, it can impose remedies as appropriate. In the wholesale fixed telecoms market, BT and KCOM were found to have SMP and a range of pricing and non-pricing remedies were imposed on the firms to promote network competition. Ofcom is in the process of updating its decisions through its Telecoms Access Review. Ofcom has not found any firm to have SMP in the retail telecoms sector.In July, DSIT published a consultation on the draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services. The draft Statement sets out the government’s view on the importance of competition to support broadband deployment across the UK. We are currently reviewing responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure adequate accountability measures for telecom providers that help facilitate fraud.

Tackling fraud is a priority for the government and we recognise the impact that being a victim of fraud has on people. The Government works closely with Ofcom and industry and recently published the second Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter – actions in the charter include collaborative data sharing to tackle fraud and raising customer awareness.Ofcom, as the independent regulator for telecoms, is also taking steps to ensure providers are taking the necessary steps to protect consumers from fraud. This includes a current consultation on protecting customers from international numbers which imitate UK mobile numbers.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department taking to help tackle digital exclusion among elderly people.

We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and some demographics are more likely to be digitally excluded than others, including older people.That’s why in February; we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the immediate actions we are taking on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, which includes older people.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help reduce public exposure to (a) fraud and (b) scams on social media platforms.

The Online Safety Act (OSA) lists fraud as a priority offence; requiring companies prevent and mitigate scams on their platforms. The OSA also requires large social media companies (‘Category 1’) to have transparent routes for users to complain about fraud, and swift procedures to address those complaints.Ofcom have robust powers to hold companies to account, including issuing fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying global revenue (whichever is higher).The OSA is reducing public exposure to scams, but there is more to do. DSIT is working with the Home Office to deliver a new fraud strategy.

Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with stakeholders on the risks artificial intelligence poses to children; and what steps he is taking to mitigate those risks.

The Government recognises the importance of this issue. We engage with a range of stakeholders on the impact of AI, including child safety experts.As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Alongside this, the strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children, requiring in-scope services to protect all users from illegal content and children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Online Safety Act on the level of risk that private bodies could harvest sensitive data on UK citizens who seek out VPN services.

Organisations that process personal data, which could include VPN providers, are subject to requirements of the data protection legislation. This includes obligations to process people’s data fairly and lawfully and to ensure that any data collected is held securely. Organisations that fail to comply may face enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between UK and OpenAI on AI opportunities, published on 21 July 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure safeguards are in place to protect public data when working alongside a commercial company.

The government is committed to transparency, security, and the responsible use of emerging technologies. The Memorandum of Understanding with OpenAI is voluntary and non-binding. It does not grant access to public data or commit the Government to any expenditure.The UK has one of the most robust data protection regimes in the world, and all organisations are required to comply with our legislation to safeguard UK personal data.The Information Commissioner’s Office retains powers to investigate and enforce action where necessary, and individuals maintain legal recourse if their data is misused.

Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a cyber-security hub in Gloucestershire.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology recognises Gloucestershire as a national leader in cyber security. Home to GCHQ and a thriving cyber ecosystem, the region will benefit from the new National Cyber Innovation Centre in Cheltenham, which will drive collaboration and investment. The recently published Digital and Technologies Sector Plan acknowledges the potential of the Golden Valley development. Government continues to work with local partners, including CyNam and the University of Gloucestershire, to advance cyber skills and innovation, supported by the Cyber Growth Action Plan to unlock further regional and national growth.

Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions his Department has had with Mobile UK on the official coverage data published by Ofcom; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the Shared Rural Network includes (a) north Gloucestershire and (b) Gotherington.

My officials recently met Mobile UK to discuss a range of issues affecting the mobile industry currently, in their role as the trade association for the UK’s mobile network operators. This included Ofcom’s coverage reporting, and what we can do to work together to address areas of limited or no coverage. Across Tewkesbury, outdoor 4G coverage from all four operators has increased to 95% up from 87%, since the Shared Rural Network programme begun in March 2020. These improvements were delivered via the industry-led element of the SRN which has now completed. There will not be any further coverage improvements in Tewkesbury from the programme.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve mobile phone coverage in North Gloucestershire.

Ofcom reports that 4G is available across 95% of the Tewkesbury constituency from all four mobile operators, while 5G (standalone and non-standalone) is available outside 99% of premises in his constituency from at least one operator.I have raised my concerns about the accuracy of their coverage reporting with Ofcom and I welcome the improvements to their online mobile coverage checker which will go live in the second half of June.Our ambition is for all populated areas, including North Gloucestershire, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. We continue to work closely with the mobile operators and are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment into mobile networks and competition in the market.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure schools in rural areas have access to full fibre broadband.

Project Gigabit is the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises, including schools, that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans. Alongside connecting premises through a series of Project Gigabit contracts across the UK, we are currently delivering a specific project in partnership with the Department for Education which is set to give a further 780 schools access to a fast, reliable broadband connection. Earlier government-funded programmes have already delivered gigabit-capable connections to over 2,400 schools.