Written questions by Onwurah.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December to Question 96656, if she will make an assessment of the a) the proportion of chatbots which use search and b) the characteristics of chatbots which use search.

Chatbots that use search capabilities are designed to generate responses for users by actively searching the live web. This functionality means they would be captured by the Online Safety Act’s duties as a search service.The Secretary of State confirmed in Parliament that the government is considering how AI chatbots interact with the Act and has also urged Ofcom to use its existing powers to ensure that AI chatbots are safe for children.As part of this work, the government continues to assess the prevalence and nature of chatbot services.

Innovation and Technology, what information her Department holds on the proportion of chatbots deployed in the UK that use search-based functionality as part of their responses; and what assessment she has made of the whether AI chatbot users in the UK are adequately protected from harmful content.

Generative AI services, including chatbots, that allow users to share content with one another or that search live websites to provide search results are regulated under the Online Safety Act and must protect users from illegal content and children from harmful and age-inappropriate content.The Secretary of State confirmed in Parliament this week that the government is considering how AI chatbots interact with the Act and also urged Ofcom to use its existing powers to ensure that AI chatbots are safe for children.Where evidence demonstrates that further action is necessary to protect children and the wider public, we will not hesitate to act.

Innovation and Technology, whether Innovate UK will resume its Smart Grants funding stream to support innovation-led start-ups.

The Smart grants programme has been paused while Innovate UK redesigns its funding programmes to best suit the needs of innovative businesses and align to the objectives of the Government’s Industrial Strategy.However, Innovate UK has launched a new £130 million ‘Growth Catalyst’ Innovate UK scheme focused on scaling innovative businesses in Industrial Strategy growth sectors. This offers grants, aligned private sector investment, and tailored support to companies, and this approach has a track record of driving 10:1 follow-on investment.

Innovation and Technology, with which countries does the UK operate international science partnership funds; and how much and what proportion of the funding for the partnership with Japan is from (a) public and (b) private sources and (i) domestic and (ii) foreign contributors.

The International Science Partnership Fund currently operates in:United States of America, Japan, Canada, India, South Korea, Switzerland, Australia, Germany, Israel, Taiwan, China, Ireland, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark, and Latvia (non-ODA)South Africa, Kenya, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Philippines, Vietnam, Turkey, and Ghana (ODA)Information on spend in Japan is not provided under the exemptions in the Ministerial Code that cover information that is not currently held and where there would be a disproportionate cost to gaining it.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with science and discovery centres on their financial resilience since the covid-19 pandemic.

The Government recognises the important role these centres play in engaging the public with science and inspiring young people. As set out in the answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84033, Minister Vallance has followed up with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to explore a coordinated approach to supporting these centres. I refer my honourable friend to that answer for further detail.

Innovation and Technology, what proportion of Government cloud services are hosted on (a) AWS, (b) Google and (c) Microsoft infrastructure.

The State of Digital Government report estimates up to 60% of the government estate is currently hosted on cloud platforms, mostly using AWS, Microsoft and Google. More granular data on the split between AWS, Google and Microsoft infrastructure is not currently held. However, the Government Digital Service in DSIT is developing a cloud consumption dashboard to provide government with greater visibility of cloud usage and costs across the public sector.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the impact of the AWS outage on 20 October 2025 on Government Digital Services.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is leading Government’s response to the AWS outage that took place on Monday 20 October 2025. DSIT continues to work across government and with businesses to understand the full impacts of the outage. All AWS services were restored on Monday evening and DSIT is in contact with AWS to understand how such events can be mitigated in the future.The outage affected a number of suppliers and departments, and it will take some time to fully understand the scale of the impact. DSIT will be gathering a full picture of the impact on government in the coming weeks.The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter, which will set out a clear approach for the Government and the Wider Public Sector to manage cyber security and resilience incidents.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the resilience of Government Digital Services to outages.

In the 2025 State of Digital Government review, cyber security and digital resilience risks were identified as critically high across the public sector, and we are taking immediate action to make Government services more secure, resilient and reliable.Government has a robust set of policies that ensure there are well-defined and tested incident management processes in place, providing continuity of essential functions in the event of system or service failure.Furthermore, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter, which sets out a clear approach for Government and the public sector to manage cyber security and resilience incidents.

Innovation and Technology, when her Department plans to publish the Government Digital and AI Roadmap.

The Roadmap for a Modern Digital Government will be published this autumn.The roadmap will outline how the Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government, launched in January 2025, will be delivered, building a modern digital government that makes life easier, drives growth and delivers smarter, more efficient public services.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions his Department has had with Innovate UK on (a) when it plans to open the next Biomedical Catalyst grant awards and (b) steps being taken to ensure a wide range of biomedical businesses can apply for grants via that programme.

The Biomedical Catalyst has a suite of competitions designed to support small and medium sized businesses to progress projects at different stages of development.There is currently one grant opportunity open - Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst Accelerator – Hospital to Community - which closes on the 31st of October. The next round of industry-led R&D funding is under preparation and expected to be launched early Nov and open for 4 weeks.Innovate UK promotes R&D funding opportunities through social media and other communication channels. Biomedical Catalyst also utilises Business Connect services to engage with UK businesses by offering bespoke, sustained 1:1 support as well as providing advice and access to resources that can help promote Biomedical Catalyst, and support with applications and funding.

Innovation and Technology, whether he science and discovery centres fall within the remit of his Department.

The UK’s Science and Discovery Centres have an important role in engaging the public, with science and technology and in inspiring young people, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to consider studying STEM subjects and related careers.However, while some centres do carry out research in addition to their informal science learning activities their primary role is as visitor centres focussed on the role of science in the UK’s culture. While the department and partners such as UKRI have provided support for particular programmes managed by science centres, as institutions they do not fall within DSIT’s remit.DSIT is currently planning to engage with DCMS to discuss how government’s relationship with these important institutions can best be supported going forward.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to provide funding for research into the (a) prevention and (b) treatment of arthritis and musculoskeletal disease in UK universities.

The Government does not generally ringfence funding for particular areas of research but has funded a significant amount of applicant-led funding on arthritis and musculoskeletal disease.In 2024, UKRI’s Medical Research Council (MRC) committed over £17 million to research on these topics, including over £4 million for the University of Oxford, within UKRI’s £28.5 million Functional Genomics Initiative, to establish a research cluster focused on the use of functional genomics techniques to improve musculoskeletal health and disease.UKRI delivers a substantial portfolio of research with wider relevance, including in immunology and pain relief, and plays a key role in funding underpinning discovery research.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the impact of science and discovery centres' on (a) science communication, (b) public engagement and (c) the level of interest in STEM skills amongst school students; and what assessment she has made of trends in the level of financial resilience of these centres since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government has not conducted an assessment of interest in science and discovery centres among school students. The financial sustainability of Science and Discovery Centres was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as entrance fees are a significant income source. Sector surveys by the Association for Science and Discovery Centres, conducted in Spring 2024 and 2025, show that visitor numbers have since increased, with over 5.2 million last year—including school children, families and communities. Science and Discovery Centres engaged 37% of UK schools and offered programmes such as 'Thinking Doing Talking Science' to improve attainment, particularly among disadvantaged pupils.

Innovation and Technology, if he will steps to ensure that the proposed Cyber Security and Resilience Bill supports the establishment of common levels of cyber security with the UK's international partners.

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will better safeguard UK national security by strengthening our cyber defences and ensuring the essential and digital services people and businesses rely on every day are better protected.Cyber threats do not respect borders, and the nature of digital technology means we are all fundamentally interconnected. The UK is tackling similar challenges to those faced by governments across the globe. Businesses operating across borders are also reckoning with this threat and adjusting practices to comply with regulation in other jurisdictions as well as in the UK.The Bill is being designed with these issues in mind and government is continuing to actively engage with our international partners on its development and on our shared cyber issues. We will continue to seek harmonisation and commonality in cyber security and risk mitigation where appropriate through the design and implementation of the Bill.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department holds data on the number of vacancies in the science and technology sectors in London.

DSIT does not hold vacancy data specifically for the Science and Technology Sectors in London.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking legislative steps to require social media platforms to enable users to transfer their (a) data, (b) content and (c) connections between competing services, in the context of the Digital Choice Act in Utah, US.

Article 20 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) already provides individuals with a right to ‘data portability’. It applies where an individual has provided their personal data to one data controller based on consent or a contract and wants that organisation to transmit it directly to another data controller. The right only applies to personal data that is being processed by automated means and where the transmission would be technically feasible.The Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s independent regulator for data protection, has published guidance for organisations on the right to data portability, which can be viewed at Right to data portability | ICO.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to take steps through a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence to (a) mandate safety-by-design principles, (b) mitigate potential harms and (c) prevent AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

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. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs.On Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) specifically, creating, possessing, or distributing AI-generated CSAM is illegal, and the Online Safety Act requires services to identify and remove it. We are also taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models which have been optimised to create CSAM.

Innovation and Technology, what the differences in remit are between the (a) AI Security Institute and (b) Alan Turing Institute.

The AI Security Institute (AISI) was set up to equip governments with a scientific understanding of the risks posed by advanced AI. AISI researches these risks, their potential impacts, and develops potential risk mitigations.The Alan Turing Institute is the national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. It aims to develop world-class research, contribute to training to build skills for the future, and drive informed public conversation on AI.The Secretary of State has proposed a shift in its remit towards national security, defence, and sovereignty. The ATI is an independent organisation, and this realignment process is being handled internally.Realising the economic potential of Artificial Intelligence is a priority for this Government. The Alan Turing Institute and AI Security Institute work is complementary to ensure we fully exploit the benefits of AI while mitigating risks.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the emergence of deepfake videos depicting government ministers; and whether the forthcoming legislation on deepfakes will include specific provisions to protect public figures from impersonation and misinformation online.

The Government takes the threat posed by harmful deepfakes very seriously. Deepfakes, and other manipulated media, are regulated by the Online Safety Act where they are shared on an in-scope service and constitute either illegal content or content which is harmful to children. For the largest user-to-user services, AI generated content is captured where it contravenes terms of service. The Data (Use and Access) Act, which received Royal Ascent on 19 June, introduces a new offence for the non-consensual creation of sexually explicit deepfakes. It is already a criminal offence to share, or threaten to share, such content without consent.

Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the targeting of Iranian scientists by the IDF on British (a) science and (b) scientists.

Science, innovation and technology are inherently international. The UK continues to work closely with international partners to harness the power of science and tech for global benefit.We remain focused on ensuring stability in the Middle East. It is crucial that we now de-escalate the situation, stabilise the region, and get all parties back around the table to negotiate.We have taken all necessary measures to protect UK interests, UK personnel, and to work with our allies to protect their interests as well. We urge all British Nationals, including scientists, to register their presence and monitor FCDO Travel Advice.