Written questions by Onwurah.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department is funding research into (a) sensory processing sensitivity and (b) mitigations for that sensitivity.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects and strategic investments, including research into sensory processing sensitivities, such as autism and ADHD. Research is funded by different Research Councils, including the Medical Research Council through its Neurosciences and Mental Health Board.Additionally, the Department of Health and Social Care funds health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes proposals for research into a range of conditions, including sensory processing sensitivity, at https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic

Innovation and Technology, whether Ofcom has made an estimate of the reduction in fraud on in-scope platforms from the Illegal Content Codes of Practice.

The Online Safety Act gives user-to-user and search service providers new duties for tackling illegal fraud. These duties took effect on 17 March. Providers will need to conduct risk assessments and ensure they put in place systems and processes that proactively tackle fraud. Ofcom set out details about how providers can comply with their duties in its illegal harms codes of practice. Ofcom will keep the effectiveness of its codes under review and strengthen the codes as needed. The department is not aware of any specific estimate for fraud reduction by Ofcom.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to publish a written response to the recommendations of the independent report entitled What works to attract and retain people into R&D careers, published on 10 February 2025.

The Government does not typically publish responses to independent research reports. The recommendations made by the Behavioural Insights Team in this report will be considered as part of the Department’s ongoing policy development to support our ambitions for the UK’s R&D workforce and to drive national and regional growth through R&D.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to help ensure that tax incentives for science and technology are used to promote innovation.

Research and development (R&D) tax reliefs are vital to economic growth, and will support an estimated £56 billion of business R&D expenditure a year by 2029-30.In the Corporate Tax Roadmap, the Government committed to strengthening the administration of the reliefs by continuing to improve guidance, establishing an expert advisory panel, and publishing a consultation on widening the use of advance clearances. An R&D disclosure facility was launched at the end of 2024.HMT is the lead department for taxation policy including R&D tax reliefs. The Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have regular discussions on a range of issues.

Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions his Department has had with trade unions on the digitalisation of Government.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology regularly discusses workforce matters with trade unions.

Innovation and Technology, which organisations are responsible for (a) the development and (b) the maintenance of the (i) Scout, (ii) Connect, and (iii) Humphrey AI tools.

The Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI), which is part of the Government Digital Service, developed these tools. i.AI maintains Connect and the Humphrey GovAI toolkit. Scout will be maintained by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using procurement to support open source software development in the UK.

The UK has a strong open-source ecosystem, which has helped drive innovation and distribute the benefits of technology widely. The AI Opportunities Action Plan outlines how the government will maximise the potential for AI, including its support for open-source development. This includes the government's agreement to support open-source solutions when procuring AI models and other software for public sector use where appropriate. As a result, we are working closely with and engaging the open-source community to benefit from open-source innovation through appropriately sourced models and other technical solutions. The principles of being open and using open source has been part of the Government's Technology Code of Practice for some time, and continues to be one of our core principles.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of open source AI on the economy.

The UK has a strong open-source ecosystem and we recognise how open source can help support economic growth and innovation. The AI Opportunities Action Plan includes measures to help maximise this potential, including through commitments around open sourcing where possible in the development and deployment of AI tools in the public sector.Open source can also boost transparency and support AI safety research. The UK Government will carefully balance these important benefits alongside the risks that AI can bring as it develops its regulatory approach.

Innovation and Technology, how much public money has been allocated for the development and maintenance of the AI tools (a) Scout, (b) Connect, and (c) Humphrey; and from which departmental budgets those funds have been drawn.

One of the functions of the new Government Digital Service is to incubate AI products and scale them into cross government services. As part of this funding for the development of Connect and Humphrey will come from the budget of the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence, which sits within DSIT's overall operating budget. The level of funding is subject to the department’s settlement at Spending Review. Currently other departments are not charged for use of these tools, though the department will determine an appropriate operating model on finalisation of the Spending Review. Following a handover of the tool, future budgetary decisions for Scout will belong to the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) resilience and (b) reliability of cloud services, in the context of its plans to designate cloud services as Critical National Infrastructure.

The Government process for designating infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) requires an assessment of the sector’s resilience, and its reliability, in performing its essential function to society and the economy. This was assessed prior to the designation of cloud infrastructure as CNI in September 2024.Cloud computing services have also been subject to the security requirements of the Network & Information Systems (NIS) Regulations since 2018 and are subject to ongoing oversight by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This will be further strengthened by the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which will give the ICO additional regulatory powers for the sector.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 23744 on UK Research and Innovation: Staff, whether Innovate UK has made an assessment of the value for money of business growth advisors funded by Innovate UK.

UKRI continuously evaluates the impact of investments across its portfolio to ensure value for money and effectiveness. Innovate UK Business Growth, which includes the business growth advisors, has been independently evaluated multiple times since its inception in 2015, consistently demonstrating overall benefits. For example, the latest evaluation of the scaleup programme found a return on investment of 10:1. The overall remit, size and scope of the service has continued to evolve to respond to evolving demands and market conditions. We are reviewing all the support Innovate UK offers businesses to ensure it is as effective as possible at driving economic growth.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 23744 on UK Research and Innovation: Staff, how many business growth advisors operate in each region.

The funding for IUK Business Growth core advisory activities for 2024-25 is £41.8m, servicing approximately 10,000 innovative businesses a year with light touch Growth, or more intensive High Growth/Scaling support, this data is published as part of Innovate UK’s “Transparency data”. The Business Growth advisors (Full Time Equivalent) per region is as per the table below, the group marked national work cross-regionally: RegionApprox. FTE% splitNational449%Wales225%Scotland163%Northern Ireland61%North7316%Midlands449%East8819%South West5311%South East4810%London7115%Total464

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 23744 on UK Research and Innovation: Staff, how much funding Innovate UK has allocated for business growth advisors in the 2024-25 financial year.

The funding for IUK Business Growth core advisory activities for 2024-25 is £41.8m, servicing approximately 10,000 innovative businesses a year with light touch Growth, or more intensive High Growth/Scaling support, this data is published as part of Innovate UK’s “Transparency data”. The Business Growth advisors (Full Time Equivalent) per region is as per the table below, the group marked national work cross-regionally: RegionApprox. FTE% splitNational449%Wales225%Scotland163%Northern Ireland61%North7316%Midlands449%East8819%South West5311%South East4810%London7115%Total464

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the SEPs Resource Hub launched by the IPO in October 2024 on small and medium enterprises.

From its launch on 22 July 2024 to 15 January 2025, the Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) Resource Hub has been accessed by 869 unique users. The IPO has sought feedback from stakeholders to assess whether they have accessed, understood, and implemented the Resource Hub’s guidance. Stakeholders have indicated that the Hub has helped to reduce uncertainty around FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) licensing, particularly for small and medium enterprises, and encourage more informed negotiations between SEP holders and implementers. Further evaluation is being undertaken, both to help make improvements to the Hub and assess whether intended impacts have been achieved.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 27 December 2024 to Question 20613 on UK Research and Innovation: Staff, what are the duties of regionally-organised business growth advisers; and who pays their salaries.

Regionally organised business growth advisors (also known as innovation and growth specialists or scaleup directors) provide a comprehensive spectrum of innovation and commercial expertise to high-potential small to medium-sized innovation-driven companies. They help clients tackle priorities such as improving the innovation process, forging international business collaborations, becoming investment ready, and structuring for growth. Additionally, they act as a gateway to UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) range of support and significant regional, national, and international innovation resources.The salaries of these business growth advisors are funded by Innovate UK, which is part of UKRI.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2024 to Question 18934 on Government Departments: ICT, what the total value of the spend requests considered against the Digital Assurance Gateway is; and what the average time taken to consider them was.

The total value of the spend requests considered for the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and its Arm’s Length Bodies against the Digital Assurance Gateway as at the date of answering question 18934 was £98.2m. Consideration against the Gateway has been incorporated into a pre-existing weekly liaison meeting between Integrated Corporate Services and the Central Digital and Data Office and is dealt with via short discussions.

Innovation and Technology, whether it remains his policy to invest £2 billion over 10 years in engineering biology.

The government remains committed to supporting the UK Engineering Biology sector. DSIT will set out its spending plans in line with the Spending Review timelines set by HM Treasury, with departmental funding settlements being announced in the Spring

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Government’ press release of 25 September 2024 entitled PM tells US investors Britain is open for business as he secured major £10 billion deal to drive growth and create jobs, what the evidential basis is that the investment in the Blyth data centre will create 4,000 jobs.

Northumberland County Council expect this project to deliver over 1,600 direct jobs, including 1,200 long-term construction jobs, and over 2,700 indirect and induced jobs over the course of the development.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Intellectual Property Office publication entitled Standard Essential Patents: 2024 forward look, published on 27 February 2024, what his planned timetable is for the launch of the public technical consultation.

The Government recognises the importance of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) to the UK economy and the objectives published in February 2024 continue to underpin the Intellectual Property Office’s (IPO) work. Delivering against those objectives, the IPO launched its SEPs Resource Hub on 22 July 2024 to help UK small and medium enterprises navigate the SEPs ecosystem.The IPO continues to consider options that could help improve the functioning of the SEPs ecosystem. Any options requiring regulatory change would be part of a full, formal consultation. A final decision on holding a consultation would rest with Ministers.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to reform the regulation of Standard Essential Patents to support innovation and growth among UK technology small and medium enterprises.

The Government recognises the importance of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) to the UK economy and the objectives published in February 2024 continue to underpin the Intellectual Property Office’s (IPO) work. Delivering against those objectives, the IPO launched its SEPs Resource Hub on 22 July 2024 to help UK small and medium enterprises navigate the SEPs ecosystem.The IPO continues to consider options that could help improve the functioning of the SEPs ecosystem. Any options requiring regulatory change would be part of a full, formal consultation. A final decision on holding a consultation would rest with Ministers.