Written questions by Onwurah.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the pay gap between men and women working at UK Research and Innovation; and what steps he is taking to tackle that pay gap.

UKRI published its sixth Gender Pay Gap report in March 2025. The report describes the steps that UKRI is taking across the organisation, including developing inclusive recruitment and career progression strategies.UKRI’s mean gender pay gap has narrowed by 0.6 percentage points since 2022. However, the most recent data shows that the gender pay gap widened by 0.7 percentage points in the last year. This change is largely driven by the 2022 pay award, which increased the salaries of employees in research delivery roles to address external pay market pressures. There is a higher proportion of male staff than female staff within this cohort compared to the wider UKRI employee population. Actions to address this disparity are set out in the report; these include reviewing recruitment and selection process to eliminate biases and ensuring that UKRI’s practices are fair and inclusive for all.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of levels of research and development funding for sickle cell disorder.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) delivers a substantial portfolio of researcher-led projects and strategic investments, including research into sickle cell disease, for which UKRI had expenditure of approximately £0.2 million in 2023-24. UKRI also plays a key role in funding underpinning research which may not be attributable to a specific condition but will benefit medical research more generally.The Department of Health and Social Care funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Over the past five years, the NIHR have awarded over £6 million for research related to sickle cell disease.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has plans to instruct Ofcom to conduct an impact assessment of the decision to designate end-to-end encryption as a risk factor in their Illegal Harms Codes of Practice and illegal content risk assessment guidance.

The Online Safety Act does not ban any service design, including end-to-end-encryption. Under the Act, providers must risk assess the design of their service. Ofcom can only recommend measures in codes of practice that are technically feasible. Separately, Ofcom has powers to direct companies to develop and deploy accredited and accurate technology to identify and remove child sexual abuse material on private communications, but only when all other measures have not adequately addressed the risk.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure that Ofcom publishes details of (a) meetings and (b) correspondence with large social media companies.

Under the Online Safety Act Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety in the UK. In order to carry out its regulatory functions, it is important that Ofcom maintains regular contact with regulated online services, including large social media companies. Ofcom publicly consults on its draft guidance and codes of practice, and many consultation responses are published on its website, including responses from some regulated services. Ofcom is accountable to Parliament and is required to publish an annual report and accounts. Ofcom is also in scope of the Freedom of Information Act.

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 his Department monitors (a) UK research and development capacity and (b) the impact of reductions in funding by university departments on that capacity.

Research England engages regularly with leaders at all research-intensive universities on a range of issues including R&D capacity. The government is concerned about the potential impact of cuts by universities on UK R&D capacity and is monitoring the situation.We are determined to work with the sector to transition to sustainable research funding models, including by increasing research grant cost recovery as announced by UKRI last week. However, universities also need to take their own steps to ensure they are working as efficiently as possible and cost their research appropriately.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with (a) his international counterparts and (b) regulators in (i) Germany and (ii) Romania on (A) Online Safety Act 2023 and (B) foreign interference in elections.

International collaboration is crucial in tackling the global threat of online harms. DSIT Ministers and officials meet regularly with international partners to discuss online safety, including foreign interference in elections. Tackling foreign interference is crucial to uphold our democratic values, and we are committed to promoting a free, open and secure internet. The latest list of DSIT ministerial meetings (July – September 2024) can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dsit-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-meetings-july-to-september-2024

Innovation and Technology, whether he has carried out an impact assessment for the decision to delay implementation of measures in the Online Safety Act 2023 on fraudulent advertising for Category One services.

Ofcom expects to publish the draft Codes of Practice on the remaining duties on categorised services by early 2026, later than it originally anticipated. The fraudulent advertising duties rely on these codes being in force. Separately, the illegal content duties are now in force and user-to-user services must have appropriate measures to protect users from user-generated fraud. The government has published an enactment impact assessment for the Online Safety Act but has not carried out an impact assessment specifically on the timing of the fraudulent advertising duties coming into effect.

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, 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 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, 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, 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, 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