Written questions by Onwurah.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what step she is taking with his African counterparts to help ensure that women in the West and Central African banana trade are supported and employed.

The UK's Economic Partnership Agreements and Developing Countries Trading Scheme provide West and Central African partners with preferential access to the UK market, supporting growth, employment, and development of resilient agricultural supply chains. This preferential access has enabled West African banana‑exporting countries, including Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, to strengthen their position in the UK market, underpinning rural livelihoods in sectors where women play a significant role.We have also supported the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and worked with TradeMark Africa to strengthen trade corridors on the continent, including tackling the barriers that women face when engaging in cross‑border trade.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support industrial heritage.

This Government is proud to support industrial heritage, which is central to our nation's history. Last year, the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund supported a wide range of industrial heritage sites, including £1 million for the Woodhorn Colliery in Northumberland. We intervened to save the Ironbridge Trust in Shropshire, the birthplace of the industrial revolution, with a £9 million investment. Furthermore we recently announced a further £200 million in new funding over this parliament to protect and preserve heritage.

What assessment he has made of potential impact of the new US vehicle connectivity rules on UK automotive exports to the US; and if he will make a statement.

Given that the software rules apply from Model Year 2027 and the hardware rules from 2029, many manufacturers are still assessing their supply chains and how to remain compliant. This information is commercially sensitive, so I cannot comment on individual plans, but we continue to engage closely with UK industry to understand emerging impacts. The Government worked extensively with manufacturers during the US rule’s development and submitted a private response to the consultation. We remain committed to ongoing industry engagement and to working with the US and likeminded partners to ensure that any new measures do not create barriers between allies.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of her Department's (a) capital investment exposure to, (b) potential capital spending requirements resulting from and (c) overall investment portfolio resilience from an equity price correction in US stock markets.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) does not hold any direct capital investments in companies listed on US equity markets.DSIT’s capital portfolio consists of investments approved on a case‑by‑case basis against agreed criteria, and is primarily focused on UK‑based research, innovation and infrastructure programmes, as well as government‑sponsored bodies. DSIT's investments are monitored on a portfolio basis, including assessing market and valuation risks and considering any indirect effects global market movements on the Department’s assets.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for UK energy grid procurement policies of the Strider report on US grid dependency on Chinese components.

The protection and security of the energy sector is an absolute priority of this Government. My department is committed to working closely across Government and industry stakeholders to take forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable, innovative and secure. Investment in the energy sector is subject to the highest levels of national security scrutiny – we take a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing relations with China and will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must. As an open economy, we welcome foreign trade and investment where it supports growth and jobs in the UK, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements, and does not compromise our national security.

Innovation and Technology, how many projected jobs for each AI Growth Zone are (a) tied to building and construction of data centres, (b) permanent on-site operational jobs in data centres, (c) data-centre roles that can be done remotely either (i) within the UK or (ii) overseas and (d) other jobs that are expected to be created indirectly in the area.

Through AI Growth Zones (AIGZs), we aim to crowd-in tens of billions of pounds in private investment and drive growth, with AIGZs announced so far expected to create over 15,000 jobs.AIGZs are designed to accelerate data‑centre build‑out and attract substantial private investment, creating construction roles, permanent operational jobs, and wider indirect employment through supply‑chain growth and skills pathways. Each AI Growth Zone will also receive £5 million to support local AI adoption and upskilling, helping ensure communities benefit directly from new opportunities.Five AI Growth Zones have been designated to date, all expected to contribute to regional regeneration and the UK’s long‑term compute capacity. We do not make specific assumptions about the nature or geographical nature of jobs indirectly related to AI Growth Zones.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on (a) tackling the proliferation of fake AI generated Auschwitz photographs on social media and (b) the potential impact of those photographs on our understanding of the Holocaust.

The government is deeply concerned about the spread of antisemitic content and dealing with it is a priority for this government. We recognise that AI-generated content can undermine trust and spread hate online. Under the Online Safety Act (OSA), enforced by Ofcom, regulated services must tackle AI-generated content that is illegal (including that which stirs up racial hatred, is threatening or abusive, or otherwise meets criminal thresholds), or harmful to children. This includes where content is antisemitic. The Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom in October and November 2025 asking them to do everything possible under the Act to tackle this content.The department is exploring how to improve detection and transparency around AI-generated material, including through the Deepfake Detection Challenge 2026. We are also improving media literacy, encouraging critical engagement with and awareness of divisive and misleading content.The government continues to work with community groups and partners to challenge hatred and protect public understanding from harmful content.

Under what mechanisms is InterMarine able to sponsor Highly Skilled Worker Visas .

The basis on which UK employers holding a Skilled Worker sponsor licence can sponsor skilled workers to come to the UK is set out in the relevant Sponsor Guidance. This can be found on Gov.uk at: Sponsorship: guidance for employers and educators - GOV.UK

Whether recruitment agencies are permitted to sponsor Highly Skilled Worker Visas under current immigration rules.

The basis on which UK employers holding a Skilled Worker sponsor licence can sponsor skilled workers to come to the UK is set out in the relevant Sponsor Guidance. This can be found on Gov.uk at: Sponsorship: guidance for employers and educators - GOV.UK

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the procurement and contract‑management processes used for the Fuel Finder project; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that public money allocated to this project has been spent effectively and provides value for money.

A competitive and open tender process was run for Fuel Finder in line with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and government procurement policies and guidance. Evaluation criteria included quality, technical criteria and total cost. The Fuel Finder contract is managed in line with the Government Digital Service Standard and is overseen by Departmental project boards, following established governance arrangements and spend assurance processes that apply to all major digital and commercial projects. All of the above are steps taken to ensure an effective implementation and the project will continue to be reviewed to ensure value for money, minimising and managing costs carefully.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s-born women living in Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West constituency.

All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. Estimates can be made using ONS 2021 Census Data on how many women born in the 1950s resided in each constituency in that year.

With reference to his Statement UIN HCWS1044 on 11 November 2025, what procedures and circumstances led to the 2007 research report not being provided to his predecessor.

The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. This was because findings from a 2007 report had not been drawn to the attention of the previous Secretary of State as its potential relevance to the making of her decision was not evident at the time. The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. Retaking the decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached and on 2 December 2025 we committed to re-take the decision within three months.

For what reason the Cabinet committee on Science and Technology has been replaced with a committee on Digital and Technology; and how matters related to science will be considered.

The membership and terms of reference of Cabinet committees is decided by the Prime Minister, as set out on gov.uk and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology is a member of the Digital and Technology Committee. Matters related to science may be considered by a range of committees as relevant to their terms of reference.

What discussions she has had with mobile phone companies on improving anti-theft technology.

The Government is determined to crack down on snatch theft and other crimes which target people's mobile devices. It is working closely with industry and law enforcement to help reduce these crimes.The Government hosted a mobile phone summit on 6 February, at which all participants, including law enforcement, the Mayor of London, mobile manufacturers and other technology companies, agreed to collaborate in tackling this problem. Since the summit, the Government has continued to engage closely with relevant partners as they progress their work to develop solutions to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.The Minister for Policing and Crime and officials continue to hold discussions to monitor progress with relevant partners, including technology companies; most recently this month.

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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2025 to Question 83750 on Health Services: Innovation, what mechanisms are in place to monitor and evaluate the successful adoption and diffusion of health innovations across the NHS; which bodies are responsible for measuring this impact at (a) national and (b) regional levels; and how these findings inform future commissioning and policy decisions.

No organisations hold a statutory responsibility specifically to monitor or evaluate the rates of the successful adoption and spread of health innovation in the National Health Service. However, the NHS Business Services Authority, on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences, publishes the Innovation Scorecard every six months. This is of significant use to the NHS and has been published since January 2013.The Innovation Scorecard reports on the use of medicines and medicine groupings in the NHS in England, which have been positively appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). It reveals what NICE-recommended treatments are available at a local level within trusts and integrated care boards, as well as at national and NHS England region levels. Data limitations mean it cannot be used for performance management, but it does allow the NHS to identify variation, which, through discussion, can be explained, challenged, or acted upon.Several organisations organise additional detailed evaluations for specific groups of health innovations. For example, the Health Innovation Network (HIN) oversees numerous national programmes which monitor the uptake and spread of selected health innovations. This helps them, and NHS England, determine how best to improve the uptake of these innovations.Regionally, HINs also undertake monitoring and evaluation for selected innovations that they support. Integrated care boards and providers may also choose to conduct their own evaluations, using local data to understand whether innovations deliver expected improvements in outcomes or efficiency.

If he will take steps with the Office for Product Safety and Standards to ensure that regulations and repairability indexes for small electrical devices promote not only professional repair services but also end-user self-repair.

The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 require manufacturers of a number of products to provide certain spare parts to end-users as well as professional repairers. The Government continues to review ecodesign and energy labelling regulations for other small electrical devices as part of our ongoing programme of work. We are committed to introducing repairability measures, including those designed to support end-users, where doing so is appropriate.

Whether he plans to bring forward a strategy for dental health research.

The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).Whilst there are currently no plans to develop a dental health research strategy, the NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including dental research. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.The Department, through the NIHR, funds clinical academic training for doctors and dentists through the Integrated Academic Training Programme. This includes Academic Clinical Fellowships (ACFs) at the pre-doctoral level and Clinical Lectureships (CLs) at the post-doctoral level. Over the last five years, 91 ACFs and 24 CLs were recruited in dentistry.The Department also funds the NIHR Oral Health Research Incubator, which is a researcher-led initiative aimed at building dental research capacity at the national level.Ongoing research at Newcastle University is investigating the roles and skill utilisation of professionals in dental practice.In addition, investments in NIHR infrastructure support the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality translational, clinical, and applied research that is funded by the NIHR’s research programmes, other public funders of research, charities, and the life sciences industry. For example, through the NIHR University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre’s Oral and Dental Medicine research theme.

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.