Written questions by Norris.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to improve the safety of young people online in North East Somerset and Hanham.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support start ups in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22nd of December 2025 to question UIN 99476.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support AI development in the West of England.

The Government is putting artificial intelligence at the heart of our mission to grow the UK economy. We are backing British researchers and firms and catalysing regional AI clusters so communities across the country, including in the West of England, can benefit.We are opening a £250m procurement for the next phase of the AI Research Resource, our publicly owned supercomputers which can be used – for free – by UK researchers and business. One of the supercomputers, Isambard-AI, is based in Bristol and is one of the world’s top 10 public supercomputers and the 4th greenest.The Government will act as a “first customer” for promising UK AI hardware through an advance market commitment of up to £100 million, giving UK companies the opportunity to grow and compete. We are also backing British scale‑ups via a new Sovereign AI Unit, supported by around £500 million, and driving local productivity through targeted skills and business adoption programmes that help SMEs adopt AI and equip workers with essential AI skills.Together, these measures will place communities such as in the West of England in a strong position to seize the opportunities presented by AI.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support tech start-up companies to scale up in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

This Government is committed to removing barriers to growth for scaleups across the UK – ensuring the UK is one of the best places for tech to start, scale and stay.We are strengthening regional tech ecosystems through the Regional Tech Booster, a programme supporting startups and accelerating tech clusters beyond London. Furthermore, regions across the UK, including the West of England, can bid for up to £20 million via our Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) - a new £500 million UKRI-led programme to grow regional strengths.More broadly, we are supporting the sector through venture capital schemes, R&D tax reliefs, targeted visa routes, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and streamlining regulation to support innovation. Through the Budget, we are investing in skills, compute, and designated AI Growth Zones; on R&D, we are committing £38.6bn to UKRI over five years; and powering entrepreneurship with the Entrepreneurship Prospectus, Enterprise Fellowships, and Innovate UK’s £130m Growth Catalyst. We are unlocking finance via pension and capital‑markets reforms, while the British Business Bank increases annual investment to £2.5bn and commits £5bn to growth‑stage funds.Together, these measures set out a comprehensive, long‑term plan backed by record funding, to support growth across the whole UK.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support the life sciences sector.

This summer the Government published the Life Sciences Sector Plan, setting out how we will strengthen one of the UK’s most important sectors. The Plan focuses on enabling world-class R&D, making the UK an outstanding place to start, scale and invest in life sciences, and driving healthcare innovation and reform. Backed by up to £2 billion of public investment alongside funding from UKRI and NIHR, the UK is already securing multibillion-pound private investment, expanding manufacturing, streamlining regulation and clinical trials, and building new research infrastructure. The recent UK-US trade deal on pharmaceuticals will also ensure that British-based pharmaceutical and medical technology firms have the lowest-tariff access to the US market in the world, a major competitive advantage. The deal will also allow more NHS patients to access cutting edge new innovations.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of progress on improving broadband coverage in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Good progress on improving broadband coverage has been made in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, approximately 91% of premises in this constituency have access to gigabit-capable broadband (of 1000 Mbps or faster), this is up from 87% in 2024. This figure exceeds the UK average, which currently stands at 89%.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to phase out the LD50 toxicity test as an initial step to end animal testing.

The Government is committed to the development of non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year.Significant progress has been made on validating alternative methods, including the possibility of replacing mice by in vitro suitable cell cultures in LD50-type testing methods, and relevant regulatory quality standards and testing requirements have been revised accordingly for these specific medicines.The implementation of new tests for existing products must protect and prioritise human safety, often requiring extensive validation. It is not presently possible to replace all of the existing animal tests with in vitro non-animal replacements.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to improve the accessibility of government digital services in North East Somerset & Hanham constituency.

The Government published its Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025, which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year to boost digital inclusion in every corner of the UK, including North East Somerset & Hanham. These will be targeted at local initiatives for boosting digital skills and confidence, widening access to devices and connectivity, and getting support to people in their own communities so everyone can reap the benefits of technology. We are committed to ensuring government online and digital services are accessible as possible alongside exploring how to extend the scope of the standards further.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions her Department plans to have with industry stakeholders on the development of a roadmap for phasing out the use of animals in scientific research.

The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing” and the Government is drafting a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods.The Government has been consulting industry, academia and civil society as this process unfolds. Minister Vallance hosted a roundtable on 05.09.24 with industry representatives and officials have kept in regular contact with industry since then.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to improve digital inclusion in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The Government published its Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025, which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year to boost digital inclusion in every corner of the UK, including North East Somerset & Hanham. These will be targeted at local initiatives for boosting digital skills and confidence, widening access to devices and connectivity, and getting support to people in their own communities so everyone can reap the benefits of technology. We are committed to ensuring government online and digital services are accessible as possible alongside exploring how to extend the scope of the standards further.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to support research into artificial intelligence.

The Government actively supports AI research by collaborating with academic institutions and industry, investing in talent development, and funding research projects.UKRI has allocated over £1 billion to AI research including doctoral training, the Alan Turing Institute, Bridge AI, Responsible AI UK, and BRAID programmes.We are focused on reducing barriers to research through initiatives such as AISI’s Systemic Safety Grants Programme, which provides funding of up to £200,000 to innovative projects addressing AI risks.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve broadband coverage in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, over 98% of premises in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency have access to superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 86% can access a gigabit-capable (>1000 Mbps) connection. Remaining premises that are not expected to receive an upgrade through suppliers’ commercial rollout are being considered for support through Project Gigabit. Under a framework agreement with Openreach, we plan to procure a contract to deliver fast, reliable broadband to eligible premises in the area.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve mobile phone coverage in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The Government is committed to improving UK mobile coverage. Ofcom’s reporting shows that 92% of the then constituency of North East Somerset had 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, and non-standalone 5G is available from at least one mobile operator outside 94% of premises. I am aware that Ofcom’s data does not always reflect consumers’ experience at a local level, and I am intent on ensuring Ofcom takes all necessary steps to improve its accuracy.Our ambition is for all populated areas to have high-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and we are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help support (a) residents and (b) businesses without a broadband connection ahead of the proposed public switched telephone network switch-off in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The government is focused on ensuring that the industry-led switch-off of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) will cause minimum inconvenience to residents and businesses and is working with the industry to ensure safe and secure transition. A customer's PSTN landline will not be switched off unless an alternative connection is available, and since Voice over internet Protocol landline only requires a minimum stable connection, landline-only customers can order it without purchasing a broadband connection.The Department will shortly publish a definition of customers who will require additional support from their communication providers during the PSTN switch-off. This includes landline-dependent customers. The government has also published guidance on how residential and business consumers can prepare for the PSTN switch-off. The link for guidance is:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-transition-from-analogue-to-digital-landlines