Written questions by Wrigley.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's joint press release entitled Creative and AI sectors kick-off next steps in finding solutions to AI and copyright, published 16 July 2025, whether she will (a) publish the terms of reference for the expert working groups on AI and copyright and (b) set out (i) the expected number of meetings for each group and (ii) how she plans to update Rt hon. and hon. Members on the groups' outputs; and what consideration she made of the balance between UK based and non-UK based organisations in determining the membership of the groups.

We are establishing technical working groups to inform our approach to copyright and AI. They will be designed to bring together a range of experts and stakeholders across key issues, including transparency and technical standards. The terms of reference will be published in due course. This will set out the meeting structure for the technical working groups.We will publish a progress update before the end of the year, which will be informed by findings from the technical working groups.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential economic merits of increasing levels of transparency over copyrighted works that are being used by generative AI developers to (a) train and (b) improve the performance of their models.

The Government recently consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI), including seeking views on increasing levels of transparency over the use of copyright material in AI model development.The Government’s priority now is to consider all responses to the consultation, to help inform next steps. Alongside this we launched expert working groups in July, bringing together representatives of the creative, media and AI sectors, and convened a parliamentary working group on the issue.The Government will continue to engage extensively on this issue, and its proposals will be set out in due course.

Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's joint press release entitled Creative and AI sectors kick-off next steps in finding solutions to AI and copyright, published 16 July 2025, whether the terms of reference for the government’s expert working groups on AI and copyright will include reviewing the transparency of inputs used by generative AI firms to (a) train and (b) improve the performance of their models.

We are establishing technical working groups to inform our approach to copyright and AI. They will be designed to bring together both British and global companies, alongside voices beyond the AI and creative sectors. A range of issues will be discussed, including transparency in the development and deployment of AI in the UK. The terms of reference will be published in due course.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 35864 on Broadband: Devon and Somerset, whether her Department plans to take steps to help ensure that the physical infrastructure access pricing model encourages investment by alternative network providers in rural areas.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.In July, we published our draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services that sets out the Government’s view on infrastructure sharing in the fixed telecoms sector, including asking Ofcom to demonstrate greater transparency in how they calculate and set PIA prices.The draft Statement also sets out how Ofcom can continue to support the roll-out of broadband across the UK, including in rural areas, by promoting competition.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has had recent discussions with Ofcom on the costs of the per-metre charging regime to rural network builders.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.DSIT is engaging on this issue with Ofcom at an official level. In July, we published our draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services that sets out the Government’s view on infrastructure sharing in the fixed telecoms sector, including asking Ofcom to demonstrate greater transparency in how they calculate and set PIA prices.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 62291 on Broadband: Newton Abbot, what steps her Department is taking to expand broadband coverage for rural communities with market competition.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.In July, we published our draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services that sets out the Government’s view on infrastructure sharing in the fixed telecoms sector, including asking Ofcom to demonstrate greater transparency in how they calculate and set PIA prices.The draft Statement also sets out how Ofcom can continue to support the roll-out of broadband across the UK, including in rural areas, by promoting competition.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the outage of Amazon Web Services in October 2025 on the technology sector.

DSIT has communicated with AWS extensively throughout and in the immediate aftermath of the outage, to understand the situation and to ensure recovery was underway. All services have since been restored and we remain in regular contact with AWS.We continue to work across government and with businesses to understand the full impact of the outage, identify lessons, and look at how we can mitigate impacts and ensure resilience in future.The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will protect the services the public rely on to go about their normal lives. This will include expanding the scope of the regulations to include more types of essential and digital services and making sure they adhere to robust cyber security practices.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the outage of Amazon Web Services in October 2025 on Government web services.

I refer the hon. Member for Newton Abbot to the answer given on 27 October 2025 to Question 83776.

Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to implement a centralised issuance with decentralised data architecture model for a national digital identity system.

The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID credential by the end of the year, seeking views on the design, build and delivery of the system.We will work closely with expert stakeholders, including the Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Cyber Security Centre, to make the programme as effective and secure as possible. Our approach will involve a federated data model, to ensure privacy and security.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2025 to Question 76118 on Digital Technology: Older People, what recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle the impact of digital exclusion on elderly people.

Tackling digital exclusion, which disproportionately impacts certain demographics including older people, is a priority for Government.That is why we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, which includes older people. Applications will be notified of the outcome in late October, as outlined in the key dates section of the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund - GOV.UK.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on sovereign AI capability through public sector procurement contracts since 10 September 2025.

Ministers and officials regularly meet with their counterparts in other departments to discuss important matters, such as sovereign AI capability and procurement policy The Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence, established earlier this year following the publication by DSIT of ‘A blueprint for modern digital government’, plays an important role in shaping best practice in relation to technology procurement policy.

Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the number of people who are considered digitally excluded in (a) the South West and (b) the UK.

We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and the evidence base is significant but fragmented. Ofcom data from 2025 reports that 5% of households in the UK do not have access to the internet and that, in the South West of England, 7% of the population do not use the internet. That is why we launched the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February of this year, which sets out the first five actions we are taking to boost digital inclusion in every corner of the UK, including the South West of England.One of these actions was to develop robust headline indicators to monitor progress and inform future digital inclusion interventions. We will evaluate the outcomes of these actions as our understanding of best practice evolves.

Innovation and Technology, what definition of digital inclusion her Department uses for monitoring progress against the Digital Inclusion Action Plan.

We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and the evidence base is significant but fragmented. Ofcom data from 2025 reports that 5% of households in the UK do not have access to the internet and that, in the South West of England, 7% of the population do not use the internet. That is why we launched the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February of this year, which sets out the first five actions we are taking to boost digital inclusion in every corner of the UK, including the South West of England.One of these actions was to develop robust headline indicators to monitor progress and inform future digital inclusion interventions. We will evaluate the outcomes of these actions as our understanding of best practice evolves.

Innovation and Technology, what potential providers in the private sector her Department has had discussions with on the GOV.UK Wallet policy.

Since the announcement of the GOV.UK Wallet in January, DSIT has met with providers of digital identity services on multiple occasions. This included events on 14th May and 29th July, the first of which was attended by over 60 representatives from the sector and follow up meetings with individual companies who requested it to discuss technical elements of the GOV.UK Wallet development.The GOV.UK Wallet is being designed, built and run in-house whilst ​​maintaining​​ a key role for the private sector​, which will provide the data flow between the information in the GOV.UK Wallet, and the organisation (such as a retailer) who needs to check information about the user. Any additional specialist external services may be needed to support delivery and will be subject to the usual competitive processes.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 63915 on Digital Technology: Proof of Identity, what discussions the government has had with private sector bodies regarding digital ID venders.

The Government will start a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year and has naturally begun engaging with key stakeholders, including charities, trade unions, trade bodies and associations, businesses and local government leaders already. We will continue to engage through the consultation period and beyond to support product delivery. We expect it to be designed, built and run by in-house Government teams, not outsourced to external suppliers. In the event any specialist external services or expertise are procured to support the delivery of new digital ID, this will be subject to all the usual competitive processes to ensure transparency, and value for the taxpayer. The Government is also keen to learn from other countries that implemented successful digital ID programmes. The Rt Hon Pat McFadden travelled to Estonia in August to understand more about the Estonian digital ID system.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has had discussions with (a) Apple, (b) Google and (c) other technology companies on delivering digital identity schemes.

The Government will start a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year and has naturally begun engaging with key stakeholders, including charities, trade unions, trade bodies and associations, businesses and local government leaders already. We will continue to engage through the consultation period and beyond to support product delivery. We expect it to be designed, built and run by in-house Government teams, not outsourced to external suppliers. In the event any specialist external services or expertise are procured to support the delivery of new digital ID, this will be subject to all the usual competitive processes to ensure transparency, and value for the taxpayer. The Government is also keen to learn from other countries that implemented successful digital ID programmes. The Rt Hon Pat McFadden travelled to Estonia in August to understand more about the Estonian digital ID system.

Innovation and Technology, which organisations her Department has met with as part of the development of digital identity proposals.

The Government will start a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year and has naturally begun engaging with key stakeholders, including charities, trade unions, trade bodies and associations, businesses and local government leaders already. We will continue to engage through the consultation period and beyond to support product delivery. We expect it to be designed, built and run by in-house Government teams, not outsourced to external suppliers. In the event any specialist external services or expertise are procured to support the delivery of new digital ID, this will be subject to all the usual competitive processes to ensure transparency, and value for the taxpayer. The Government is also keen to learn from other countries that implemented successful digital ID programmes. The Rt Hon Pat McFadden travelled to Estonia in August to understand more about the Estonian digital ID system.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 63915 on Digital Technology: Proof of Identity, for what reason the Government has now taken such steps.

The Government has announced plans for a new national digital identity credential to be available to UK citizens and legal residents aged 16 and over. This will make it easier for people to securely access the services they are entitled to, where they want to, while also helping to prevent illegal working and deter illegal migration. Employers will be required to conduct digital right to work checks using the new digital ID by the end of this parliament.We recognise the importance of both cybersecurity and privacy. We will consult and engage on the practical operation of the scheme, and the data structures underpinning it, as it is developed. The data for the digital ID scheme will be federated, as doing so is good practice for things like this. That means most data will stay where it is already safely stored, such as in HM Passport Office or other government departments, and only joined up if and when needed.Following the Machinery of Government changes of 23/10/2025 policy responsibility now sits with the Cabinet Office.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of digital exclusion on elderly people.

Those who don’t have access to, or cannot use digital technologies, including older people and disabled people, are likely to pay more for certain transactions, have worse health outcomes, and find it more difficult to manage their finances. Knock-on effects of digital exclusion can include difficulty accessing essential services and isolation from their community.That’s why in February, we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, which include older and disabled people.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of digital exclusion on disabled people.

Those who don’t have access to, or cannot use digital technologies, including older people and disabled people, are likely to pay more for certain transactions, have worse health outcomes, and find it more difficult to manage their finances. Knock-on effects of digital exclusion can include difficulty accessing essential services and isolation from their community.That’s why in February, we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the first five actions we are taking over the next year on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to launch the £9.5mn Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online, which we did in August. All funded projects will support at least one of the focus demographic groups, which include older and disabled people.