Every parliamentary written question tabled by Victoria Collins this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 85 · Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Innovation and Technology, following the announcement on 26 May 2026 regarding the cancellation of later-stage Project Gigabit contracts, how many premises in Hertfordshire will no longer be eligible to receive gigabit-capable broadband connectivity under that programme.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, following the announcement on 26 May 2026 regarding the cancellation of later-stage Project Gigabit contracts, how many premises in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency will no longer be eligible to receive gigabit-capable broadband connectivity under that programme.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment her Department has made of the role of social media companies in facilitating online fraud and scams.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what steps she plans to take to include children’s perspectives in the policymaking process for generative AI.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what recent steps her Department has taken to develop AI content labelling to (a) support creatives and (b) reduce the impact of AI deepfakes on the creative industries.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the stakeholder engagement in relation to the consultation entitled Growing up in the online world: a national consultation, published on 2 March 2026; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) clinicians, (b) police officers and (c) social workers are included.
Alongside the consultation, which has had over 63,000 responses already, the Government launched a National Conversation to support broad and accessible engagement across the UK, including through schools, community settings and civil society organisations, ensuring a wide range of perspectives inform policymaking.The Department is engaging clinicians, police officers and social workers through existing networks, representative bodies and cross‑government channels, including organisations such as the British Association of Social Workers, and encouraging contributions to the consultation.
Innovation and Technology, in what way she plans to use responses to the consultation entitled Growing up in the online world: a national consultation, published on 2 March 2026, to inform policymaking; and how those responses will be considered alongside the findings of the expert panel convened as part of the same process.
All responses to the consultation titled: Growing up in the online world: a national consultation will be analysed and summarised, with a summary published on the GOV.UK website. Ministers will consider these views alongside evidence gathered through our National Conversation and stakeholder engagement across the UK with families, young people, schools, civil society and industry.These views will be considered alongside insights from an expert panel of academics, to help the department understand the information from the consultation in the context of the evolving evidence base. All views and evidence will inform the government’s next steps to improve children’s digital wellbeing and safety.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Growing up in the online world: a national consultation, published on 2 March 2026, for people (a) without technical expertise.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the Fraud Strategy 2026 to 2029, published by the Home Office on 9 March 2026, to tackle online scams advertising on social media.
While the Online Safety Act continues to be implemented, fraud is a ‘priority offence’ under the Act, with platforms already required to mitigate against criminals using their services and to remove scam content where appearing. Ofcom has existing robust powers to act where services do not fulfil regulatory obligations. In the Summer, Ofcom intends to publish its register of Category 1 and 2A services and consult on additional duties for these platforms to tackle paid-for fraudulent advertising. The Home Office’s Fraud Strategy was published on 9 March and so Government has not yet conducted a review of its impact.
Innovation and Technology, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle online scam advertising on social media.
While the Online Safety Act continues to be implemented, fraud is a ‘priority offence’ under the Act, with platforms already required to mitigate against criminals using their services and to remove scam content where appearing. Ofcom has existing robust powers to act where services do not fulfil regulatory obligations. In the Summer, Ofcom intends to publish its register of Category 1 and 2A services and consult on additional duties for these platforms to tackle paid-for fraudulent advertising. The Home Office’s Fraud Strategy was published on 9 March and so Government has not yet conducted a review of its impact.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the stakeholder engagement underpinning the consultation entitled Growing up in the online world: a national consultation, published on 2 March 2026; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) clinicians, (b) police officers and (c) social workers are included.
Alongside the consultation, the Government launched a National Conversation to support broad and accessible engagement across the UK, including through schools, community settings and civil society organisations, ensuring a wide range of perspectives inform policymaking.The Department is engaging clinicians, police officers and social workers through existing networks, representative bodies and cross‑government channels, including organisations such as the British Association of Social Workers, and encouraging contributions to the consultation.These views will be considered alongside insights from an expert panel of academics, to help the department understand the information from the consultation in the context of the evolving evidence base.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the accessibility of the consultation entitled Growing up in the online world: a national consultation, published on 2 March 2026, for people (a) without technical expertise and (b) with limited time.
The government is committed to ensuring that as many parents and young people as possible can take part in Growing up in the online world: a national consultation.The government has produced tailored and more accessible versions of the consultation for parents/carers and children, designed to be easier to complete and navigate, with over 45,000 responses so far.Through ongoing engagement on the National Conversation, ministers and officials will continue to host bespoke engagement reaching hundreds of civil society organisations, industry representatives, schools and community groups right across the United Kingdom, focusing on voices which are seldom heard and hard to reach.
Innovation and Technology, how responses to the consultation entitled Growing up in the online world: a national consultation, published on 2 March 2026, will inform policymaking on this topic; and how those responses will be considered alongside the findings of the expert panel convened as part of the same process.
Alongside the consultation, the Government launched a National Conversation to support broad and accessible engagement across the UK, including through schools, community settings and civil society organisations, ensuring a wide range of perspectives inform policymaking.The Department is engaging clinicians, police officers and social workers through existing networks, representative bodies and cross‑government channels, including organisations such as the British Association of Social Workers, and encouraging contributions to the consultation.These views will be considered alongside insights from an expert panel of academics, to help the department understand the information from the consultation in the context of the evolving evidence base.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the survey for children and young people as part of the consultation entitled Growing up in the online world: a national consultation, published on 2 March 2026.
The government is committed to ensuring that as many parents and young people as possible can take part in Growing up in the online world: a national consultation.The government has produced tailored and more accessible versions of the consultation for parents/carers and children, designed to be easier to complete and navigate, with over 45,000 responses so far.Through ongoing engagement on the National Conversation, ministers and officials will continue to host bespoke engagement reaching hundreds of civil society organisations, industry representatives, schools and community groups right across the United Kingdom, focusing on voices which are seldom heard and hard to reach.
Innovation and Technology, if she will hold discussions with (a) Starlink and (b) O2 on data protection.
All organisations providing services in the UK must comply with the UK’s data protection legislation, which is enforced independently of Government by the Information Commissioner.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made the potential merits of introducing content labelling requirements for AI-generated images and videos on social media platforms.
The government continues to explore the feasibility of technical solutions for the labelling of AI-generated content to support transparency, such as through the Deepfake Detection Challenge.AI is a general-purpose technology with a wide range of applications, which is why the government believes that most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use. In response to the AI Action Plan, the government committed to work with regulators to boost their capabilities. The government has been clear that we will legislate where needed but we will do so on the basis of evidence where any serious gaps are.
Innovation and Technology, what progress the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence within her Department has made in improving the procurement of digital services, including cloud, since its establishment.
The Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence (DCCOE) is responsible for delivering on the digital procurement recommendations made by the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee respectively. Since the establishment of the DCCOE we have made positive progress in addressing those recommendations, including:The DCCOE has recently concluded the successful agreement of an End User Device (EUD) aggregation purchase that allows participating organisations to realise cost efficiencies of approximately 11% versus current procurement arrangements.On cloud specifically the DCCOE is leading on efforts to transform the way we procure cloud services, in line with commitments made in the Blueprint for Modern Digital Government to "negotiate whole-of-public-sector agreements and contracting once for a limited number of high value cases, including platform services such as cloud".
Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the trends in the level of foreign acquisition of UK technology companies in the last five years.
International deals have remained constant at around 60% of total merger and acquisition activity since 2021, with a greater concentration in innovation-driven fields.Whilst this brings significant inward investment and unlocks funds to be reinvested back into our innovation ecosystem, Government is also taking steps to increase capital available from UK sources so that companies have the option to scale, grow and list in the UK. Measures taken to support this include increasing capitalisation of the British Business Bank and National Wealth Fund, launching a new Listings Taskforce, ongoing pensions reforms, and wider measures set out in the Entrepreneurship Prospectus.
Innovation and Technology, what proportion of a) government departments b) critical public services and c) critical national infrastructure rely on US-owned cloud infrastructure; and what assessment her Department has made of the risks to UK data sovereignty and service continuity this poses.
Survey results in the State of Digital Government Review state that around 55% of central government organisations reported that over 60% of their estate is now on the cloud. All survey participants indicated that they use one of two leading cloud providers, both of whom are US based.Critical public services, including those delivered by arm’s length bodies and local authorities, operate under a range of governance and assurance arrangements. Responsibility for digital infrastructure decisions rests with the relevant accountable bodies, and there is no centralised record of the proportion of such services that use US-owned cloud infrastructure.The government works closely with critical national infrastructure operators alongside our national technical authorities and industry partners. The government does not generally comment on national security or commercial matters related to CNI, including the use of individual suppliers.‘Data sovereignty’ could cover numerous UK interests, including but not limited to economic, security, resilience, privacy, and diplomatic considerations. We will continue to seek to balance these objectives in our approach, to ensure the robustness of our digital services. UK public sector buyers of cloud services are advised to review their technology requirements against the Technology Code of Practice and consider the specific risk management and controls they need when procuring those services.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of making the testing of AI models a legal requirement on the use of AI systems to create child sexual abuse material.
The government is committed to tackling the creation of this atrocious material. Creating, possessing, or distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content.We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators, and to ensure AI developers can directly test for and address vulnerabilities in their models which enable the production of CSAM.The Government is clear: no option is off the table when it comes to protecting the online safety of users in the UK.