Written questions by Onwurah.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of a) the US Cloud Act and b) the EU AI Act; and whether she has plans to bring forward similar legislation.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, whether (a) her Department and (b) its Arm’s Length Bodies have financially supported the development of any technical solutions to protect the creative industries from unauthorised AI scraping.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the potential impact of Openreach pricing on the Government’s strategic priorities for the telecoms sector.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of targeted wholesale discounts by Openreach on alternative network providers' investment in full-fibre infrastructure.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, whether companies that have breached UK copyright law are eligible for funds from the Sovereign AI Unit.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, how many positions on standards bodies does the department currently fund and how many will be funded in 2030 following the implementation of the UK's Digital Standards Strategy.

The Department participates in various international standards development organisations (SDOs), including the International Telecommunication Union, European Telecommunication Standards Institute and Internet Engineering Task Force, in line with the UK’s...

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the definition and application of trusted supplier in relation to cellular Internet of Things (IoT) modules.

Connected device security requires a layered approach that includes software, hardware and the processes that protect these devices against attack. Manufacturers of smart tech should use the device security principles, produced by the National Cyber Secur...

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to WPQ 126560, whether Nscale will still be investing in the North East AI growth zone.

The government continues to work closely with the Combined Authority and commercial partners regarding the delivery of the North East AI Growth Zone. Discussions with individual companies are commercially sensitive, and we will provide further updates in due course.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to encourage (a) UK and (b) international technology firms to invest in AI and digital innovation clusters in the North East of England.

The Government is committed to driving regional growth by attracting AI and digital investment across the UK, including in the North East of England. The North East AI Growth Zone will provide secure, dedicated compute infrastructure, supporting innovation and productivity and helping to unlock significant long‑term economic growth. The Zone has already attracted substantial private investment, including £10 billion from Blackstone.Alongside this, we are investing up to £500 million through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to grow high‑potential innovation clusters in 17 regions across the UK. This includes £30 million for the North East, empowering local leaders to target R&D investment, attract private funding and create jobs.

Innovation and Technology, what role science diplomacy plays in the Government’s strategy for achieving UK technology sovereignty; and whether the UK intends to pursue shared leadership arrangements with international partners where appropriate.

Science diplomacy plays an important role in building UK technology sovereignty through international partnerships with partners which strengthen our shared capabilities, resilience and security.Our Science & Technology Network, covering 65 locations, is a core pillar of the UK’s science diplomacy toolkit, which aims to develop and strengthen our partnership with international partners.We have science and technology partnerships with a broad range of countries including the US and EU, Japan, India, South Korea, Switzerland, France and Germany. We are also active members of multilateral fora including OECD, G7 and G20. These partnerships are part of helping us ensure sovereign strengths and strengths through stable collaboration.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure AI tools are safe by design to prevent the creation of child sexual abuse material.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department will take to prevent further withdrawal of planned AI investment from the UK, in the context of OpenAI’s decision to pause its Stargate UK project.

Decisions on investment are a matter for private companies. The Government has been clear that it will encourage and support investments that will enable UK firms and people to benefit. Many of the large-scale AI infrastructure projects in the UK have been publicly announced, with most of these having press releases available on Gov.uk. The Government continues to engage across the board on these investments to ensure that they deliver the best outcomes for the UK. Our focus is on continuing to create the right conditions for investment in the UK’s AI data centre infrastructure. We are continuing to work with OpenAI and other leading AI companies to strengthen UK compute capacity.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of potential impact of science diplomacy in achieving UK technology sovereignty; and whether her Department intends to pursue shared leadership arrangements with international partners where appropriate.

Science diplomacy supports UK technology sovereignty by building international partnerships which strengthen our capabilities, resilience and security. This is underpinned by our Science & Technology Network covering 65 locations which strengthens UK growth, security and global influence.DSIT regularly assesses the impacts of our international collaboration on our science and technology capability. For example, internationally coauthored UK papers consistently outperform UK only research on citation impact.We have partnerships with a broad range of countries including the US and EU, Japan, India, South Korea, Switzerland, France and Germany. We are also active members of multilateral fora including OECD, G7 and G20.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the decision by OpenAI to pause its Stargate UK investment on the AI Growth Zone in the North East of England, and what action her Department is taking to maintain confidence among international investors in the region.

Since the announcement of the North East AI Growth Zone, there has been no change to energy pricing or the regulatory environment in the UK. We engage regularly with developers and other stakeholders for the North East AI Growth Zone and are encouraged that Cobalt Park are in discussions with a number of alternative offtake customers. The success of the AI Growth Zones programme is not contingent on any single investor. Five AIGZs have been designated with the potential to deliver £28 billion of investment from a diverse range of developers.The Government is delivering an ambitious policy package to support build-out of AI infrastructure in the UK. DSIT will set up a dedicated AI Growth Zone Delivery Unit providing a single point of contact for investors, accelerated planning and grid connection support, long-term business rates retention for host local authorities, and targeted energy pricing support.We are continuing to create the right conditions for investment in the UK’s AI and data centre infrastructure work with leading AI companies to strengthen UK compute capacity.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department must approve IT spend above a certain value.

Yes. The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, must approve all digital and technology spend above certain values.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has considered which aspects of (a) AI, (b) quantum, (c) space and (d) bioengineering the UK will seek to lead in.

The Government made a series of long-term commitments to developing UK leadership on AI, quantum, space and engineering biology through the Industrial Strategy and the AI Opportunities Action Plan.We have established the £500m Sovereign AI Fund to support UK AI companies at key parts of the AI value chain. Focus areas will continuously evolve but could include compute, novel model architecture, AI for science and AI safety and assurance.We recently announced the £1 billion commitment to procure a first-of-its-kind, large-scale quantum computer and announced on 4 March that DSIT will prioritise four space subsectors for development - Satellite Communications, Assured Access to Space, In Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing, and Space Domain Awareness.We are investing £644m into supporting the ecosystem for Engineering Biology including R&D, infrastructure and regulatory reform, to realise the potential of engineering biology across multiple applications.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the exclusion of UK tech companies from the EU Cloud and AI Development Act.

The PM has been clear that UK-European collaboration in science and technology is extremely important to the UK. We are engaging with European Commission to understand the development of the proposed EU Cloud and AI Development Act and assess its impact on the UK. We will utilise opportunities such as the upcoming UK‑EU Summit to discuss any issues we foresee with the EU Cloud and AI Development Act.

Innovation and Technology, whether the Government plans to increase technology collaboration with like‑minded international partners to support the UK’s sovereign capability in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

The Government is pleased to be working with international partners to support a thriving AI ecosystem in the UK, seizing the benefits of partnership and driving accelerated adoption of AI. Through international collaboration, including initiatives like EuroHPC, and actively attracting inward investment, including more than £30 billion announced during the 2025 US State Visit to boost the UK’s AI infrastructure and cutting-edge tech, the UK is positioning itself at the forefront of global AI. The launch of the £500 million Sovereign AI Fund on 16th April will build on this and ensure the UK’s world-class talent, research and data assets translate into long-term benefits for the UK and further consolidate our sovereign capability. The Government looks forward to exploring opportunities to go further, promoting collaboration on AI and emerging tech and unlocking opportunities for UK citizens and businesses.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has a strategy for achieving UK technology sovereignty; and if she will make a statement.

The Government seeks to build sovereign capability in critical technologies, as set out in the June 2025 Modern Industrial Strategy and the accompanying Digital and Technologies Sector Plan. This approach reflects the importance of strengthening domestic capability in key areas to support the UK’s economic competitiveness, as well as to enhance national security and resilience.

Innovation and Technology, whether she is working on a common definition of technology, AI and digital sovereignty for use a) within her department b) across government.

This is a highly complex and evolving policy area with no single internationally agreed definition. Countries use the term differently depending on their economic, security, resilience and diplomatic priorities. As this is an area of policy that covers numerous UK interests, we are working through the issues involved, both within DSIT and across government.