Science and technology
Science and technology news from UK Parliament.
Lords debates the regulation of fertility treatment
Members consider adequacy of the law. Catch up
04 June 2026
MPs warn that Palantir’s increasing presence in the UK public sector is an “unacceptable point of weakness”
Palantir shouldn’t play such a significant role in the UK public sector, a new report by the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee warns, stressing that it’s not the only company capable of providing the ‘middleware’ required by public bodies.
02 June 2026
Lords debates King’s Speech
Members had five days of debate following the State Opening of Parliament. Catch up
25 May 2026
Committee endorse appointment of Sir Ian Cheshire as Ofcom chair at critical moment for the online safety regulator
The cross-party committee has produced a report setting out its endorsement of Sir Cheshire after holding a pre-appointment hearing on Wednesday 20 May.
21 May 2026
MPs call for statutory social media ban for children to tackle “addictive by design” platforms
The Education Committee today calls for a statutory ban on social media for children, alongside urgent action to curb features it says are deliberately designed to drive excessive screen use among children and young people.
20 May 2026
Placing public at heart of digital ID strategy only way to recover from botched launch – Home Affairs Committee warns
Weak policy development and a rush to announce left plans for mandatory digital ID doomed to fail and destroyed public confidence from the outset
19 May 2026
Committee publishes Government response to AI and copyright report
Communications and Digital Committee publishes the Government response to its report 'AI, copyright and the creative industries'
15 May 2026
‘The status quo is not acceptable’: Committee responds to social media consultation
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee publishes its response to the government’s consultation on “Growing up in the online world.”
14 May 2026
Biobank data leak: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee responds
Biobank data leak: Science, Innovation and Technology Committee responds
23 April 2026
Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz endorsed as UKRI Chair
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee has endorsed the government’s preferred candidate, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, as the new chair of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
23 April 2026
Science Minister and UKRI CEO give further details of research funding cuts
Science Minister and UKRI CEO give further details of research funding cuts
21 April 2026
Can low-energy computing help solve the AI energy crisis?
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee today launches a short inquiry examining whether low-energy computing could help tackle the rapidly rising energy demands fuelled by growing AI use.
16 April 2026
Committee presses government and UKRI for urgent clarification on science research funding cuts
The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Chair, Dame Chi Onwurah, has written to the Science Minister, Lord Patrick Vallance, and UKRI Chief Executive, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, seeking further detail on planned cuts to scientific research funding.
27 March 2026
Foreign disinformation: “the new warfare and open liberal democracies are sitting ducks”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) should give greater priority to fighting disinformation abroad, but even more importantly, the UK Government must work much harder to combat disinformation, which has the potential to seriously undermine our own democracy.
27 March 2026
Taxpayer losing tens of billions to fraud as government still lacks modernising ambition to fight it
The use of data analytics to tackle fraud and error is underdeveloped across government.
27 March 2026