Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of AI tools on the UK’s outsourcing and contact-centre sector, including the use of AI-driven customer-service systems; and what implications this may have for employment patterns and skills demand in the sector.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises that AI is transforming workplaces, demanding new skills and augmenting existing roles. We have launched the AI and the Future of Work Unit - a cross‑government function dedicated to ensuring AI delivers positive outcomes for the economy, jobs, and workers. We are preparing for a range of possible futures to ensure this transformation boosts productivity and opportunities and the Government launched an assessment of AI impacts on the labour markets in January 2026.
To build a digitally skilled workforce to support long-term economic growth, drive innovation and expand individual opportunity we are supporting AI Skills Boost to upskill 10 million workers in AI skills by 2030. We have already delivered more than 1 million AI training courses have been delivered to workers across the UK.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2026 to question 120026, if she will make it her policy to make a definitive empirical study specifying UK-wide GDPR impact on productivity.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the impacts of data protection legislation under review. As set out in the answer of 20 March 2026 to Question 120026, there is currently no definitive empirical study that isolates the specific, UK‑wide impact of the UK GDPR on productivity since its adoption.
The UK’s data protection framework has been updated through the Data (Use and Access) Act, which makes targeted changes to the UK GDPR and related legislation to make the regime clearer, more proportionate and better suited to supporting responsible data‑driven innovation, while maintaining high standards of protection for individuals. In this context, the Government’s focus is on evaluating the impacts of the UK’s data protection framework as it now operates, including the reforms introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act.
We are committed to building the evidence base on how our data protection and wider data legislation affects businesses, consumers and the economy, including productivity, as part of our ongoing programme of monitoring and evaluation.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support UK researchers in the use of artificial intelligence, including measures to promote oversight and reproducibility.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are working with UKRI, universities, and other partners to ensure the safe and responsible adoption of AI tools while protecting research integrity.
Our AI for Science Strategy recognises that the integration of AI into research holds potential to be the single most impactful application of the technology, setting out 15 actions that will support UK researchers. That will include the provision of compute through the AI Research Resource; delivery of training and upskilling in AI methods; the creation, curation, and scaling of AI-ready datasets; developing access models for AI tools; developing autonomous lab infrastructure, and supporting research into the impacts of AI on the scientific process.
Additionally, the National Data Library will support the foundations for AI-enabled research by improving access to high-quality public sector data, alongside recently published guidance to help public bodies make datasets AI-ready.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure resilience against future memory chip shortages.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of memory chips to our economy and critical sectors. We regularly engage with industry to monitor supply chain vulnerabilities and understand potential risks across all chip types. Given the global nature of semiconductor supply chains, the UK is working closely with international partners bilaterally and through multilateral fora – such as the G7 and OECD - to strengthen collective resilience, improve information‑sharing, and develop coordinated approaches to supply chain challenges.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the extent to which foreign-owned technology platforms operating in the UK may be compelled by overseas governments to share user data; and what steps she is taking to protect against espionage and national security risks arising from such arrangements.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All organisations processing personal data in the UK must comply with the UK’s data protection framework.
The UK has strong safeguards to ensure that data is collected and handled responsibly and securely. Companies registered in the UK are subject to our legal framework and regulatory jurisdiction. Personal data transfers abroad are subject to a high level of legal protection. Failure to comply can result in enforcement action.
As threats to UK data evolve our response will be agile and proportionate. We actively monitor threats to UK data and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary to protect our national security.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the consistency between the number of beagles licensed for use in scientific experiments approved by the Home Office between January and December 2025 and the Government's Replacing Animals in Science strategy published in November 2025.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
No assessment has been made of the of the consistency between the number of beagles licensed for use in scientific experiments approved by the Home Office between January and December 2025 and the Government's Replacing Animals in Science strategy. The Labour Manifesto commits to partnering with scientists, industry and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing. It is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements for their use. Any work to phase out animal testing must be science-led, in lock step with partners.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that online platforms tackle fraud on their services.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act lists fraud as a priority offence, meaning that in-scope services must now prevent and minimise user-generated fraud content from appearing on their platforms, and swiftly remove it if it does.
Services designated by Ofcom as Category 1 and 2A (large user-to-user and large search services respectively) will have additional duties to tackle paid-for fraudulent advertising. Ofcom aims to publish its categorisation register, and to consult on the additional duties for categorised services – including on fraudulent advertising - around July 2026.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to tackle online hate speech.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act requires platforms to tackle illegal content and protect children from harmful content, including that which is hateful and abusive. For large user-to-user platforms, known as ‘Category 1’ services, it will also provide adult users with more protections from hate speech by offering them more choice over the types of content they engage with, filter content from non-verified accounts and hold platforms to account for their terms of service. Ofcom have robust enforcement powers to enforce these duties.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what was the total value of non-contractual severance payments across the department in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s first set of accounts were for 2023/24 where the expenditure on special severance payments was £99,390. Expenditure in subsequent years can be found in the relevant annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of safeguards implemented by the telecoms sector to ensure that risks arising from the migration of the Public Switched Telephone Network to Voice over Internet Protocol are mitigated for people, including rural communities.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the copper based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK, including rural communities. In 2024/25, there were over 2,600 major incidents on the PSTN, each affecting 500 or more customers.
In November 2024, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent customers to ensure access to emergency services for at least one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups of 4-7 hours.
In March 2026, the Government and industry agreed a new Fixed Telecoms Charter to extend these safeguards to all future fixed telecoms modernisation programmes.