Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for greater pricing transparency in the mobile and broadband sector where some deals are accessible only through negotiation at the end of fixed contracts.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Rt Honourable Lady to the answer given on 27 October 2025 to Question UIN HL10944.
People need to feel empowered when interacting with the telecoms market so they can be confident that they are getting a fair and transparent deal. DSIT’s Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom’s CEO on 31st October to ask for its assessment of telecoms consumer protections and what further action should be taken.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in considering legislation to regulate artificial intelligence, what powers they are considering in relation to superintelligent AI that poses a threat to national security.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There is considerable debate and uncertainty around Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Superintelligence (ASI), but the possibility of their development must be taken seriously.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already regulated in the UK, and a range of existing rules already apply to AI systems, such as data protection, competition, equality and sectoral regulation. But it is clear that the most advanced AI systems pose distinct opportunities and risks.
The AI Security Institute (AISI) has already deepened our understanding of national security risks, but the Government remains committed to taking further steps where required to ensure that the UK is prepared for the changes that AI will bring.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to expand the advisory role of the AI Security Institute to include binding regulatory functions.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are hugely optimistic that AI will improve the lives of British people – but the most advanced systems pose distinct opportunities and risks. The AI Security Institute is committed to rigorous, scientific research into the most serious emerging risks from AI – including cyber and chemical-biological risks, criminal misuse, and risks from autonomous systems.
Most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use by existing regulators. A range of rules already apply, including data protection, competition, equality legislation and other sectoral regulation. However, we are committed to ensuring the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for greater pricing transparency in the mobile and broadband sector, specifically regarding the practice where some deals are only accessible through a negotiation process at the end of a fixed-term contract.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has not undertaken a specific assessment, however we engage stakeholders, including Citizens Advice, who conduct relevant research.
Government also works closely with Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecommunications, who have introduced a range of measures to increase pricing transparency. For example, since 2020 providers must issue end-of-contract notifications to warn customers when their current contract is ending, and what they could save by signing up to a new deal. In 2022, Ofcom introduced one-page contract summaries for new customers, ensuring clarity on key terms like price increases.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of current regulation of AI chatbots.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government believes most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use. Generative AI services, including AI chatbots, which allow users to share content with one another or search live websites to provide search results, are regulated under the Online Safety Act. In-scope services are required to protect all users from illegal content and children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.
Responding to the AI Action Plan, the Government committed to work with regulators to boost their capabilities. We are committed to ensuring the UK is prepared for the changes which AI will bring.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce statutory safeguards to ensure that AI chatbots cannot be used to simulate sexual activity or scenarios involving children.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to tackling the atrocious harm of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children – regulated services must remove illegal content and prevent children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.
We are committed to ensuring the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring. The government has introduced an offence in the Crime and Policing Bill which criminalises possessing, creating or distributing AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent findings of the Internet Watch Foundation about AI chatbots that enable users to simulate sexual scenarios with child avatars.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to tackling the atrocious harm of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children – regulated services must remove illegal content and prevent children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.
The government recognises the need to ensure our legislation keeps pace with changing technologies. The government has introduced an offence in the Crime and Policing Bill which criminalises possessing, creating or distributing AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. We will not hesitate to strengthen the law further, where necessary, to protect children.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce for minimum age restrictions for social media platforms to be enforced by Ofcom.
Answered by Lord Leong - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Keeping children safe online is a priority for the government.
The Online Safety Act’s child safety duties are now in force and in scope services must provide age-appropriate experiences for children, including using highly effective age assurance to stop children encountering the most harmful content. Ofcom, the regulator of the Act, has set out measures for services to take to comply with the child safety duties and will look to strengthen its codes in future iterations as online harms, technology and the evidence evolves.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have of the number of new jobs that will be created by building data centres in the United Kingdom over the next 10 years.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Data centres can be significant sources of employment, both during construction and to operate and maintain the data centres once completed. These include highly specialised jobs across IT, engineering, cybersecurity, and support services. Data centres also indirectly support employment in other industries, particularly in tech and AI.
My Department has not made a specific estimate of the number of jobs that will be created due to the substantial potential investment in the UK by data centre developers but is actively monitoring the sector. TechUK have estimated that by 2035 there could be 40,200 additional jobs directly employed in data centre operational roles and 18,200 additional jobs directly employed in data centre construction roles over the period 2025–35.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of research by the British Board of Film Classification, published on 23 June, that found that a third of UK pornography users reported exposure to violent or abuse material in the past three months, including scenes of physical violence and adults role-playing as children.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Creating a safer online world is a priority for the government. Services regulated under the Online Safety Act must take action to tackle illegal pornographic content, including extreme pornography, which is a priority offence under the Act. Children will also be protected from pornographic content through the use of highly effective age assurance.
Government departments are also undertaking detailed work to consider how best to tackle the complex set of issues raised by Baroness Bertin’s Independent Pornography Review.