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 Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the tackling violence against women and girls strategy.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government has been clear that the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable, and we are treating it as the national emergency that it is.
The new VAWG Strategy will set the direction for the next decade, driving forward the Government’s bold ambition to halve VAWG within ten years. This is a landmark commitment that demands a truly transformational approach.
We are working tirelessly across government to deliver a Strategy that will set out bold, concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators and bring them to justice, and protect victims and survivors. It’s vital we get it right. We're working towards publication of the Strategy as soon as possible and I will continue to keep the House updated on its development and forthcoming publication.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to support innovators’ confidence in developing cell and gene therapies in the UK; and what plans they have to amend substances of human origin legislation to accommodate new innovations in the collection and use of substances of human origin products.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Substances of Human Origin (SoHO) Regulation Review Programme launched in 2024 to consider recent changes that the European Union (EU) has made to its SoHO Regulation ((EU) 2024/1938) as well as stakeholder proposals for legislation in this area. It is reviewing patient safety, the intra-United Kingdom and UK-EU supply of SoHO, innovation within the sector, and health inequalities.
A key principle of the review is to maintain compatible high levels of minimum safety and quality standards for blood, blood components, tissues and cells, human breast milk, intestinal microbiota, and blood preparations that are not used for transfusion, to support public health and the movement of SoHO.
A targeted consultation, planned to launch by the end of 2025, will give stakeholders the opportunity to share views and highlight key issues and opportunities. Once the review has concluded a decision will be made about potential changes to legislation.
In addition, recognising the transformative potential of cell and gene therapies, the Department has stood up an advanced therapies co-ordination group to create a joined-up ecosystem that will support the development, regulation, and delivery of cell and gene therapies in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of current legislation on substances of human origin on the UK’s ability to compete globally in life sciences growth and innovation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Substances of Human Origin (SoHO) Regulation Review Programme launched in 2024 to consider recent changes that the European Union (EU) has made to its SoHO Regulation ((EU) 2024/1938) as well as stakeholder proposals for legislation in this area. It is reviewing patient safety, the intra-United Kingdom and UK-EU supply of SoHO, innovation within the sector, and health inequalities.
A key principle of the review is to maintain compatible high levels of minimum safety and quality standards for blood, blood components, tissues and cells, human breast milk, intestinal microbiota, and blood preparations that are not used for transfusion, to support public health and the movement of SoHO.
A targeted consultation, planned to launch by the end of 2025, will give stakeholders the opportunity to share views and highlight key issues and opportunities. Once the review has concluded a decision will be made about potential changes to legislation.
In addition, recognising the transformative potential of cell and gene therapies, the Department has stood up an advanced therapies co-ordination group to create a joined-up ecosystem that will support the development, regulation, and delivery of cell and gene therapies in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have established a timeline for reforming substances of human origin legislation; and when draft legislation is expected to be published.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Substances of Human Origin (SoHO) Regulation Review Programme launched in 2024 to consider recent changes that the European Union (EU) has made to its SoHO Regulation ((EU) 2024/1938) as well as stakeholder proposals for legislation in this area. It is reviewing patient safety, the intra-United Kingdom and UK-EU supply of SoHO, innovation within the sector, and health inequalities.
A key principle of the review is to maintain compatible high levels of minimum safety and quality standards for blood, blood components, tissues and cells, human breast milk, intestinal microbiota, and blood preparations that are not used for transfusion, to support public health and the movement of SoHO.
A targeted consultation, planned to launch by the end of 2025, will give stakeholders the opportunity to share views and highlight key issues and opportunities. Once the review has concluded a decision will be made about potential changes to legislation.
In addition, recognising the transformative potential of cell and gene therapies, the Department has stood up an advanced therapies co-ordination group to create a joined-up ecosystem that will support the development, regulation, and delivery of cell and gene therapies in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to persuade the government of Israel (1) to allow humanitarian access to Gaza, (2) to ensure the protection of civilian populations and humanitarian workers, and (3) to end settler violence in the West Bank.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The UK has repeatedly made representations to the Israeli government to ensure that humanitarian workers are protected, medical and aid workers can do their jobs safely and to clamp down on settler violence and expansion. Working with our Australian counterparts, we developed the political Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel which launched at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 21 and secured endorsement from 105 states. On 3 October, the Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar and pressed him on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, among other matters. We will continue our engagement and keep these issues under review.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the finding by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory that the government of Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, what steps they intend to take to ensure that potential perpetrators are held to account.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to my answer of 7 October to question HL10739.