Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the performance of Ofwat as an effective regulator.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Environment Act 2021 gave Ofwat new powers to strengthen existing licence conditions so that it can take enforcement action against water companies that do not make an explicit link between dividend payments and their performance for customers and the environment.
In May, Ofwat received an £11.3m funding budget increase from HM Treasury to treble its enforcement capacity. This additional funding, alongside commitments in our Plan for Water to bolster tougher enforcement action, will further increase Ofwat’s capacity to hold water companies to account and protect our waters.
Where companies fail to meet their obligations, regulators have not hesitated to act. Ofwat’s annual performance assessment process, and the automatic penalties that apply to companies who underperform, represents an excellent example of strong economic and environmental regulation. In November 2022, Ofwat announced financial penalties of £132 million applying to 11 water companies, in response to underperformance in areas such as water supply interruptions, pollution incidents and internal sewer flooding. Money from Ofwat’s penalties will rightly be returned to customers through water bills over the 2023-24 billing period.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the recommendations of the Rodrigues inquiry into events at the 2022 Champions League Final were applied by UEFA and the Turkish authorities ahead of and during the 2023 final in Istanbul.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has always been clear that an independent investigation was needed to establish what happened on the night of the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final.
The Government welcomed the outcome of the independent review, which reflected the experiences of fans that evening, and the action plan published by UEFA to implement the recommendations of that review.
The Minister for Sport, Gambling and Civil Society was in Istanbul to observe the delivery of this year’s Champions League Final by UEFA and the Turkish authorities.
Discussions with fan representatives and others indicate that UEFA’s engagement has improved from last year. We continue to consult UEFA, the FA, fan representatives and others to ensure that we can continue to learn lessons for next year’s final at Wembley, as well as the UK and Ireland bid to host EURO 2028.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the practice of planning authorities in granting or denying permission for insulation and installation of heat pumps in listed buildings.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
As set out in the British Energy Security Strategy published last year, the Government has undertaken a review of the practical planning barriers that households can face when installing energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures such as heat pumps, including in conservation areas and listed buildings. An announcement on the outcome of the review will be made shortly.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure that the cost of using electricity to heat homes and buildings will fall below the cost of using hydrocarbons.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government understands that green, lower-carbon products are more efficient and cheaper to run. However, current distortions in electricity and gas prices do not always make this the case. We want to make it easier for consumers to make the switch to green products, such as heat pumps, by ‘rebalancing’ prices between electricity and gas to remove these distortions.
In ‘Powering Up Britain’, the Government accepted the recommendation from the Independent Review of Net Zero that Government should commit to outlining a clear approach to gas and electricity price rebalancing by the end of 2023/24 and should make significant progress affecting relative prices by the end of 2024.
The Department will provide further information in the coming year.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the root cause of the nationwide failure of passport e-gates on 26 and 27 May.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
It has never been government practice, for reasons of law enforcement, to comment on operational issues relating to border security and immigration controls. This includes offering commentary on the performance of border systems and of ePassport Gates data specifically.
Border Force’s number one priority is to maintain a secure border, and we will not compromise on this, but we are committed to ensuring passengers have the smoothest possible journey they can. As we continue to deliver change to our border systems we are committed to ensuring that resilience is at the heart of everything that we do
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the new generation of NHS hospitals being planned or constructed will be insulated; and with what fuel they will be heated.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February 2023, NHS England published its ‘NHS Net Zero Building Standard’. The Standard provides technical guidance on achieving whole life Net Zero carbon including the electrification of heat and energy performance standards for new healthcare buildings and major upgrades. A copy is attached.
The National Health Service is committed to having a fully decarbonised estate by 2040. The new hospitals that will be delivered as part of the New Hospital Programme will be developed to meet these wider NHS Net-Zero-Carbon standards and underpinned by the new Standard. This includes a fabric first, highly insulated approach aligned with regulations and building safety requirements. The energy and fuel sources will vary from site to site, but the principles of low-energy and low-carbon are being embedded into each new hospital build.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of concerns expressed by (1) Dr Geoffrey Hinton, and (2) other employees of Google and Microsoft, reported in the New York Times on 7 April, about the risk AI technologies are being introduced before the risks can be fully assessed.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In March 2023, the Office for AI published a white paper on AI regulation. The framework proposes a proportionate, collaborative approach to AI regulation, and aims to promote innovation while protecting the UK’s values. The AI regulatory framework will ensure government is able to adapt and respond to the risks and opportunities that emerge as the technology develops at pace.
As part of the development of the AI regulation white paper, government officials heard from over 130 stakeholders, including civil society groups like trade bodies, unions, and rights focused groups, as well as academics and UK and global businesses at the forefront of AI development. This engagement included a focus on ensuring that the regulatory framework would be adaptable and responsive to emerging risk. Additionally in May 2023 our Secretary of State and I met with Dr Hinton to discuss AI risks and opportunities, and the role of government. The government is also working with international partners to address AI risks while promoting the UK’s values, including through key multilateral fora, such as the OECD, the G7, the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), the Council of Europe, and UNESCO, and through bilateral relationships.
While direct regulation of AI will remain the responsibility of existing regulators in order to ensure a context-based approach focused on outcomes, government recognises the significance of cross-sectoral risks associated with AI. The AI regulation white paper therefore proposed a range of new central functions, including functions intended to improve government's ability to anticipate, assess and respond appropriately to emerging risks such as:
Horizon scanning to identify and monitor emerging trends, risks and opportunities in AI.
Cross-sectoral risk assessment to develop and maintain a cross-economy, society-wide AI risk register to facilitate structured assessment of cross-cutting risks and allowing effective, coherent mitigation planning.
Monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the overall regulatory framework for AI is achieving its policy objectives and is future proof and adaptable.
These central functions - together with others as set out in the white paper - will complement the existing work conducted by regulators and other government departments to tackle risks arising from AI.
Government understands that a collaborative approach is fundamental to governments’ and policy-makers’ ability to tackle AI risk and support responsible AI development and use for the benefit of society. As set out in the white paper, we will continue to convene a wide range of stakeholders - including frontier researchers from industry - to ensure that we hear the full spectrum of viewpoints. The UK’s continued leadership and cooperation in international debates on AI will also enable the development of a responsive and compatible system of global AI governance, allowing us to work together on cross-border AI risks and opportunities. This breadth of collaboration will be integral to the Government's ability to monitor and improve the framework, ensuring it remains effective in the face of emerging AI risks.
We are in a formal consultation period for the AI regulation white paper and encourage anyone interested to respond before 21 June.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for British citizens of the evidence obtained by a Reuters investigation which suggests that Tesla employees have viewed and shared camera recordings obtained from Tesla cars in private domestic settings while the vehicle was not in use; and whether the viewing of such material relating to British citizens is lawful.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our data protection laws impose strict obligations on both individuals and organisations to process people’s data fairly, lawfully and transparently to ensure that any data collected is processed in a way which individuals would expect.
The UK’s data protection laws are enforced independently of the Government by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Organisations that fail to comply may be subject to enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Information Commissioner can impose significant financial penalties for non-compliance. The Data Protection Act 2018 also gives the ICO the power to prosecute those who commit criminal offences under the Act. Criminal offences under the Act include unlawfully obtaining, disclosing, or retaining personal data without the consent of the data controller.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of concerns that AI technologies are being introduced prematurely to customers before their potential risks can be fully assessed.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The AI Regulation White Paper, published 29 March 2023 set out a framework for regulating AI that seeks to balance the need to address risk and support innovation.
As part of the regulatory framework, the UK is proposing a range of central functions through which the government will monitor known and emerging risks as AI technologies evolve. This will support us in assessing the effectiveness of our framework to address AI risks, and identify gaps in our risk mitigation efforts. For example, we are creating a horizon scanning function and a central risk function which will enable the government and regulators to monitor future risks, including ‘high impact but low probability’ risks such as existential risks, or AI biosecurity risks, in a rigorous, coherent and balanced way.
Tools for trustworthy AI - including internationally developed standards, and assurance techniques - will play a central role in the implementation of the framework, especially for those technologies already being introduced to the market. Through AI assurance, businesses and consumers are better able to decide whether a product or service using AI is legitimate and trustworthy. Impact assessments, performance testing and, possibly, pre-release verification or certification against AI standards in the longer term, are a few of the assurance mechanisms that can help organisations innovate responsibly while also determining whether an AI system complies with applicable standards and regulations.
The collaborative, adaptable framework outlined in the AI regulation white paper will use the proposed central functions to convene and learn from the expertise of frontier researchers, industry, academics, representatives of the public and other key stakeholders as we continue to develop policy in this evolving area.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to assess the effectiveness of financial regulation in the UK following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
As the Bank of England Governor has said: “The sale of SVB UK highlights the workings of the regime to protect the UK financial markets and financial stability.” However government will, as expected, consider what learnings, there are from this case as we would with all cases of this significance.