Question

To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what assessment has been made of the security, privacy and confidentiality implications of camera-, microphone- and AI-enabled smart glasses in areas of the Parliamentary Estate for which the House of Lords Administration is responsible; whether their use is currently permitted in the Chamber, division lobbies, committee rooms and other sensitive areas; and whether specific restrictions or guidance will be introduced.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede

New guidance on filming and photography in the House of Lords has recently been published and was communicated to Members this month. This guidance covers camera, microphone and AI-enabled smart glasses as well as other technologies. Recording is not permitted without appropriate authorisation.

In addition, a specific review of Parliament’s policy on the use of camera, microphone and AI-enabled smart glasses on the Parliamentary Estate is currently underway. The review is considering the implications of these emerging technologies and whether additional guidance is required. This work will bring together expertise from those responsible for filming and photography policy, physical and information security, privacy and data protection compliance and accessibility and reasonable-adjustment requirements, ensuring that any future approach appropriately balances security, privacy, operational needs and accessibility considerations. This review will engage with the Member governance bodies of both Houses as appropriate.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Anthropic’s decision not to provide its Claude Mythos 5.1 model to the UK AI Security Institute for pre-release testing; whether the Institute has subsequently been provided with access to that model; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the Institute has timely access to frontier AI models for independent safety evaluation.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

AISI maintains strong relationships with all frontier AI developers, that whilst voluntary, are bound by memoranda of understanding, and continues to test the world’s most capable models prior to their deployment. Only this month, we tested OpenAI’s most powerful model, GPT-6 Astra, before it was released to the public. AISI has tested dozens of models from leading AI companies, including OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Anthropic.

Question

To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what consideration the Procedure and Privileges Committee has given to whether the House procedures are sufficiently responsive to the speed at which artificial intelligence is developing; and whether the Procedure and Privileges Committee intends to consider piloting a regular dedicated topical question or other recurring scrutiny opportunity on artificial intelligence.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede

Existing procedures already provide flexibility for Noble Lords to scrutinise fast-moving issues, including by means of topical oral questions, Private Notice Questions, and Questions for Written Answer. The Government also makes regular statements, and Urgent Questions asked in the House of Commons may be repeated.

The Procedure and Privileges Committee has no plans to pilot a regular dedicated topical question or other recurring scrutiny opportunity focused on artificial intelligence, but the Committee is always open to considering proposals from Noble Lords to refine and improve the House's procedures.