Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the adoption of the AI Action Plan outlined in January; and how they intend to support its implementation in the future.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

We are committed to building an AI sector that can scale and win globally, ensuring global AI companies want to call the UK home, and boosting the responsible adoption of AI across all parts of the economy.

The Government welcomed the publication of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, accepting all 50 recommendations.

Progress has been made across a range of actions, including holding the first AI Energy Council meeting, signing an MOU with Anthropic, and opening the formal AI Growth Zone application process. We will continue to work on all recommendations, such as bringing the AI Research Resource online; this includes the Isambard-AI and Dawn supercomputers and is expected to increase the UK's AI compute capacity by 30 times.

My department also continues to collaborate across Whitehall and engage with stakeholders as we implement the Action Plan.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implementation of fines or enforcement of compensation schemes on companies for the loss or theft of individuals’ personal data.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The law provides individuals with the right to claim compensation from an organisation if they have suffered damage because of it breaking data protection law, such as through insufficient security of an individuals’ personal data.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) cannot award compensation itself, and does not enforce compensation schemes.

Individuals should first seek to settle the claim directly with the organisation. If this does not resolve the matter, they would need to make a court claim for compensation.

In terms of the implementation of fines, the ICO decides which matters to investigate and whether investigations result in a fine. The ICO is independent of government and accountable directly to Parliament. It would therefore not be appropriate to comment on how it implements its enforcement powers.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards meeting their clean energy targets by 2030, and what assessment they have made of the impact of these targets on in high-energy-use sectors

Answered by Baroness Curran

We are making strong progress towards Clean Power 2030. Last month, the Prime Minister announced £300 million of investment to boost offshore wind supply chains, Ofgem approved major grid reforms to unlock investment and accelerate connections.

We have also introduced the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will speed up the approval process for nationally significant infrastructure projects. These changes will help deliver major infrastructure projects, including wind, solar, and hydrogen, in this Parliament.

The National Energy System Operators independent analysis shows that a clean power system will protect families and business from volatile fossil fuel markets, and can be delivered without increasing costs to consumers and business.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve infrastructure for autonomous vehicles to operate effectively.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Self-driving vehicles will need to be able to safely operate using existing infrastructure as is and therefore we do not anticipate any immediate changes in current road maintenance practices.

Road authorities may choose to develop their networks to maximise the benefits of new technologies (e.g. sending a warning of a hazard on a road).

National Highways are exploring the impacts of automated vehicles on road layout, lane markings and roadwork design, and digitisation across the Strategic Road Network (SRN).

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Premier League football clubs displaying gambling and betting sponsors, particularly those associated with gambling firms which do not hold a licence to operate in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Under current rules, sports organisations who engage in sponsoring and advertising arrangements with unlicensed gambling operators are at serious risk of committing the offence of advertising unlawful gambling under section 330 of the Gambling Act 2005. Sports organisations engaging in such arrangements with an unlicensed brand must ensure that online gambling activity for that unlicensed brand is blocked and inaccessible to consumers in Great Britain. Its officers may also be liable to prosecution in certain circumstances. If found guilty, they could face a fine, imprisonment or both.

The Gambling Commission is therefore clear that sports organisations must diligently and continuously ensure that they are not advertising unlawful gambling. In such instances, the Commission will seek assurance from clubs that they have carried out due diligence on their gambling partners and that consumers in Great Britain cannot transact with the unlicensed websites. The Commission may also take steps to independently verify effective blocking measures are in place.

We will be working with sport governing bodies to review their gambling sponsorship Codes of Conduct.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by the Financial Conduct Authority that one in ten people have no savings, and what assessment they have made of the implications for national financial security.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to supporting people of all income levels and at all stages of life to save. We know that financially resilient households are better placed to weather income shocks and manage variable incomes.

At the Budget in October last year we extended the Help to Save scheme, which encourages low-income workers to save regularly. The Government also extended the eligibility criteria to include all Universal Credit claimants in work, not just those earning above a certain threshold.

The Government has also committed to publishing a financial inclusion strategy later this year. Savings are part of the terms of reference of the new Financial Inclusion Committee which is supporting the development of the strategy, and the Committee has agreed to focus on emergency savings as a priority.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to invest in new energy infrastructure, and whether they intend to focus more on (1) renewable, or (2) nuclear, energy generation focus for future energy development.

Answered by Baroness Curran

The Government will enable investment in a range of generating technologies to ensure a reliable supply of clean power to meet rising demand. For instance, the UK ’s public finance institutions deliver a range of financing tools to support government policy goals in line with their government set mandates.

The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan outlines a path where renewables and nuclear will form the backbone of a clean electricity system by 2030, supporting the UK’s Net Zero target.

The UK is expanding its nuclear power offer. Nuclear power, as one of the most reliable, secure, low-carbon sources of electricity, is and will continue to be an essential part of the energy mix on our journey to net zero by 2050.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what initial assessment they have made of the effectiveness of their artificial intelligence tool 'Humphrey'; and on average, how much time per day it saves users of the technology.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The ‘Humphrey’ toolkit announced in January refers to a series of prototypes developed by the Incubator for AI to enhance civil servant productivity and improve government processes.

The Incubator has released an evaluation of Consult, a tool to analyse consultation responses, used in a live consultation with the Scottish government. Evaluation showed reviewing Consult’s themes is quick, with a median time of 23s per response. By reducing analysis time, Consult freed up time to focus on the implications.

In testing, Minute, an AI transcription tool, reduced the time taken to complete minutes for a 60 minute meeting by one hour, which users reallocated to more critical tasks.

Parlex, a suite of AI tools to analyse parliamentary developments, is still in early-stage user testing.

Testing with 282 users of Redbox, a tool to provide secure access to LLMs, suggested time savings for 89% of users. For the 269 survey participants who flagged the task they used Redbox most on, the median time saving on this task was 2 hours per week.

The Incubator for AI will be publishing upcoming evaluation results on AI.GOV.UK and via the new AI Knowledge Hub.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the launch of their artificial intelligence tool 'Humphrey', how they intend to regulate the use of artificial intelligence within government departments.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

A range of existing regulation already applies to the use of AI in government departments, including data protection law and obligations under the Equality Act 2010 (including the Public Sector Equality Duty). The Information Commissioners Office and Equality & Human Rights Commission have issued guidance on how to apply these regulations in the context of AI.

In addition to regulation, there is also a range of internal policy and guidance for how government uses AI, including the AI Playbook, and mandatory transparency policy under the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of investing in technology that uses artificial intelligence to analyse full body scans to aid in the early detection of cancer.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is testing artificial intelligence (AI) in areas that cause the most harm to health and to our economy. Through the £113 million AI award, a number of technologies that support with cancer detection and diagnosis have been tested.

The £21 million AI diagnostic fund was also focused on technologies that support with lung cancer diagnosis, such as chest x-ray and computed tomography scans.

On 4 February 2025, the Department announced that nearly 700,000 women across the country will take part in a world-leading trial to test how cutting-edge AI tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier. The Early Detection using Information Technology in Health trial is backed by £11 million of Government support via the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of scientists leaving the UK, and what steps they will take to attract scientists to the UK.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

While the government does not collect data on the exact number of scientists leaving the UK, the government is committed to ensuring the UK is the top destination for globally mobile research talent based anywhere in the world.

The UK boasts a world-leading science base, supported by top universities and research institutions, and has an ambitious funding offer through UKRI and the National Academies, which offer prestigious fellowships and professorships. On 19 May, the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering announced they will launch new Accelerated International Routes for their respective existing Faraday Discovery Fellowship and Green Future Fellowship schemes.

We keep our offer continually under review and will set out the details of any plans to enhance our offer in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that output in UK energy-intensive industries has fallen to a 35-year low, and of the impact of rising energy costs on that sector.

Answered by Baroness Curran

Ministers meet frequently with representatives of sectors to discuss challenges faced by manufacturers, including high energy costs. Government is committed to continuing to listen and engage with the sectors.

For Energy Intensive Industries overall, our Clean Power 2030 target is the key to long-term sustainable price reductions. Our mission is for clean power by 2030 because clean, homegrown energy is the best way to protect billpayers and boost Britain's energy independence. We are also already bringing energy costs for UK industries closer in line with other major economies through the British Industry Supercharger. This fully exempts eligible firms from certain costs linked to renewable energy policies, particularly those exposed to the high cost of electricity. Government will always keep support under review based on the needs of industry.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the practice of importing energy from other countries during periods of high demand; and what assessment they have made of how that practice affects the stability of the UK's energy supply.

Answered by Baroness Curran

Importing cheaper electricity during peak times reduces the need to turn on carbon-intensive domestic generation. By providing access to a more diverse generation pool that complements our domestic energy mix, interconnectors can help to ensure security of supply in a range of conditions. Our transition to clean energy is carefully managed through the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, which sets out how we will maintain energy security while delivering a decarbonised grid/power system.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect intellectual property from being used in the training of artificial intelligence technology.

Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Copying protected material continues to infringe copyright unless it is licensed, or an exception applies.

The Government recently consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI). Its priority now is to complete the analysis of the consultation responses which will help inform next steps in this area.

The Government will continue to engage extensively on this issue and its proposals will be set out in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how new trade agreements with the European Union will uphold the outcome of the 2016 EU referendum.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016, and this government respects that result. This government has closed deals in the national interest with the USA, India and the EU as an independent, sovereign nation.

The renewed agenda we have agreed with the EU looks to build upon the 2020 Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The 2025 agreement covers a wide range of areas such as energy cooperation, SPS and a security and defence partnership. This package delivers for the British people, without compromising on our red lines - no return to the customs union, no return to freedom of movement and no re-joining the single market.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of updating IT systems to reflect adjustments to the rate of student loan repayments.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The department is responsible for setting the current interest rates for student loans in the UK. These rates are updated annually each September and are primarily linked to inflation, using the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) is a wholly owned government company which delivers student finance services to students on behalf of the four UK governments. In line with government policy, the SLC manages interest rate adjustments for all existing repayment plan types as part of the business processes at SLC. The estimated cost associated with these changes is approximately £50,000 per annum though it is difficult to separate these adjustments from other business processes. SLC makes changes across multiple external and internal sites to ensure consistent communication is provided with customers, which includes the system updates necessary to make accurate and up-to-date interest calculations.