Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the Welsh Government, and (2) the Scottish Government, about restricting or banning children from accessing social media; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which that ban in Wales and Scotland is the responsibility of those devolved administrations.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The majority of the Online Safety Act extends and applies to the whole of the United Kingdom, and most measures in the government’s consultation on children’s use of social media will too. The Government wrote to the devolved administrations ahead of the consultation announcement to inform them of the upcoming consultation and to welcome their views.
The consultation will be accompanied by a national conversation, and we want to hear from children and parents right across the UK, including in the devolved administrations. Every voice matters in shaping what comes next.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many jobs they anticipate creating in the AI growth zones planned for Wales; and by what year such employment will be achieved.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
AI Growth Zones will bring thousands of new jobs and millions of pounds in investment right to the places that need it most.
In North Wales, we anticipate 3,450 jobs will be created, and in South Wales we expect at least 5,000 jobs will be created - spanning construction, temporary roles and high-skilled engineering and technical roles.
Job creation will commence as infrastructure works progress, with full delivery of this infrastructure projected by the early 2030s.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government by what year 99 per cent of Wales will have 5G reception.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The rollout of 5G infrastructure is commercially driven and government does not hold data on where, or when, future rollout of mobile infrastructure will take place.
Government has a clear ambition for all populated areas to have higher quality 5G standalone connectivity by 2030. All three mobile network operators have committed significant investment across the UK working towards achieving this.
In Ofcom’s Connected Nations Annual Report 2025 (published November 2025), which shows coverage as of July 2025, 5G coverage is already present outside of 91% of premises across Wales, and that standalone 5G is available outside of 59% of premises
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of cyberattacks to each subsector of the manufacturing industries for which they have data.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Earlier this month, the government published a set of independent research reports quantifying the impact of cyber attacks on the UK economy. While the government does not hold sub-sectoral data, the KPMG report Economic Modelling of Sector Specific Costings of Cyber Attacks estimates the cost of cyber attacks to individual businesses, broken down by down sector and size.
The report estimates the manufacturing sector suffers some of the highest costs when compared to other sectors, with a significant cyber attack on a UK manufacturing organisation resulting in an average cost of £330,406. This estimate is based on simplified scenarios and generalised inputs to illustrate potential outcomes and should therefore be interpreted with caution.
The 2025 version of the government’s annual Cyber Security Breaches Survey finds that 48% of businesses in the utilities and production sector – which includes manufacturing businesses – suffered any kind of cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months. The survey does not include data on individual sub-sectors.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to legislate on infringement of copyright arising from the use of artificial intelligence.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government consulted on several topics relating to the interaction between copyright and artificial intelligence (AI) This included seeking views on the use of copyright material in AI model development.
The Government is considering all responses to the consultation. Alongside this we launched expert working groups in July, bringing together representatives of the creative, media and AI sectors, and convened a parliamentary working group. Together this will inform next steps.
The Government will continue to engage extensively on this issue, and set out its proposals in due course.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to assign regulatory oversight of artificial intelligence to an existing regulatory body or establish a new regulatory body.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is right that the vast majority of AI systems are regulated at point of use by our expert existing regulators. In response to the AI Action Plan, the Government committed to building the capability of regulators so they are prepared for the opportunities and risks of AI.
Alongside this, the Government is developing legislative proposals to support the safe development of the most powerful AI systems, recognising the distinct risks and opportunities these models bring. We are refining our proposals and will launch a public consultation later this year.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Vallance of Balham on 29 April (HL Deb col 1092), on what date they plan to launch the consultation on advanced general intelligence and superintelligence models.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is looking at the case for legislation which delivers on our manifesto commitment. This would better prepare the UK for AI's security risks, while also making sure our statute book is ready for the age of AI and its huge opportunities.
We are continuing to refine our proposals and will launch a public consultation later this year.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Viscount Camrose on 18 September regarding the Newport Wafer Fab factory (HL Deb col 1199), when they expect the judicial review to be completed, thereby enabling ministers to answer parliamentary questions on this issue.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The timing of judicial reviews is a matter for the Court. The Investment Security Unit in the Cabinet Office is responsible for monitoring Nexperia’s compliance with the Final Order issued under the National Security and Investment Act 2021.