Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Government response, CP 1019, updated on 6 February 2024, what progress her Department has made on boosting AI research through the launch of nine new research hubs across the UK.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
UK research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has invested £86 million in new research hubs that will propel the UK to the forefront of advanced AI research. The hubs are broad consortia of universities and businesses, which will leverage the UK’s world leading AI research, connecting universities and businesses and creating spinouts who will deliver next-generation innovations and technologies.
This focussed investment will enable AI to evolve and tackle complex problems across applications from healthcare treatments to power-efficient electronics, transforming the way we develop and use AI, and is part of a larger investment of over £300 million in AI research and training by EPSRC over the past 12 months, safeguarding the UK’s digital future.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's consultation outcome entitled A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Government response, CP 1019, updated on 6 February 2024, how much of the £10m to jumpstart regulator’s AI capabilities has been allocated.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is moving at pace to design the mechanism for allocating the £10m funding to jumpstart regulator capabilities. The Government is actively engaging with regulators to ensure this is delivered in a way that best supports their needs. The Government expects to launch the fund this summer and will allocate the funding during the course of this financial year and 25/26.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department expects to send ministerial representatives to the South Korean AI safety summit.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As this is a co-hosted Summit between the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom, the Government can confirm that the Secretary of State will be attending the Summit in Seoul. At this moment, the Government cannot confirm if there will be any other ministerial representatives to attend in the Summit.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13769 on Artificial Intelligence: Risk Assessment, how many risks have been (a) identified and (b) included on her Department's AI risk register.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT’s Central AI Risk Function owns the AI Risk Register and is responsible for the processes by which we identify, assess and prepare for AI risks.
Mitigating these risks is a cross-Government effort. DSIT works in partnership with relevant risk owning departments, agencies and regulators, to ensure we assess and prepare for these risks in a timely manner.
In the White Paper we committed to publishing the risk register. This will commence from Spring 2024.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the oral evidence taken before the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee on 17 May 2022, HC 207, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of amending the eligibility for the Help to grow: Digital scheme.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government closed the Help to Grow: Digital programme in February 2023.
An assessment of the eligibility criteria can be found in the Help to Grow: Digital scheme evaluation report on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-grow-digital-evaluation-report
While we do not routinely publish advice, decisions were informed by evidence and the scheme design was kept under review. Eligibility changes were made in Summer 2022 which responded to oral evidence, which included widening the criteria to include businesses of 1+ employee(s).
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish the advice given to ministers that informed decisions on eligibility criteria for the Help to Grow: Digital scheme.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government closed the Help to Grow: Digital programme in February 2023.
An assessment of the eligibility criteria can be found in the Help to Grow: Digital scheme evaluation report on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-grow-digital-evaluation-report
While we do not routinely publish advice, decisions were informed by evidence and the scheme design was kept under review. Eligibility changes were made in Summer 2022 which responded to oral evidence, which included widening the criteria to include businesses of 1+ employee(s).
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support small businesses to accelerate the adoption of digital tools to improve productivity, in the context of the closure of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since the closure of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme in 2023 we have been considering how best to help small businesses to adopt basic digital technologies. We know digital tools can improve firm-level productivity and a businesses’ ability to grow.
This is why in the Autumn Statement we announced that we would be setting up an industry-led taskforce to rapidly explore how best to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises with adoption of digital technology. We will be launching the taskforce shortly
The Government continues to support small businesses in other ways, such as through the Help to Grow: Management programme and the Government-backed British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans. These schemes help business leaders to start and grow their businesses.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) England.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
At the time of the closure of the scheme, 1,507 applications had been made for a discount voucher through the Help to Grow: Digital website.
A full assessment of the take up, regional breakdown and effectiveness of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme was published and can be found in the evaluation report on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-grow-digital-evaluation-report
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the level of take up of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
At the time of the closure of the scheme, 1,507 applications had been made for a discount voucher through the Help to Grow: Digital website.
A full assessment of the take up, regional breakdown and effectiveness of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme was published and can be found in the evaluation report on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-grow-digital-evaluation-report
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has set a deadline by which her Department must take steps once a risk is added to the AI risk register.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The appropriate mitigation plan for any risk depends on the nature of the risk itself.
DSIT’s Central AI Risk Function owns the AI Risk Register and is responsible for the processes by which we identify, assess and prepare for AI risks.
Mitigating these risks is a cross-Government effort and in many cases DSIT is not the lead Department or Risk Owner. We work extremely closely with other government departments, agencies and regulators to ensure we are preparing for these risks in a timely manner.