Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to mandate the use of AI labelling tools to differentiate between real and synthetic content.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises that solutions to enable users and institutions to determine what media is real and what is AI-generated can help in tackling a range of AI risks, and are examining the robustness of a range of such solutions in this space.
The Government is also making sure our statute book is ready for the age of AI and its huge opportunities. The Government will update Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the sale or promotion of merchandise linked to (a) the Wagner Group and (b) other proscribed terrorist organisations on (i) UK-based and (ii) UK-accessible websites; and what enforcement action is being taken against companies found to be doing so.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a matter for the operationally independent police and Crown Prosecution Service to determine if a crime has been committed under Sections 11-13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT), and what action should be taken in response.
Under the Online Safety Act, tech companies are accountable to Ofcom, an independent regulator, to keep their users safe, and they need to remove and limit the spread of illegal content, including terrorist material. Tech companies can be held liable for unlawful terrorism-related content on their services once they have knowledge of it. It is on this basis that the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit in the Metropolitan Police refers terrorism content to companies for removal.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to accelerate the registration process for overseas-trained dentists to help extend the provision of NHS dental care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have asked the General Dental Council (GDC) to urgently develop an action plan of concrete measures to reduce the GDC’s Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) waiting list, and I will be regularly meeting with them to monitor progress.
I have welcomed the additional sittings of both parts of the ORE that the GDC has put in place, as well as their ongoing procurement of new ORE provider contracts. I will continue to discuss the new arrangements with the GDC, with a focus on understanding how they will further increase the availability of the ORE exam in the short and longer term.
The Department not be proceeding with providing the GDC with any additional legislative powers for international registration at this time. Having considered options for a provisional registration scheme, the Government’s view is that other, more cost-effective and efficient routes to registration should be the immediate priority.
Meanwhile, we expect the GDC to make full use of the flexibility afforded by the international registration reforms introduced in 2023 to ensure that those who have the right skills and experience are able to join its registers as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will provide an update on when HM Revenue & Customs will restart processing IHT30 clearance requests.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC have not stopped processing IHT30 clearance requests. HMRC have prioritised the processing of IHT400 forms to minimise any delays for customers applying for probate through HM Courts & Tribunals Service, and this has meant that some IHT30 requests are currently being processed outside of service standard.
HMRC have trained and are recruiting more staff in this area so that they can reduce wait times