Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to include betting shop workers within the scope of the offence of assault against a retail worker.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a new specific standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to help tackle the epidemic of shop theft and violence towards retail shop workers that we have seen in recent years.

For the purposes of this new offence, our definition of a ‘retail worker’ is intentionally narrow given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker, and the assault took place in the course of their work. The Government does not plan to include betting shop workers within the new offence.

However, Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 created a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in betting shops.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to introduce statutory safeguards to help prevent AI chatbots from being used to simulate sexual (a) activity and (b) scenarios involving children.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is committed to tackling the atrocious harm of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children – regulated services must remove illegal content and prevent children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.

The government has introduced an offence in the Crime and Policing Bill which criminalises possessing, creating or distributing AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material. We are committed to ensuring the UK is prepared for the changes AI will bring. When it comes to keeping children safe online, we will not hesitate to act.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Ruth Jones (Chair); David Chadwick; Ann Davies; Gill German; Simon