Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2024 to Question 14260 on Genomics: China, whether the programme of work to assess risks from biological data will include a review of (a) BGI Group, (b) MGI Tech and (c) other companies linked to the Chinese state.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Through the delivery of our Biological Security Strategy, the Government is committed ensuring the UK is resilient to a spectrum of biological threats, as well as being a world leader in innovation. As part of this Strategy, the Government is undertaking a programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy and build confidence in sharing personal data to improve health outcomes in the UK and across the world. This review covers the extent to which the UK shares data with certain companies.
Currently, organisations which hold sensitive biological data are subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, organisations such as Genomics England, UK Biobank and NIHR BioResource actively consider national security in decision making about partnerships with companies overseas. These organisations consult with security personnel on a regular basis to ensure partnerships are aligned with our national security interests.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, during the debate on Genomics and national security of 8 March 2023, Official Report column 120WH, what steps she is taking to investigate the national security risks associated with (i) BGI Group and (ii) MGI Tech.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Organisations which hold sensitive biological data are subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, organisations such as Genomics England, UK Biobank and NIHR BioResource actively consider national security in decision making about partnerships with companies overseas.
As part of the new UK Biological Security Strategy, the Government is undertaking a programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data to protect our burgeoning bioeconomy, without stifling innovation, and build confidence in sharing personal data to improve health outcomes in the UK and across the world. The Office for Life Sciences has begun this work, in consultation with relevant Departments and Agencies across Government, and key partners such as Genomics England and UK Biobank.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to (a) prepare for the World radiocommunication conference and (b) protect the UK's interests in space at that conference.
Answered by John Whittingdale
I recognise the importance of the decisions of the World Radiocommunications Conference to UK industry, especially the space sector.
Government and Ofcom have developed our negotiating positions since the last conference in 2019, balancing the interests of multiple operators, networks and services in both space and terrestrial environments. UK stakeholders have been given the opportunity to influence our approach and Ofcom consulted in 2022.
At the conference, Ofcom will lead the UK delegation which will include officials from departments and agencies with spectrum interests. This includes DSIT, the Ministry of Defence, UK Space Agency, and the Met Office.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether representatives of (a) BGI Group, (b) subsidiaries of BGI Group and (c) companies in which BGI Group has invested have been invited to attend the UK AI safety summit scheduled to take place in November 2023.
Answered by Paul Scully
To ensure the AI Safety Summit can achieve its objectives, it is necessary to have a small but international discussion at the event. This will limit the participants to around 100, including world leaders and companies at the cutting edge of frontier AI. The UK has actively considered national security in decision making to ensure that the partnerships and invitees are aligned with our National Security interests. Further information about invitees will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the field of genomics will form part of the agenda at the upcoming AI Summit in November 2023.
Answered by Paul Scully
The UK Summit will focus on frontier AI risks, which includes risks from frontier AI models to biosecurity (and within that, genomics), which are increasingly urgent to address at an international level. The Government is also undertaking a full programme of work to assess how we can minimise the risks from biological data and protect our burgeoning bioeconomy.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to include the potential impact of the Chinese state’s activity relating to genomics on national security in any international framework that is developed at the UK AI safety summit in November 2023.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government does not comment on specific details of national security assessments. The Summit will aim to develop a forward process on how to support national and international frameworks on AI safety which include emerging issues such as biosecurity and cybersecurity, including from the potential misuse of models by non-state actors.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of the Chinese state's activity relating to genomics on national security; and whether that matter will be discussed at the UK AI safety summit scheduled for November 2023.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government does not comment on specific details of national security assessments. The AI Safety Summit will focus on safety risks in ‘frontier’ AI which includes issues of emerging importance such as biosecurity and genomics. During the first day of the AI Safety Summit, there will be a roundtable discussion on the Risks to Global Safety from Frontier AI Misuse where safety risks to biosecurity will be discussed.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing a plan to accelerate the reduction of animal testing in the UK.
Answered by George Freeman
Government’s approach is to actively support and fund the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs), primarily through funding from UK Research and Innovation for the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) - who have committed £31.6 million for research and innovation into these causes in the past 5 years - and to ensure that the UK has a robust regulatory system for licensing animal studies.
The NC3Rs are on track to meet their commitment to invest 75% of their research and innovation budget on replacement technologies by the end of 2024.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she will provide further funding to support the scientific community in transitioning from animal-based research to (a) organ-on-a-chip, (b) artificial intelligence and (c) other human-specific methodologies.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is committed to the development of alternatives to using animals in scientific procedures and through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) continues to provide core funding for the National Centre for 3Rs (NC3Rs), which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of non-animal technologies.
UKRI funds a portfolio of research projects involving humans, human materials, animal models, and non-animal technologies, including a joint £4.7 million joint funding call with the NC3Rs launched last year, focussed on supporting next generation non-animal technologies, such as organ-on-a-chip.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 15 February 2023 to Question 141449 on Animal Experiments, what progress the Government has made on implementation of the Non-Animal Technologies Roadmap; what future steps she plans to take to implement the Roadmap; and whether she plans to publish an updated roadmap.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government is committed to the development of alternatives to using animals in scientific procedures and through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funds the National Centre for the 3Rs, which works to drive the uptake of non-animal technologies.
The recommendations in the Non-Animal Technologies Roadmap continue to be delivered including a £1.6 million commitment for the development of a virtual dog to help reduce the use of dogs in the safety testing of new medicines and £4.7 million funding for next generation non-animal technologies that provide reliable, predictive and cost-effective alternatives to the use of animals. Scientists and representatives from regulatory bodies are involved in these efforts to accelerate the use of non-animal technologies.