Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
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 press release entitled Huawei legal notices issued, published on 13 October 2022, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of that decision.
Answered by John Whittingdale
No public funding has been issued to telecoms operators to support the implementation of the legal notices issued in respect of Huawei.
The Impact Assessment published alongside the Telecommunications (Security) Bill estimated that the costs of monitoring compliance with the national security power, under which the legal notices were issued, would be between £7 million and £11.7 million over the period 2020-2029. This includes between £1.7 million and £2.8 million for the Department, and between £5.4 million and £8.9 million for Ofcom.
Last year, Ofcom was awarded £21m in additional funding to be spent over the subsequent three years (22/23, 23/24 and 24/25) to reflect its additional responsibilities under the Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021. The funding is ring-fenced for telecoms security. The majority of the funding is to support Ofcom’s compliance and enforcement of the Telecommunications (Security Measures) Regulations 2022 and Telecommunications Security Code of Practice 2022, but it also includes resources required to respond to any monitoring directions issued by DSIT in relation to designated vendor directions.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions she has had with external stakeholders on (a) Artificial Intelligence and (b) machine learning; and what plans she has for further discussions.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government recognises the importance of engaging a broad community of stakeholders in the development of policy on artificial intelligence and machine learning. In May this year, the Prime Minister and I met with leading global AI labs – Anthropic, Google Deepmind, and Open AI, as well as a number of UK-led firms, many of which are doing cutting edge research and development, including the foundation models that underpin popular services such as chatGPT. Engagement has continued since then, and I am pleased that Ministers met with businesses, academics and civil society during London Tech Week and TechNExt festival in Newcastle. Prior to this, in preparation for the AI Regulation White Paper published in March, my officials engaged with or received feedback from over 130 different stakeholders and we have since continued with significant engagement as the policy develops.
Throughout this all, such meetings help us to understand the wide range of views across the AI ecosystem and foster a responsible approach to governance and development that addresses risks while delivering innovation and growth.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what her Department's policy is on the regulation of (a) artificial intelligence and (b) machine learning.
Answered by Paul Scully
We published our AI Regulation White Paper on 29 March, which sets out five cross-cutting principles regulators should apply when considering the use of AI in their own sectors. The principles are: (i) safety, security and robustness, (ii) appropriate transparency and explainability, (iii) fairness, (iv) accountability and governance, (v) contestability and redress.
Our principles-based approach to AI regulation is focused on outcomes and is designed to manage risk and enhance trust while also allowing innovation to flourish. The proposals include the introduction of a statutory duty on regulators in time.
The white paper also proposes a range of new central functions, including a horizon scanning function intended to anticipate and assess emerging risks. This will complement the existing work undertaken by regulators and other government departments to identify and address risks arising from AI. The consultation closed on 21 June, and the Government will update on the proposals in its response.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on enhancing regulation of (a) commercial and (b) experimental technologies for (i) marine and (ii) outer space experiential excursions.
Answered by George Freeman
MARINE EXCURSIONS
The Government can only regulate vessels in UK waters, and UK-flagged vessels wherever they are in the world. There are no regulations covering deep-sea submersibles used in international waters, and there is only one submersible listed on the UK flag. No non-UK-flagged manned civilian submersibles operate in the UK.
The Government does not have plans to review the UK regulatory regime here.
OUTER SPACE EXCURSIONS
The Space Industry Act 2018 (the 2018 Act) and Space Industry Regulations 2021 (the 2021 Regulations) provides the legislative framework for the licensing of space activities, sub-orbital activities, and associated activities carried out in the UK, including sub-orbital missions involving human occupants.
However, the Government does not have plans at present to permit, and therefore has not commenced provisions in the 2018 Act for, the licensing of orbital spaceflight involving human occupants; or the licensing of spaceflight activities involving hypersonic (or any other experimental) transport from one point to another (A to B).