Oral Answers to Questions

Kenneth Stevenson Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

Going by the votes last week, the hon. Gentleman wants to keep the failed, broken welfare system that the Tories put in. What we have done as a Government is a pay rise for 200,000 Scots, day one rights for sick leave and parental leave and £150 off energy bills for more than half a million Scottish households, and we have banned exploitative zero-hours contracts. There are 10,000 children in Scotland every single night going to bed without a home. That is a dreadful record for the Scottish Government.

[Kenneth Stevenson (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab)]

2. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the future of artificial intelligence in Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)]

Artificial intelligence will drive incredible change in our country. It will turbocharge growth and boost living standards. Scotland, as we know well, has been the UK’s home of AI since 1963, and it will become the home of the most powerful supercomputer in the UK, with this Labour Government investing £750 million in its development at the University of Edinburgh’s advanced computing facility in Midlothian. We are currently assessing applications for AI growth zones from across the UK, including several from Scotland, which is at the cutting edge of computing power globally.

[Kenneth Stevenson]

It is refreshing to have a UK Government so committed to investing in and developing AI, in comparison with John Swinney and the Scottish Government, who are stuck in an analogue age, unable even to provide patients and staff with a functioning NHS app. Does the Minister agree that the towns of Airdrie and Shotts and the former industrial heartland of North Lanarkshire are incredibly well placed to serve as an AI growth zone and capture the Government’s clear ambition?

[Kirsty McNeill]

Much like my hon. Friend, who is a truly passionate advocate for his community, I am proud to represent one of Scotland’s industrial heartlands. He is right to highlight the role that they can play in Scotland’s AI future. As for his comments regarding the First Minister, my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary was particularly astute in his assessment. I am afraid that the First Minister is from the age of “Taggart”, when what is upon us is the age of “Dept. Q”.