Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester 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 publication A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation, published on 29 March 2023, how much and what proportion of the budget of each regulator in her Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period of which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on these issues in the latest period of which information is available; and whether those regulators plan to increase resources for their work on artificial intelligence.
Answered by Paul Scully
The AI White Paper emphasised the importance of ensuring that our regulators and public bodies have the capacity, expertise, and capabilities to implement our pro-innovation approach whilst recognising and understanding the risks. This is particularly true for those regulators for which AI falls squarely within their regulatory remit, but also applies to a much wider range of public and regulatory bodies considering the implications AI has across the economy.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is the sponsoring department for the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the Office for Communications (Ofcom), the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), and the Phone Paid Services Authority. Activity related to AI is carried out as part of wider activity that falls within each organisation’s remit, and this presents a challenge with disaggregating 'AI resource' in order to provide figures on the proportion of budget spent and staff working on AI regulation.
The ICO and Ofcom in particular have already taken significant steps to upskill themselves to understand new technologies and new business models, and develop and deploy new skills and regulatory tools. This includes their joint efforts via the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) to develop their collective capabilities through knowledge exchange and joint work on cross-cutting topics. IPO continue to focus on AI reflecting the significant implications it has for areas falling within their remit - and are resourcing this work accordingly.
As part of the AI regulation White Paper consultation, we are engaging closely with regulators across the wider landscape and their sponsoring government departments to understand the organisational capacity they need to regulate AI effectively, across technical, regulatory, and market-specific expertise. This will inform our work to develop policy options with a view to addressing any gaps that emerge.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she had made of the potential effect of Ofcom's decision on BT and Equinox 2 on competition in the broadband wholesale and consumer markets.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Government is committed to supporting competition in the UK’s fixed telecoms market. Our strategy aims to support market entry and expansion by making it as easy and attractive as possible for people to invest in, and build, networks. The Government’s Statement of Strategic Priorities for Ofcom, published in 2019, requires Ofcom to set stable and long-term regulation that incentivises network investment and ensures fair and effective competition between new and existing network operators. Ofcom must take this strategic priority into account when reaching its decisions, such as when considering offers from Openreach.
The Government has noted Ofcom’s decision to allow the Equinox II offer to proceed. Ofcom’s conclusion is that Equinox II is consistent with promoting network investment and competition, thereby delivering better consumer outcomes. Regulation of the fixed telecoms market remains a matter for Ofcom which is an independent regulator.
More broadly, competition is thriving in UK fixed telecoms, with over 100 companies now building gigabit-capable networks thanks to the Government’s policies to prioritise competition and investment.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester 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 White Paper New world leading approach to AI in the UK, published on 29 March, how much and what proportion of the budget of each existing regulator is spent on regulation of artificial intelligence; how many staff in each regulator work (a) wholly and (b) partly on these issues; and whether those regulators plan to increase the resources for work on artificial intelligence.
Answered by Paul Scully
The different applications and uses of AI technologies are becoming increasingly central to many UK regulators within their domains, noting the faster adoption rates in some sectors - such as Finance, Information Technology, Media and Telecoms.
As part of the AI regulation White Paper consultation, we are engaging closely with regulators across the landscape and their sponsoring government departments to understand their relative levels of capability - noting that it is not a straightforward exercise to identify distinct 'AI resource'. We will continue to work closely with regulators to ensure that our regulatory framework for AI can be implemented effectively, including by exploring regulatory capability gaps and possible solutions or mitigations.
We are also developing a range of functions, outlined in the White Paper, to support regulators to undertake their regulatory activities. The proposed monitoring and evaluation function, along with other central functions designed to support implementation by regulators, including by supporting coordination between regulator, will allow us to quickly identify if regulator capability is a barrier to implementation and leverage existing AI expertise across government to build capability where necessary.
Alongside this, our regulators are already coordinating and working together to share expertise and ensure that AI innovations have efficient and safe regulatory routes to market, for example using forums like the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum and the NHS AI and digital regulations service; or initiatives like the ICO’s award-winning AI and Data Protection Risk Mitigation Toolkit, or the MHRA’s ground-breaking Software and AI as a Medical Device Change Programme Roadmap.
We will be providing further details as part of the publication of the White Paper Consultation Response in the autumn. We encourage responses to the consultation - including in the context of regulators’ capabilities - before the 21 June deadline.