Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment they have made of the potential (a) threats and (b) opportunities of artificial intelligence in respect of their Department’s responsibilities.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Any spend by the Department on external facing digital services are subject to Cabinet Office digital and technology spend controls. Artificial Intelligence is treated as novel and contentious, and as such subject to additional scrutiny. This means threats associated with any application of Artificial Intelligence by the Department will be considered and assessed as part of this governance process.
In July 2020, Cabinet Office tasked all government departments to produce an Automation Blueprint. As part of this the Digital directorate within the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy identified potential opportunities for the application of Artificial Intelligence. There are a number of projects currently being undertaken or considered by the Department, in some cases the progression will be dependent on availability of budget from next financial year. BEIS Analysts use machine learning techniques, under the umbrella of artificial intelligence, where appropriate as part of analysis supporting policy development.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has a strategy to help ensure that the UK becomes a world leader in (a) research and development, (b) regulation and (c) safe adoption of artificial intelligence.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform our lives, unlock high-skilled jobs, and increase productivity. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced in his Ten Tech Priorities that the UK will be building on our work in AI and publishing our National AI Strategy later this year.
In particular, the AI Strategy will focus on
○ Growth of the economy through widespread use of AI technologies;
○ Ethical, safe and trustworthy development of responsible AI;
○ Resilience in the face of change through an emphasis on skills, talent and R&D.
The AI strategy will align with the Government’s plans to boost R&D investment, helping our AI pioneers to accelerate bringing new technologies to the market.
The independent Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC) has been appointed to scan the horizon for new technological innovations and provide the Government with impartial, expert advice on the regulatory reform required to support its rapid and safe introduction, while protecting citizens and the environment.
The RHC is to provide recommendations for fusion energy; unmanned aircraft (incl. drones); gene-based technologies and medical devices and have identified provisional future work including AI in Healthcare and Space and Satellites.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to what extent their Department makes use of artificial intelligence in the implementation of its policies; and how much was spent from their Department’s budget on artificial intelligence in each of the last three years.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
There are a number of projects currently being undertaken or considered by the Department.
BEIS Analysts use machine learning techniques, under the umbrella of artificial intelligence, where appropriate as part of analysis supporting policy development.
Machine Learning projects are being
(i) undertaken:
(ii) considered:
The Department’s expenditure on artificial intelligence in each of the last three years will only be obtainable at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he is taking steps to review intellectual property legislation as it relates to the protection of (a) artificial intelligence technology and (b) inventions made by artificial intelligence.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government conducted a call for views on artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property (IP) in 2020, inviting stakeholders to share their thoughts on how AI impacts on the IP framework and help our understanding of any impact IP might have for AI, in the near to medium term.
In March this year, the Government published its response and proposed eleven actions to explore issues raised in the call for views process, with the aim of providing a system better equipped to meet the Government’s wider ambition for the UK to be a leader in AI technology. These include consulting on a range of possible policy options, including legislative change, for protecting AI generated inventions which would otherwise not meet inventorship criteria and commissioning an economic study to enhance our understanding of the role the IP framework plays in incentivising investment in AI.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure home teeth-whitening kits sold online do not contain dangerous levels of hydrogen peroxide.
Answered by Paul Scully
Cosmetic products such as teeth whitening kits sold in the UK must meet some of the strictest safety requirements in the world and may only be placed on the market if they meet strict safety requirements, including specific restrictions on the use of potentially harmful chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) works with colleagues in local Trading Standards to take effective enforcement action where products are identified online that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements and expects online platforms to act quickly to remove them from sale.
Through its Call for Evidence, OPSS is reviewing the UK’s product safety framework to ensure it is fit for purpose, protects consumers, and enables businesses to safely innovate and grow. The implications of non-traditional models of supply, including e-commerce, and how it has changed the way products are distributed, forms of part of the review.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has (a) undertaken a recent review and (b) plans to review any national security implications arising from Chinese-based ownership of £143 billion of UK assets.
Answered by Paul Scully
As set out in the Integrated Review, the UK will continue to pursue a positive trade and investment relationship with China, while ensuring our national security and values are protected.
The Government currently has powers under the Enterprise Act 2002 to intervene in certain mergers and takeovers on public interest grounds, including national security. The National Security and Investment Act 2021, due to come into force later this year, will modernise and strengthen our national security investment screening powers.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions the Government has had with (a) Government and inter-governmental space agencies and (b) Governments of countries with an active space programme on their efforts to support clean space and reduce the amount of human-made orbital debris.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government actively participates in multi-lateral intergovernmental fora, including the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Subcommittees and the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee. Within these forums, the Government continues to work collaboratively with its international partners to define best practice, develop associated guidelines and support initiatives to promote sustainability and limit the generation of orbital debris.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government has (a) made contingency plans and (b) undertaken any cross-government exercises to respond to a scenario where there is a significant deterioration in or complete loss of all satellite capability and the operational use of space.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK Space Agency, as an executive Agency of BEIS, is the lead department assessing and mitigating space-based risks to Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). There are heavy dependencies between the CNI sectors such as defence operations, communications, aviation and shipping, which we are engaged in identifying, as well as working to ensure the impact of disruptions to space services is understood and mitigated.
The UK Space Agency is developing a comprehensive response framework that includes processes to follow for a range of incidents, including those that may cause deterioration in or complete loss of all satellite capability. We are continuing to mature our risk-specific plans.
In 2020 we ran our first UKSA-led cross-government discussion exercise which focussed on the risk of conjunctions and explored impacts such as significant loss of satellite capability. We are continuing to develop our exercising package and hope to exercise a wider range of scenarios, including a potential scenario that explores complete loss of all satellite capability, in due course.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to (a) prevent and (b) reduce the amount of space debris.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of outer space and has taken proactive measures to prevent, mitigate and remove space debris.
In carrying out safety assessments under its licensing process for activities in outer space, the UK Space Agency considers operators’ collision avoidance and debris mitigation measures as applied over the entire time the spacecraft remains in orbit around the Earth.
The Government also actively participates in a number of multi-lateral fora, including the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Subcommittees (UN COPUOS) and the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), as well as a number of bodies defining safety standards. Within these fora, the Government works collaboratively with international partners to define best practice and the associated guidelines that will ensure space remains accessible for future generations.
Finally, the UK plays a leading role in supporting the development of technology for the sustainable and responsible use of space, having invested strongly in European Space Agency (ESA) programmes aimed at preventing collisions in space, improving detection and tracking of objects in space and fielding demonstration missions of active capture and safe de-orbiting of spent satellites. The UK Government has also licensed a number of UK-operated technology demonstration missions for active debris removal in orbit.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of a Kessler Syndrome type of occurrence in space on the UK's (a) national security, (b) domestic and international defence operations, (c) economy, (d) communications capability, (e) scientific research capability, (f) weather forecasting, (g) aviation and shipping sectors, (h) GPS needs; and what assessment the Government has made of the level of risk of an event of that kind occurring.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The UK Space Agency, as an executive Agency of BEIS, is the lead department assessing and mitigating space-based risks to Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), covering the aspects including those highlighted in (a) to (h). There are heavy dependencies between the CNI sectors such as defence operations, communications, aviation and shipping, which we are engaged in identifying as well as working to ensure the impact of disruptions to space services is understood and mitigated. A Kessler Syndrome incident is a theoretical risk which has the potential to significantly impact operational services, up to and including a total loss. This has never been experienced, but we are working to understand the likelihood, assess the impacts and mitigate the risk.
The Government is committed to regularly reviewing and assessing risks to ensure that they are accurately prioritised in our resilience framework. Our Space Surveillance and Tracking function is dedicated to reducing the risk from orbital hazards. We supplement US data with UK sensors and analysis to monitor orbital collisions and other events, working in conjunction with MOD Space Operations Centre. We also support several programmes and initiatives looking at options for safely removing orbital debris.