International Update

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work he has done with colleagues in Derby to secure that investment and those new jobs. The great city of Derby will be a big beneficiary of this Government’s drive to reindustrialise the country. I was at Alstom with my hon. Friend and saw what is being done and the apprenticeships there. We are proud of what is going on in the city. I will ask the Chancellor and the First Secretary of State to do everything they can to drive the maximum value for British jobs from every pound of public procurement in this country.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

As Liberal Democrats, we have long been calling for global leadership on AI from the UK, so I am pleased to hear the Prime Minister talk of that. We cannot get the best out of AI if we cannot protect people from the worst, and the UK should be leading on that. We also need to learn from online safety, and it needs to be Governments that lead the charge, not big tech. Will the Prime Minister listen to the Lib Dem call for an international AI safety institute, based on the International Atomic Energy Agency, based here in the UK?

[The Prime Minister]

We already have the AI Security Institute, and to be fair, I pay tribute to the previous Conservative Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak), who was instrumental in the establishment of that institute. It is because of that that the president of Microsoft was on the radio this morning saying that Britain is now regarded as the world leader in AI safety. What we must not be, however, is complacent, which is why I am putting AI at the top of the agenda for Britain’s presidency of the G20. I look forward to working with the hon. Lady and Members from across the House to ensure that Britain brings together a global code of standards and principles that can capture the benefits of AI while guarding against the risks it poses.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

This might be the last time we face this ministerial team, but I hope that they will stay, because I know they have done a lot of hard work on online safety. With that in mind, I have recently spoken to students in Harpenden and Berkhamsted, who passionately shared their fears and hopes around AI chatbots. With the Labour leadership transition putting any major announcements on hold, what guarantees can the Secretary of State give that, alongside the support of the right hon. Member for Makerfield—the Prime Minister in waiting—there will be an announcement in July about AI online safety, and vital protections will not be sidelined?

[Liz Kendall]

I share the concerns of the good people of the hon. Member’s constituency about AI chatbots. I will come back with a further statement to the House about the things I said in my last statement, not only looking at further steps on AI chatbots—we have banned sexualised companion chatbots and the features within general chatbots that allow that to happen—but on overnight curfews, brakes on infinite scrolling and various other things. I will make the fullest possible update to the House on those measures, as I said I would.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for her work on championing such an important issue. Mission Coastal will help break the link between background and success, giving the most disadvantaged children mentoring, career support and enrichment opportunities, because we believe that no matter where they grow up, every child deserves the same opportunities to succeed.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

Q13.   This Government’s top-down housing targets, which are about to almost double in my constituency, mean that communities like Redbourn and Tring are about to see huge-scale development while infrastructure is bursting at the seams and a supposedly affordable new build in my patch costs more than £500,000. It is no wonder that Hannah, one of my sixth-formers, says that she can never dream of buying a new home and will have to leave the place where she grew up. Will the Prime Minister urgently review these targets, and come and speak to Hannah and other constituents to see how these top-down targets are not delivering the affordable homes and services we need, nor protecting our precious landscapes?

[The Prime Minister]

We inherited a housing crisis, with people unable to have the security of their own home or even get on to the housing ladder. We are determined to change that. We have invested £39 billion to deliver more social and affordable homes, prioritising brownfield land. We must build more communities with strong infrastructure, but the hon. Lady’s party consistently votes against the planning reforms that will allow those homes to be built.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Wednesday 20th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

Having worked across Departments and with my technology counterpart in the Lords, we have published a comprehensive paper on how Britain can thrive in the age of AI. It calls for a digital sovereign strategy and an integrated approach to AI that is bold, responsible, pro-innovation, pro-trust and built alongside industry and civic expertise. I would be happy to discuss this. We see Britain having a leading place in AI services, but we have squandered leads before, and the Government have not offered a coherent, joined-up strategy on how to do this differently, in a way that is centred on trust and standards. Where is the Government’s AI Bill? Can we have guarantees that Labour’s latest internal drama will not cost Britain its most important economic opportunity in a generation?

[Kanishka Narayan]

Can I gently point out to the hon. Lady that there is a very clear strategy? We set out the AI opportunities action plan early on, and we then built in a public dashboard, so that people right across the country can follow progress on the plan: 75% of it has been delivered, and just this week, we found out that IT and AI have driven productivity revivals for this country. We are firing on all cylinders when it comes to UK AI.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

I thank my hon. Friend for her excellent question. I can confirm that the Foreign Office is part of our contingency planning work at the centre of Government. On all issues, we look at the international data available to us, and the Foreign Office will keep that in consideration when trying to support allies and partners, as well as ensuring security and resilience for the UK.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

Over the Easter weekend, a 6-acre site in the Chilterns national landscape saw a massive unauthorised development. Despite swift action from Dacorum borough council to issue a temporary stop notice and an injunction, the work continued, with the police powerless to stop it and the council without the resources. What will the Minister do through cross-departmental work to uphold the rule of law and protect our precious landscapes?

[Darren Jones]

I think any constituency MP would find those circumstances utterly unacceptable. If the hon. Member writes to me, I will ensure that I pass the information to colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to see what we can do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

UK Research and Innovation funding will continue to be undermined if the Government’s own procurement strategy sees billions going to companies outside the UK, such as Palantir in the US, when British tech has the solutions. Although we welcome the announcement of AI investment funding, it pales in comparison with the ongoing procurement investment. Will the Government back Liberal Democrat amendments to the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill for a comprehensive digital sovereign strategy, backing British tech, research and innovation, which is vital for both our economy and our national security?

[Liz Kendall]

I am proud of this Government’s plan to back UK AI companies and our sovereign capabilities, with £500 million backing our new sovereign AI unit and £1 billion of free compute for British researchers and scientists. We are also overhauling Government procurement to ensure that we back innovative tech companies in the UK, both big and small. That is the way forward to seize the opportunities for growth and secure our sovereign capabilities.

Digital ID: Public Consultation

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Darren Jones]

As I have said to the House, I have been in touch with Ministers in the Scottish Government just this morning to extend an invitation to them to be part of this modernising approach to public services in the future, and I hope that they will welcome that. Of course, I hope more deeply that there will be a Labour Government in Scotland who will, of course, say that this is the right thing to do, showing that two Labour Governments can deliver better outcomes for the public. We should continue to hold the Scottish Government to account for poor public services, and encourage them to follow our way and deliver change for the public.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

I welcome the Government’s announcement that they have listened to the concerns of the Liberal Democrats and the public about the mandatory system, but the loss of trust resulting from these flip-flopping policies has caused much damage. There remains a question about whether connected systems and better services can be accessed through one login, which is the case in France. Why are the Government not focused on fixing one login, which they spent £100 million on last year? If they do put this system in place, what support will there be for individuals and businesses, which seem to be carrying the burden of this digital ID?

[Darren Jones]

Digital ID is the premium option of one login. In many ways, one login is a great system, but it still has lots of challenges, not least because we cannot pull all these systems together into one place for citizens. That is what digital ID enables us to do, because people can prove authentically that they are who they say they are and are not just logging in with someone else’s details. That is what makes the scheme much more exciting for public service reform in the future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

We have already heard from thousands of stakeholders, including concerned parents, teachers and young people, who are all crying out for help against fast-evolving online harm. That is why the Liberal Democrats have proposed a world-leading approach to ban harmful social media, based on a future-proof, harms-based approach that is backed by 42 children’s charities and online experts. As the world wakes up to this seatbelt moment for online safety, now is the time for action. A consultation is not good enough, so will the Secretary of State please assure us that it will at least look at how we ban harmful social media for under-16s, rather than if we do it?

[Liz Kendall]

We are banning harmful content for children, and this Government have taken decisive action to protect children and young people from intimate image abuse, self-harm, cyber-flashing, and strangulation in pornography. Hon. Members across the House will continually ask me this question today, but I believe that a consultation—swift, with proposals before the summer—is the right and responsible way forward to hear different views, to try to build consensus where we can, and then to act decisively. I hope that the hon. Lady, who I know cares deeply about these issues, will work with us, including with her constituents, to ensure that we build the strongest possible framework for the future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Callum Anderson (Buckingham and Bletchley) (Lab)]

6. What steps he is taking to improve relations with the EU.

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

12. What steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relations with the EU.

[Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)]

20. What steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relations with the EU.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

That is precisely why the Government take a pragmatic approach. We choose to align in areas where it makes sense to do so. Where it makes sense to diverge, we will also continue to do so. We are always driven by our national interest.

[Victoria Collins]

Given the strength of power shown by the EU to the US, not only is the relationship with Europe more strategically important than ever, but it matters because of the £90 billion black hole in our economy and to people such as Hazel from Tring, whose medical devices family business has been cut by costs and bureaucracy since Brexit. When will the Government finally start taking seriously negotiations on a new EU-UK customs deal?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

On the hon. Lady’s first point, we agreed the new strategic security and defence partnership with the European Union in May last year, which is absolutely crucial. On the point about the food and drink agreement, we agreed just before Christmas that that will be completed by the time of the next summit.

Oral Answers to Questions

Victoria Collins Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)]

I join colleagues in wishing you and everyone a merry Christmas, and my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade) a happy birthday.

Alongside online harassment, online fraud is also on the rise. Nobody wants a broken heart for Christmas, and online romance fraud is not only ruining lives but emptying bank accounts. Liberal Democrat analysis has shown that romance fraud has more than tripled in the last decade, but the Government’s fraud strategy has been delayed and Labour’s proposals in opposition, which looked at ensuring that there was joint financial responsibility to victims for social media giants, has now vanished. Does the Minister agree that those online social media giants must do more to tackle the scams and also agree with Liberal Democrat calls that they be financially responsible for the fraud that takes place on their platforms?

[Kanishka Narayan]

While love might be in the air at this festive moment, we want to make sure that it is financially responsible. In that spirit, therefore, I will continue to engage with both the regulator and platforms to ensure that the existing provisions of the Online Safety Act are robustly enforced when it comes to online fraud and scams, which so many of us experience both directly and indirectly through our constituents.