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.

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.