Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Government'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 their Department was spent on regulation of artificial intelligence in the latest period for which information is available; how many staff in each regulator worked (a) wholly and (b) partly on those issues in the latest period for 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 UK regulators and public bodies have the capacity, expertise, and capabilities to implement government’s 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.

Legal services regulation is independent of Government and is overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB) which is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the MoJ. The LSB has a role to play in effectively regulating the use of AI. The LSB uses its resources flexibly to deliver the range of activities in its business plan. The LSB estimates that it deploys the equivalent of two policy and one research team members to work on technology and innovation, representing approximately £150,000 in staff costs and £50,000 in research annually. The LSB’s work on technology and innovation encompasses work on AI. The LSB continually assesses how best to deploy its resources to respond to emerging issues in a proportionate and effective way.