Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to restrict TechExpert scholarships to domestic PhD students on the UK’s international competitiveness in Artificial Intelligence innovation.

The Government is committed to strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in AI. While TechExpert scholarships focus on domestic talent, we continue to attract top international talent through initiatives such as the AI Global Fellowships and the Spärck AI scholarships. These programmes ensure the UK retains world-class expertise, supports frontier research, and sustains its competitive edge in AI innovation. This balance to championing our domestic pipeline while attracting some of the world's best AI minds to the UK is key to maximising our AI ambitions.