Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the responsible adoption of AI by UK financial services firms; and what assessment they have made of the impact of AI use by those firms on productivity, service delivery and competitiveness.

The Government believes that the safe adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by the financial services sector is a major strategic opportunity, with the potential to power growth across the UK. As set out in the Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, it is our ambition to make the UK ”the world’s most technologically advanced global financial sector”, leveraging our dual strengths in FS and AI to drive growth, productivity, and deliver consumer benefits.

The Government has appointed Financial Services AI Champions, Harriet Rees and Rohit Dhawan, who will focus on helping firms seize opportunities of AI while protecting consumers and financial stability.

AI is already widely used across financial services, with around three-quarters of UK firms now deploying AI according to a recent survey by the Bank of England and the FCA. Additionally, recent reports from the City of London Corporation suggests AI could add tens of billions of pounds to the financial and professional services sector by 2030, as well as transforming services for consumers, and increasing productivity by up to 50% - underlining both the pace of adoption and the scale of the opportunity ahead.

The Government will continue working closely with industry and the regulators to safely capitalise on the opportunities AI presents while protecting consumers and financial stability.