Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have held discussions with experts in the field of artificial intelligence who have raised concerns about social, economic, and environmental harm resulting from rapid advances in this technology; and, if so, who.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government engages regularly with a wide range of experts on both the opportunities and the risks presented by rapid advances in AI, including academics, civil society and independent researchers. Examples include: expert input to the Government Office for Science's AI Scenarios 2030, developed with experts from across government, academia and industry; the International AI Safety Report, which brings together over 100 independent experts and is chaired by Professor Yoshua Bengio, for which the AI Security Institute provides the secretariat; and the AI Energy Council, whose membership and minutes are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure regulations relating to artificial intelligence are capable of addressing rapid advances in the development of superintelligent artificial intelligence.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
AI is developing rapidly and has the potential to transform our economy and public services. It is already helping scientists discover new treatments for disease and make our energy networks cleaner.
But as its capabilities advance, it is right that safeguards keep pace.
Through the AI Security Institute, the Government is leading global efforts to test and understand the most advanced AI systems, while helping to develop the standards and safeguards needed to keep people, businesses and critical infrastructure secure.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with companies specialising in artificial intelligence regarding the potential social, economic, and environmental harms caused by rapid advances in this technology.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government engages regularly with AI companies on both the opportunities and the risks presented by rapid advances in AI. Examples include: the AI Security Instituteâs work with top AI developers to identify vulnerabilities in their models; the AI Economics Institute, which acts as a focal point for engagement with business and academia to strengthen the evidence base on AI's effects on productivity, labour markets and growth; and the AI Energy Council which convenes AI, data centre, and energy companies alongside regulators, with its membership and minutes published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for investor confidence of the United Kingdom being one of the few major jurisdictions that does not retain a prudence based national generally accepted accounting practice alongside international financial reporting standards.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government and regulators continue to seek to maintain the confidence of investors and other stakeholders in UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice standards and UK-adopted International Accounting Standards. The Government recognises the importance of comparability, consistency and reliability in UK accounting standards. Prudence is a key element in understanding what is reliable information.
On 7 September 2026, the âModernising Corporate Reporting to support long term Economic Growthâ consultation was published. The Government welcomes responses on this and other issues with regard to the consultationâs financial reporting proposals, which focus on reports and accounts providing decision-useful information for investors and creditors.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether hyperscale AI data centres, including the proposed data campus near Great Torrington, are required to disclose their projected water consumption for cooling before planning applications are determined; and, if not, what plans they have to introduce such a requirement.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
BSIT continues to engage with the sector and other government departments to better understand water use in data centres, supporting the adoption of efficient cooling technologies (closed-loop systems) and alternative sources like rainwater harvesting.
The planning system requires environmental impacts, including water consumption, to be properly assessed and considered before decisions are made. For developments progressing through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime, applicants must assess impacts on water resources as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment and supporting documentation. AI Growth Zone applicants are also required to provide details of their anticipated water requirements and evidence from the relevant water supplier on the availability of supply. The Government keeps planning and environmental requirements under review to ensure data centre growth remains sustainable.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to require all data centre operators to report their water use.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
BSIT continues to engage with the sector and other government departments to better understand water use in data centres, supporting the adoption of efficient cooling technologies (closed-loop systems) and alternative sources like rainwater harvesting.
The planning system requires environmental impacts, including water consumption, to be properly assessed and considered before decisions are made. For developments progressing through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime, applicants must assess impacts on water resources as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment and supporting documentation. AI Growth Zone applicants are also required to provide details of their anticipated water requirements and evidence from the relevant water supplier on the availability of supply. The Government keeps planning and environmental requirements under review to ensure data centre growth remains sustainable.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, when he plans to update the AI Opportunities Action Plan Dashboard.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The AI Opportunities Action Plan dashboard was published on 29 January 2026 alongside the progress report AI Opportunities Action Plan: One Year On. It provides a detailed, action-by-action view of delivery against all 50 recommendations, showing that the Government met its commitments on 38 of them within the first year. The remaining 12 actions are long-term and complex commitments which are firmly in delivery. This forms part of the governmentâs ongoing programme of work to harness the opportunities from AI, whilst carefully managing the risks.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks arising from mirror life since the Government Chief Scientific Advisor's roundtable in January 2025; how frequently these assessments are reviewed; and which body is responsible for such assessments.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Government is committed to responsible innovation in engineering biology. Government keeps novel engineering biology capabilities under review including seeking expert advice through the Responsible Innovation Advisory Panel.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the main funder of public research and innovation. It has not funded research directly intending to develop mirror life.
Asked by: Earl of Effingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Research England has assessed the effect on quality-related research funding of any retraction of, or misconduct finding in respect of, outputs submitted to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework by any provider; and what assessment they have made of any such cases.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Research England (RE) has not undertaken a specific assessment of the effect on quality-related (QR) research funding of any subsequent retraction of, or finding of research misconduct relating to, outputs submitted to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021).
QR allocations from 2022-23 onwards are based on the outcomes of REF2021, which assessed the quality of the research carried out in UK universities.
Responsibility for investigating research misconduct rests primarily with the research organisations concerned, which are expected to maintain appropriate arrangements for ensuring research integrity.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to prevent increases in employment costs from discouraging small salon businesses from (i) employing, and (ii) training people.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Our Plan to Make Work Pay is supporting good jobs and helping responsible businesses grow. We are phasing in reforms and rolling out an online resource offering practical guidance on what the changes mean so that uncertainty doesnât hold back hiring.
Our analysis demonstrates that, by making work more attractive and accessible to a wider range of people, the Employment Rights Act is more likely to help more people into work than reduce employment.
Through the Business Growth Service and Business Academy, small businesses can access government-backed advice and free training resources to help them develop their workforce and grow.