To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Artificial Intelligence: Procurement
Thursday 11th December 2025

Asked by: Baroness Kidron (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of their current spending on AI procurement goes to AI companies that are headquartered in the UK, and what proportion of those companies are small and medium-sized enterprises.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

DSIT does not collate spending on AI procurement across all government departments. Procurement decisions and tracking of associated costs, including those for AI tools and services, are the primary responsibility of each individual government department. The government remains committed to providing new opportunities for UK AI companies to scale and succeed. The government is going further and faster to reform our approach to procurement so that it can shape markets and manage demand, putting in place measures to identify, nurture and protect the UK’s high-growth modern Industrial Strategy sectors like AI. DSIT’s role focuses on fostering an enabling ecosystem, and supporting the growth of the UK's AI sector, including through initiatives such as AI Growth Zones and pledging up to £100million through the Advanced Market Commitment to help AI hardware start-ups gain a competitive edge and win customers alongside established vendors.

Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 09 Dec 2025
Crime and Policing Bill

"My Lords, I rise to add my voice to the praise for the noble Baroness, Lady Owen—me too—and to put on record my support. I believe the noble Baroness did such a detailed, forensic laying out of her amendments. I would just like to make a couple of points.

During …..."
Baroness Kidron - View Speech

View all Baroness Kidron (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crime and Policing Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 09 Dec 2025
Crime and Policing Bill

"My Lords, it is a privilege to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin. I share much of her frustration about us being here discussing this again and hearing that litany of powerful images—that I would rather unhear—from the noble Baroness, Lady Bertin. I do not propose to add to them, …..."
Baroness Kidron - View Speech

View all Baroness Kidron (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crime and Policing Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 09 Dec 2025
Crime and Policing Bill

"I want to ask the Minister about the timing. Her tone is exceptionally welcome— I will leave the substance of her response to the noble Baroness, Lady Bertin—but I am watching facial recognition, edtech and AI being rolled out by the Government with impunity. Even earlier today, at Questions, the …..."
Baroness Kidron - View Speech

View all Baroness Kidron (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crime and Policing Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 27 Nov 2025
Crime and Policing Bill

"..."
Baroness Kidron - View Speech

View all Baroness Kidron (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crime and Policing Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 27 Nov 2025
Crime and Policing Bill

"My Lords, in moving Amendment 266, I will speak also to Amendments 479 and 480, all of which are in my name. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan, the noble Lords, Lord Clement-Jones and Lord Russell, and the noble Viscount, Lord Colville, for their support.

All three amendments concern …..."
Baroness Kidron - View Speech

View all Baroness Kidron (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crime and Policing Bill
Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 27 Nov 2025
Crime and Policing Bill

"I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Nash, for his amendment and his fierce following of this issue, and for bringing it to our attention. I recognise that this is a Home Office Bill and that some of these things cross to DSIT, but we are also witnessing crime. …..."
Baroness Kidron - View Speech

View all Baroness Kidron (XB - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Crime and Policing Bill
Written Question
Artificial Intelligence: Procurement
Wednesday 26th November 2025

Asked by: Baroness Kidron (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to including advice about supplier diversity and small and medium-sized enterprise participation in procurement in the Artificial Intelligence Playbook.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This government is committed to supporting SMEs and British business as much as possible including through procurement. The current edition of the AI Playbook for government contains broad advice for decision makers looking to procure effective, ethical and safe systems. Updates to Government guidance will have lines on how to adhere to the Procurement Act (2023) which came into force this year. The Act has specific provisions to encourage government procurement from small and medium sized by enhancing transparency and competition.

Written Question
Artificial Intelligence: Procurement
Monday 24th November 2025

Asked by: Baroness Kidron (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support UK-headquartered AI companies and small and medium-sized enterprises in AI procurement strategy.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government is taking several steps to support UK-headquartered AI companies and SMEs in procurement:

  • We are specifying social value criteria in procurement decisions that support selecting SMEs as implementation partners, and running targeted secondary procurements sized appropriately for smaller suppliers, informed by insights from SMEs and industry bodies including TechUK, AI UK, and Innovate UK.
  • The AI Opportunity Scanning Team, now fully operational, provides cross-government technical horizon scanning and market intelligence to understand evolving AI capabilities and supplier landscapes.
  • We are exploring innovative procurement approaches through the Commercial Innovation Hub and have launched the National AI Tender for a GOV.UK Agentic AI Companion following positive market engagement.
  • The Open Source AI Fellowship programme, launched via the Alan Turing Institute, brings open-source AI specialists into government.
  • The AI Knowledge Hub is being updated to include comprehensive technical guidance to support informed procurement decisions.
Division Vote (Lords)
5 Nov 2025 - Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill - View Vote Context
Baroness Kidron (XB) voted Aye and against the House
One of 13 Crossbench Aye votes vs 0 Crossbench No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 47 Noes - 136